ur local history is filled with stories of sightings and meetings with entities from beyond our presence.

Many of these encounters are based upon actual events unknown to those at the time who were unfortunate enough to have an encounter with those from beyond the next horizon.

The boy on the bicycle

About four years ago two well-known residents of Lansford, reported seeing what appeared to be a young boy on a bicycle cross over Dock Street near the old Lansford Railroad Tunnel and then “float” across the creek and disappear into the old tunnel. Upon being shown where this act of spiritual gravitation occurred, an old photograph was located showing that a bridge was once located there and small boy pushing his bicycle in the tunnel was killed by a train in 1910.

The three miners

Throughout the valley there are a number of stairways carved into the mountainside, these are commonly referred to as miner’s steps as they were used by miners on their way to work.

One such set of steps exists east of the Little League field and was used by miners from Summit Hill walking to work at one of the many mines in that area.

There have been reports over the years of people seeing three brightly colored orbs traveling down these steps from time to time.

The witch of Jamestown

Jamestown was a small village which once stood east of the Lansford Townhouses and south of present day Andrewsville.

Built in 1845 and demolished in 1934 it was home to about 200 residents.

One of the residents was Annie Kline, an immigrant from a small village in the Croatian Mountains of Solvika. Annie’s mother reportedly practiced a form of witchcraft known as necromancy.

In January of 1906 Annie lost her son when he fell into the rollers of the Number 4 Breaker, killing him instantly. Annie lost her husband in a gas explosion in the same mine on Sept. 16, 1914.

Annie reportedly swore vengeance and cursed all those connected with the deaths of her family. Miners reportedly had seen Annie just before major accidents in and around the mines in the area. In 1962 for reasons unknown, the wooden planks lining the Number 5 shaft caught fire, despite the fact the mine had been closed and flooded for years.

The fireman who fought the fire reported they were watched by an old woman on a hillside.

People ice-skating on the Cardtown Dam located near where the village once stood have reported being watched by an old woman dressed in rags and that for no reason a tree or tire laying nearby would burst into flames.

In 2010 a group of ghost hunters were chased from the area after being pelted by branches and small rocks.

It has been reported that during a full moon Annie”s agonizing screams can be heard echoing through out the valley.

The dance hall girl

A popular dance hall once stood directly adjacent to the present Northeast Chemical Buildings. Around 1920 a dance hall girl was shot and killed in the building.

The killer ran north across Patterson and Ridge Streets and down into the area around the Number 6 breaker.

People walking in the area have reportedly heard music followed by three shots. Two years ago, a loaded pistol was found in an outhouse on Ridge Street minus three shots.

The Number 6 Breaker Whistle

Opened in 1929 and torn down in 1962 the Number 6 Breaker was the largest breaker ever built by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company.

A month of production would fill the Panther Valley Stadium to a depth of 24 feet. The breaker whistle was the means of communication between the company and the workers.

The whistle blew at the start of the day, end of the day and the dreaded two long blasts followed by a short blast which signified a deadly accident.

For years after the breaker was torn down on the anniversary of deadly accidents the breaker whistle could be heard blowing the deadly two long, one short blast.

The ghosts of John Jones and Alex Campbell

John Jones was murdered by the Mollie Maguires on Sep. 2, 1875, as he exited the former telegraph office along Dock Street in Lansford.

At the time of his murder Jones was carrying a shiny new silver tin lunchbox. Since his murder people have described seeing an oddly dressed man carrying something shiny in his left hand standing along Dock Street. One description went so far as to describe that the top button of his shirt was buttoned.

Others have reportedly seen a tall man wearing a top hat running across Ridge Street in the area where Campbell once had a saloon.

Testimony by James McParland, the undercover Pinkerton Detective who infiltrated the Mollies, showed that upon hearing of the murder of Tamaqua Police Officer Benjamin Yost by the Mollies, Campbell who was over 6 foot tall, donned an old top hat and did an Irish jig on the top of his bar.

The only known sketch of Jones clearly shows the top button of his shirt buttoned.

Fact or fiction?

Are these and other sightings simple figures of a person’s overactive imagination, wishful thinking that there exists something other than eternal darkness when the end comes or as Rod Serling, the creator of Twilight Zone, and other such programs once explained.

At certain times and locations this dimension and a past dimension align just long enough to allow those from beyond to crossover for a visit.

Whatever the reason it is clear that our region has had more than our fair share of encounters with those from the great beyond.