Can Animals Return as Ghosts?

“If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans. You’ve nothing to worry about there.”

Alf Wright
aka
James Herriot

The above quote is a response given by the late British author, and veterinarian James Herriot, when he addressed the question of whether or not animals have souls, and could experience an afterlife.

His response was received with appreciation from people all over the world. Herriot was one of the first well-known animal lovers to address this topic.

If you believe the above, then the possibility exists that some animals do indeed return in ghostly form.

A popular post on this blog is about “Ghost Cats” and the intriguing video my group caught of a “possible” ghost cat. I received many positive responses to this post through email and in person.

This topic is close to many people’s hearts.

Numerous witnesses over the years have seen what they feel are deceased pets come back to visit.

A good book about this topic is Ghostly Animals of America written by Patricia Edwards Clyne.

Many people have seen the ghosts of animals over the years--not all of them former pets. The following story is an unusual one.

There is a busy intersection in Cook County in a suburb of Chicago. Until recently, this intersection did not have a traffic light. The speed limit in the area is 45 mph, but cars often drive through this intersection going 50 mph plus.

Drivers especially at night, have trouble seeing this intersection because there is a rise, which blocks their view until they actually cross it.

A riding stable is located near this intersection. This stable has extensive wooded riding paths, and one of these paths crosses this intersection.

Unfortunately, because of this dangerous intersection, more than one rider has been injured or killed at dusk or at night, when a car has hit them while they crossed this road. Several horses have been killed in these accidents, as well.

Drivers along this road have reported seeing a strange phenomenon. They see what appears to be a “smoke grey silhouette of a horse and rider.” Neither figure has distinguishable features. They are most often seen right in the middle of the road.

This strange duo is seen at night, crossing the intersection. Some have reported that they saw this horse and rider appear in front of their cars suddenly, but as they slowed down, this “silhouette” just faded away.

Other grisly reports state that drivers have actually seen one of these accidents, reenacted in this intersection. These accounts include witnesses seeing a rider being thrown from their saddle, and then just disappear. Others state they actually saw a fallen horse dragged by a car until it came to a complete stop. 

The Haunting at Duffy’s Cut

The Watson twins eagerly anticipated Thanksgiving every year for their grandfather, a retired Pennsylvania Railroad worker shared his favorite ghost story with them. 

His story was a harrowing version of ghosts who appeared in the woods near the railroad tracks in a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The boys listened with rapt attention as their grandfather described how a large group of Irish immigrants who had all died in a Cholera epidemic were seen glowing brightly and dancing on their graves in an area called Duffy’s Cut *.

Up until their grandfather died, Frank and Bill Watson thought the story they had heard for many years was just a local legend. But within the papers they inherited from their grandfather was an old document that was marked private by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. 

In 1837 there actually had been a cholera epidemic that had killed fifty-seven Irish immigrants. They were all buried in the woods in an area near the railroad tracks called Duffy’s Cut thirty miles from Philadelphia. The file also mentioned the story had been covered-up.

This document also included eyewitness accounts from people who had seen some unusual sights in the woods. One man as he walked home from a tavern in late September of 1919 saw something he later agreed was hard to imagine. Before him were green ghosts dancing in a mist. This witness swore in a written report that he saw spirits of the dead Irishmen, who had died in the Cholera epidemic.

“A-dancing around the big trench where they were buried: its true, mister, it was awful. They looked as if they were kind of green and blue fire, and they were hopping and bobbing on their graves…”

The document also mentioned that the locals felt the Irishmen haunted the place because they were buried without the benefit of clergy. 

It dawned on the Watson twins that the legend that was based on this ghost story might just be real. Within the old papers, there were clues as to where these immigrant graves were located. 

So in 2002, the brothers started to search. One clue led them to where the original railroad bridge once stood. They first uncovered an old shanty, and then in 2005, they found an old pipe with an Irish flag on it. This encouraged them to continue.

Realizing they had too much territory to cover the brothers requested help from the University of Pennsylvania, in 2009. 

A geophysicist from this school used equipment to scan the area. He sent out electrical currents into the ground to determine if items might be buried beneath the surface. This saved time and money since the brothers now had a better idea of where to dig.

At first, one human bone was found then seven skeletons were unearthed. Four human skulls were found as well. With these bones, a forensic expert was able to start putting the various pieces together. 

To the surprise of all, she found that these men and one woman had died not of Cholera but from several sharp blows to the head. Bullet wounds and ax nicks were found in the four skulls recovered.

The Irishmen at Duffy’s Cut probably were suffering from Cholera, but it appeared they all were murdered. It is now believed that these Irish railroad workers who had only been in the country for six weeks at the time Cholera broke out were probably killed out of ignorance. 

Some feel a local vigilante group killed them **, afraid the Cholera would spread. 

The Watson brothers now became even more motivated to make sure these Irish worker's story became known. The twin’s formed "The Duffy Project" their goal is to preserve the memories of these 57 Irish immigrants who came for the American Dream and instead lost their lives.

In March of 2012, the remains of five men and one woman were given a respectable burial, a West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. 

The Amtrak Railroad who owns the property today would not issue additional permits for more digging at the tracks near Malvern, PA, since the next site they wanted to dig was too near the train tracks.

* It is called Duffy's Cut because the man who brought these Irishmen and women to work in the area was named Philip Duffy. Duffy was an Irish contractor whose task was to hire men and build this section of the railroad--he was not liked by the 57 immigrants. His contract with the railroad made him a wealthy man. 

** It is speculated that a local vigilante group who met near the Irish immigrant's Shantytown did not like the Catholic Irish immigrants, so they attacked and murdered them--hence the cover-up. For years afterward, Irish railroad workers told their story, including the part about the unsettled ghosts, in hopes that the truth would come out.

The Chester County Paranormal Society (CCPRS) received permission to do EVP sessions with a Franks Box at Duffy's Cut. They found some ghosts remain in the area. The following link is to a page where you can listen to their results. Here is a sample:

Question: Do you know Duffy?
Answer: Yeah, the devil
Question: What about those homes up there?
Answer: Cursed
Question: Are you with God?
Answer: No..no...abyss.

Duffy's Cut EVP's

The following link is to a 55 minute PBS video that tells these Irish immigrants story in-depth.

Death On The Railroad