vampire hunting
I don't know how I have lived in Richmond for all of these years and not known about the vampire! Thank you to creating beauty for opening my eyes!
So, here we go...the Richmond Vampire is an urban legend that began soon after a collapse on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad's Church Hill Tunnel in Church Hill, which buried several workers alive on October 2, 1925.
The story told of a blood covered creature with jagged teeth and skin hanging from its body that emerged from the cave-in and raced toward the James River. Pursued by a group of men, the creature took refuge in Hollywood Cemetery, where it disappeared in a mausoleum built into a hillside bearing the name W.W. Pool.
It is true that after the tunnel collapsed a living being escaped from the wreckage. It was, however, a 28-year-old railroad fireman, Benjamin F. Mosby who had been loading coal into the steam tank of a train with no shirt on when the cave-in occurred and the oven ruptured.
Mosby's upper body was horribly scalded and several of his teeth were broken before he made his way through the opening of the tunnel. Witnesses reported he was in shock and layers of his skin were hanging from his body. He died later at Grace Hospital.
Even with this logical explanation the legend lives on. Some say that someone has been seen leaving and entering this tomb many times over the years.The figure has been descibed as being partially decomposed,with rolls of tattered skin hanging limply from his frame,having large sharp jagged teeth, and fresh blood around his mouth and chin. The skeletal remains of Mr. Pool were found on a hill in the cemetary arranged into occult symbols one story says .His remains were gathered and buried in another tomb, to discourage further grave robbing attempts.
vampire hunting
I don't know how I have lived in Richmond for all of these years and not known about the vampire! Thank you to creating beauty for opening my eyes!
So, here we go...the Richmond Vampire is an urban legend that began soon after a collapse on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad's Church Hill Tunnel in Church Hill, which buried several workers alive on October 2, 1925.
The story told of a blood covered creature with jagged teeth and skin hanging from its body that emerged from the cave-in and raced toward the James River. Pursued by a group of men, the creature took refuge in Hollywood Cemetery, where it disappeared in a mausoleum built into a hillside bearing the name W.W. Pool.
It is true that after the tunnel collapsed a living being escaped from the wreckage. It was, however, a 28-year-old railroad fireman, Benjamin F. Mosby who had been loading coal into the steam tank of a train with no shirt on when the cave-in occurred and the oven ruptured.
Mosby's upper body was horribly scalded and several of his teeth were broken before he made his way through the opening of the tunnel. Witnesses reported he was in shock and layers of his skin were hanging from his body. He died later at Grace Hospital.
Even with this logical explanation the legend lives on. Some say that someone has been seen leaving and entering this tomb many times over the years.The figure has been descibed as being partially decomposed,with rolls of tattered skin hanging limply from his frame,having large sharp jagged teeth, and fresh blood around his mouth and chin. The skeletal remains of Mr. Pool were found on a hill in the cemetary arranged into occult symbols one story says .His remains were gathered and buried in another tomb, to discourage further grave robbing attempts.