There's an old railroad tunnel that lies along the railroad tracks between Jackson and Hazard, Kentucky that is said to be haunted by the ghost of a worker who was killed there many years ago.

When the rails were first being laid along this line in the 1920's, a tunnel had to be dug through a mountain. While the work was in progress, a worker was sawing a board on a high scaffolding. He was constructing a frame that would be used to pour the concrete for the tunnel supports. Below him, more concrete was being poured into a deep trench where the actual rail lines would rest. It would provide a solid support for the steel rails.

Suddenly, the worker on the scaffolding lost his balance and fell into the loose concrete mixture below him. His friends and co-workers tried to rescue him but he was quickly lost in the deep trench as the concrete hardened around him.

As the years passed, on nights of the full moon, it is said that the screams of this railroad worker, falling to his doom, can be heard echoing in the tunnel. Some even claim to have seen an apparition of a saw protruding from the concrete rail bed, only to see it vanish before their eyes.

The Kentucky River lies near the tunnel and even today, fisherman on the river claim to hear the sounds of sawing and then a long, terrifying scream coming from inside the old passageway.

Well, you wake up in the mornin', You hear the work bell ring, And they march you to the table to see the same old thing.

Ain't no food upon the table, and no pork up in the pan. But you better not complain, boy, You get in trouble with the man.

CHORUS: Let the Midnight Special shine a light on me, Let the Midnight Special shine a light on me, Let the Midnight Special shine a light on me, Let the Midnight Special shine a everlovin' light on me.

 Yonder come miss Rosie, how in the world did you know? By the way she wears her apron, and the clothes she wore. Umbrella on her shoulder, piece of paper in her hand; She come to see the gov'nor, she wants to free her man.

CHORUS

If you're ever in Houston, well, you better do the right; You better not gamble, there, you better not fight, at all Or the sheriff will grab ya and the boys will bring you down. The next thing you know, boy, Oh! You're prison bound.

CHORUS

According to one story, the song originated from the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman, Mississippi. It was said that the train could be seen at night from the prison fields. The train was nicknamed the Midnight Special because it carried "female visitors" for Sunday visits to the inmates. At night time it was believed that if the light of the train shone on you, one of the ladies on the train would be visiting you that night.

Bostian's Bridge in North Carolina is the scene of a horrific train accident that happened on August 27, 1891 at 3 am. Supposedly, if you go to this area on that date and that time you can hear the sound of the trail derailing, along with the screams of the dead.

In the Dragoon Mountains of Arizona, people have seen a ghost train go through, even though there is no record of train tracks being in that area.

Highway 36 of Belleville, Texas: A steam locomotive emerges from a fog near here and pulls a string of cars across the highway here. But there is no crossing gate, warning lights or even tracks. That ghost train was first witnessed by Thomas Phillips of Pasadena, Texas on January 10, 1960.

It's not my job to run the train,
The whistle I don't blow.
It's not my job to say how far
The train's supposed to go.
I'm not allowed to pull the brake,
Or even ring the bell.
But let the damn thing leave the track
And see who catches hell!

They just don't make bands, songs and trains today, like they use to. That's my opinion, anyway.