 |
| Wilcox County Road 13 railroad crossing. |
Are the railroad tracks at Coy haunted?
Depending on who you ask, stories about the haunted railroad
crossing at Coy vary, but sources say that a group of children died in a tragic
bus accident there in the 1950s. Now, the story goes, if you visit the crossing
late at night, you can hear the sounds of children playing and laughing on the tracks.
Others say that if you visit the crossing late at night or
early in the morning, you can actually see the ghosts of children playing at
the railroad crossing.
When I first heard this tale, I presumed that it was
referring to the crossing where the Alabama & Gulf Coast Railway crosses
County Road 12 in Coy, near the post office. However, when I asked around, I
learned that the story actually refers to the railroad crossing a short
distance southeast on County Road 13.
The weather on Sat., April 8, was bright and clear, so I
decided to investigate this story for myself. I’d been to the railroad crossing
near the Coy post office many times before, but I couldn’t honestly say that
I’d ever been to the crossing on County Road 13. With that in mind, I traveled
the lonely country backroads to that crossing, drove over the tracks and parked
on the side of the road, about 50 yards south of the crossing.
I got out of the truck, shut the door and stood there for
what seemed like a long time, listening. The place was deserted. No one was around.
There wasn’t another vehicle in sight.
I have a healthy respect for trains and railroad tracks, so
I approached the crossing on foot with more than the usual amount of caution.
As I stood there, taking a long look up and down the tracks, I was again struck
by the eerie silence of the place. Not even the birds or insects were stirring.
I crossed to the other side of the road and just as I was
about to return to my truck, an unexpected noise struck my ears. Had I just
heard a child laughing? Despite the warm afternoon sun, the back of my neck
broke out in gooseflesh as I froze in my tracks.
Suddenly and without warning, I heard it again. This time,
my head snapped in the direction of the sound, and my eyes met with something
that I’d missed in my first look around. In the dim shadows on the south side
of the road, I could make out where the railroad tracks crossed a short wooden
bridge.
At first glance, I’d missed it, but when I took a few more
steps in that direction, I could see that the small rail bridge crossed over a stream
or creek that flows off into the dark woods and out of sight. Surely the sound
that I’d mistaken for laughter had been nothing more than the sound of water
chuckling beneath the bridge.
A few minutes later, back in my truck, I checked my trusty,
dogeared copy of the “Alabama Atlas & Gazetteer” and saw on Page 50 where
the creek or stream that flows near the railroad crossing eventually flows into
McCalls Creek, which empties into the Alabama River near Backers Landing in
Monroe County.
On the way home, I wondered if the sound of the water
flowing beneath the bridge could be the root of the stories about the haunted
railroad tracks at Coy. Had people over the years simply mistaken that sound
for the sound of laughing children? I suppose it’s hard to say for sure, but
one thing’s for certain: The railroad crossing at County Road 13 is an
unusually spooky place and is probably even more so in the dead of night.
In the end, I’d like to hear from anyone with more information
about the haunted railroad tracks at Coy, especially anyone who has seen or
heard anything out of the ordinary there. I’d also like to hear from anyone
with any information about the bus accident that supposedly took place there in
the 1950s.
No comments:
Post a Comment