Continuing with our tour of haunted and spooky Pittsburgh we have three more spooky tales with ghosts and legends to share with you.
Dead Man’s Hollow
Location: Boroughs of Liberty, Lincoln, and Elizabeth Township
Filled with dense woodlands and winding trails, Dead Man’s Hollow is 450 acres of creepy imagination fodder. The conservation area sits atop an old 19th century quarry turned 20th century pipe factory. According to the Allegheny Land Trust, Dead Man’s Hollow is “home to legends of murder, natural disasters, and accidental deaths.”
The quarry and pipe factory had plenty of industrial accidents to lend the poor souls to the haunting of the hollow.
Legend says it received its dark name after a group of boys found a body hanging from a noose in 1874. From that point, the hollow was forever tied to the dark and macabre. Pittsburgh Ghosts shares a tale George McClure being shot in the woods by a band of thieves who had robbed his store, and a bank robber murdering his accomplice to keep the money for himself.
Visitors to Dead Man’s Hollow have reported eerie sounds, dark figures, strange odors, and disembodied voices. The creepiest of tales involves a ghost who tries to lure hikers to the banks of the Youghiogheny River where it tries to pull them into the waters.
If you choose to hike Dead Man’s Hollow, be sure to take a trek along the Witch Hazel Trail where you can visit the aptly named Enchanted Staircase.
The Early American Room in the Cathedral of Learning
Location: University of Pittsburgh, Cathedral of Learning
All you have to do is peek your head into the Cathedral of Learning to be reminded by Harry Potter. It’s not just the ribbed vaulting and gothic-style architecture that Hogwarts and the Cathedral of Learning hold in common; they are both said to be homes to ghosts.
The Early American Room was designed to represent life in a 17th century New England home. The room is unique to the other rooms because it has a hidden second floor designed to look like a bedroom and is accessible only by a hidden passage in the wall. Whispers of a ghost messing up the bed in the hidden room and making the cradle rock have been exchanged in the hallways. One theory is that the ghost messing up the bed is Martha Jane Poe McDaniel. The quilt that covers the bed was her wedding quilt. And did you notice the name Poe? She was related to Edgar Allan Poe. Who else would be better to haunt a place than a relative of Poe, if Poe himself is unavailable.
Other tales say it’s haunted by the ghost of a former student who died tragically. Visitors have reported feeling a strange presence, hearing whispers, and even seeing a ghostly figure.
The Pittsburgh Playhouse
Location: Oakland (possibly razed)
Is there anything better than a tale of a haunted theater? The Phantom of the Opera would probably agree. This theater isn’t filled with only the spirits of actors who never got to have their final curtain call. Before the Pittsburgh Playhouse was built it’s said that row houses once sat upon the land where the Playhouse was built. But in a tragic accident, the row houses burnt to the ground. The fire killed a mother and her young daughter and to this day it’s said “Weeping Eleanor” can still be heard in the theater crying for the loss of her daughter.
It’s not only a theater that’s haunted, but it’s also a theater that’s haunted by a bride. Nicknamed The Lady in White, this ghost met her demise on her wedding day, but not before killing two other people. Before the honeymoon started The Lady in White discovered her husband was having an affair. In her heartbreak, she shot and killed her husband and the other woman. After their murders, she fell over the balcony and fell to her death. She’s said to roam the balcony calling her dead husband’s name.
A haunted theater is not complete without the soul of an actor. John Johns is the name of the thespian said to haunt the theater. Legend says he had a heart attack while performing on stage. He later died in his dressing room and has been bound to the stage ever since. He’s said to sit in the seats wearing a tuxedo.
What do you think of these haunted Pittsburgh locations? Would you or have you ever visited them?
