By Danielle Nyland
Dark and rainy nights in Rices Landing are the perfect time to grab an umbrella and a flashlight and head outdoors… to do a little ghost hunting for the infamous Stovepipe. The ghostly figure is said to haunt nights just like that, looking for his missing head.
The legend of Stovepipe has taken many forms over the years, but the basic premise remains the same; a young man loses his head to a grisly accident, leaving his ghostly form to haunt the woods of Rices Landing.
One version of the story, “The Train Tunnel Legend” tells of a cold, rainy night in the 1800s. A boy, in a hurry to get home, took a shortcut across the railroad tracks at Pumpkin Run. Suddenly, he realized that a train was hurtling down the tracks at him. In his haste to get off the tracks before the swiftly approaching train could reach him, his buggy overturned and the wheels of the train decapitated the boy. His ghost wanders the area looking for his missing head, but in the meantime he’s fashioned a replacement from a length of stovepipe. This version is the only one placed at Pumpkin Run.
A similar version takes place farther on up the road from Pumpkin Run, along Horseshoe Bend on Rices Landing Road. Another young man, another rainy night, and another overturned buggy. Instead of a train, a buggy wheel was responsible for the boy’s decapitation. Townspeople at the scene commented that the wounded neck resembled a stovepipe. His ghost appeared later, seen lying alongside the road with out his head or standing, with a stovepipe in place of his head.
Other versions feature a character named Stovepipe Kelly. In one version, the jealous husband of Kelly’s mistress caused the buggy to overturn. This time, no buggy caused the decapitation – the husband finished the job himself. In another version, Stovepipe Kelly, nicknamed this because of his tendency to wear a stovepipe hat, was a coal miner and union activist. Angered by his actions, the mine’s owners killed him at Horseshoe Bend.
As the years went on, the legend evolved to fit current times. Instead of a horse and buggy, modern vehicles worked their ways into the tale. In one of these modern versions, a boy was riding his bike along Rices Landing Road. As he neared Horseshoe Bend, a car, without any lights, appeared and the boy was pushed off the road, and rolled down the hill; as he rolled, an old piece of stovepipe decapitated him.
Yet another version involves a car driving along the road on another dark and rainy night. The teenager, headed home from a party, missed the curve at Horseshoe Bend and went over the hillside; during the wreck, the driver was decapitated. Some variations of this tale say the driver was thrown from the vehicle to land on a piece of stovepipe, causing his decapitation. Lending some credibility to this version, a rusting car sat at the bottom of the hillside for many years.
With so many versions of the Stovepipe Legend around, there’s only one way to find out which one is right… Gather your courage (and maybe a few good friends), take a trip out to Horseshoe Bend on one of those very dark and rainy nights and call for him by yelling, “Stovepipe, Stovepipe, Stovepipe! I’ve found your head!” You just might be surprised by what shows up – better keep your head!
