Today in Wheeling History: July 19—The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer reports a chilling ghost sighting in Hempfield Tunnel, believed to be the spirit of murder victim Alois Ulrich (1869).
The legend of the Hempfield Ghost gained terrifying momentum on July 19, 1869, when the Wheeling Daily Intelligencer published eyewitness accounts of a ghostly figure haunting the Hempfield Tunnel—now Tunnel Green. The apparition was believed to be Alois Ulrich, a German immigrant murdered two years earlier by fellow countryman Joseph Eisele, also known by the aliases John Schafer and The Parkersburg Murderer. Eisele had lured Ulrich into the tunnel on June 29, 1867, and killed him with a carpenter’s hatchet, hiding the body in a culvert near the eastern mouth. The ghost reportedly appeared from the tunnel ceiling, covered in green slime, pointing to a gaping wound in its temple, and uttering the chilling phrase, “Let the dead rest!” A second sighting occurred near the culvert where Ulrich’s body had been concealed, reinforcing the belief that his spirit remained unrested. Eisele, a former Papal Army deserter, was executed in Parkersburg on March 6, 1868, after confessing to three murders. His alias “John Schafer” was used to conceal his identity upon immigrating to the U.S. in 1865. Today, Tunnel Green remains a focal point of Wheeling’s haunted lore, its eerie past echoing through local legend and paranormal fascination.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV: The Hempfield Ghost (https://tinyurl.com/46f2jse4); Wheeling Daily Intelligencer (https://tinyurl.com/5n8x69c3), Weelunk: The Haunting of Tunnel Green (https://tinyurl.com/mrymz458), Serial Killer Database Wiki: Joseph Eisele (https://tinyurl.com/4kr5rjyu), Wikipedia: Joseph Eisele (https://tinyurl.com/mr5bz2sp), Kentucky Myth Chasers: The Hatchet Slayer (https://tinyurl.com/5h2px3ec), Stanford SearchWorks: Life and Crimes of Joseph Eisele (https://tinyurl.com/2wu2ax9j)
Photo credits: Weelunk, Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, Amazon
The legend of the Hempfield Ghost gained terrifying momentum on July 19, 1869, when the Wheeling Daily Intelligencer published eyewitness accounts of a ghostly figure haunting the Hempfield Tunnel—now Tunnel Green. The apparition was believed to be Alois Ulrich, a German immigrant murdered two years earlier by fellow countryman Joseph Eisele, also known by the aliases John Schafer and The Parkersburg Murderer. Eisele had lured Ulrich into the tunnel on June 29, 1867, and killed him with a carpenter’s hatchet, hiding the body in a culvert near the eastern mouth. The ghost reportedly appeared from the tunnel ceiling, covered in green slime, pointing to a gaping wound in its temple, and uttering the chilling phrase, “Let the dead rest!” A second sighting occurred near the culvert where Ulrich’s body had been concealed, reinforcing the belief that his spirit remained unrested. Eisele, a former Papal Army deserter, was executed in Parkersburg on March 6, 1868, after confessing to three murders. His alias “John Schafer” was used to conceal his identity upon immigrating to the U.S. in 1865. Today, Tunnel Green remains a focal point of Wheeling’s haunted lore, its eerie past echoing through local legend and paranormal fascination.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV: The Hempfield Ghost (https://tinyurl.com/46f2jse4); Wheeling Daily Intelligencer (https://tinyurl.com/5n8x69c3), Weelunk: The Haunting of Tunnel Green (https://tinyurl.com/mrymz458), Serial Killer Database Wiki: Joseph Eisele (https://tinyurl.com/4kr5rjyu), Wikipedia: Joseph Eisele (https://tinyurl.com/mr5bz2sp), Kentucky Myth Chasers: The Hatchet Slayer (https://tinyurl.com/5h2px3ec), Stanford SearchWorks: Life and Crimes of Joseph Eisele (https://tinyurl.com/2wu2ax9j)
Photo credits: Weelunk, Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, Amazon
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