The Screaming Tunnel was created as part of a railway expansion project of the elaborate Grand Trunk Railway but never came to fruition. It receives its name from local fable. The tunnel is part of the Laura Secord Legacy Trail.
The Screaming Tunnel, part of an early 20th Century railway expansion project that never came to fruition, receives its name from local fable. There are a few variations in the story of the Screaming Tunnel, however, they all suggest that a young women died here while running, screaming from her farm house which was located directly on one side of the tunnel. One of the versions states that a young woman was running from a burning house and the flames engulfed her while in the tunnel. Another variation says that the girl was running from a rapist and he burned her to hide the corpse. Another version states that a father had lost a custody battle to the kids' mother in their divorce and he chased her into the tunnel and killed her. Part of this urban legend states that if you light a match and hold it in the tunnel at midnight, the match will be blown out by the ghost of the young woman.
The Grand Trunk Railway intended to expand its rail lines in the early 1900s, and the tunnel was apparently created as an overpass for another line. The tracks were never installed despite the tunnel being completed, and by the First World War the project was abandoned.
The Screaming Tunnel was made popular outside of Niagara when it was used as a location shoot for the movie adaptation of Stephen King's novel “The Dead Zone", which was directed by David Cronenberg (1982) and starring Christopher Walken. Other locations in Niagara, including the gazebo at Queen's Royal Park in Niagara-on-the-Lake, were also used in the film.
Near Warner Road, Niagara Falls, ON
Municipality Niagara Falls, Ontario
| Latitude: | 43.145603 |
| Longitude: | -79.145037 |
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