The Stranger At The Railroad Crossing: A Johnston County Ghost Story (Part 1 of 4)

This is the first in a four-part series of Johnston County ghost stories leading up to Halloween.

Editor’s Note: This story is presented as local folklore and as a Halloween ghost tale. The events, supernatural claims, identities and circumstances described in the story have been passed down, repeated or reported over the years and have not been independently verified as factual. Some details may have changed through retelling. References to real people, places or historical events should not be interpreted as confirmation that the supernatural events or other unverified portions of the tale actually occurred.

PRINCETON – The car had stopped in one of the worst possible places. On the railroad tracks.

Long ago, a woman traveling through downtown Princeton with her baby in the vehicle reportedly found herself stranded at a railroad crossing when her car refused to move.

Then, according to an old ghost story that has circulated about Princeton, a stranger appeared.

He helped push the vehicle away from the tracks. And then he disappeared.

The Railroad Crossing

Railroads have been part of Princeton for generations, running directly through the small Johnston County town.

According to an account that has circulated, a woman was driving through downtown Princeton with her young child when her vehicle stalled directly on the railroad tracks.

She tried to get the car moving. It would not start.

With a baby inside the vehicle and a train approaching, the situation quickly became frightening.

Then a young man appeared.

The Stranger

According to the story, the man walked up to the stranded vehicle and began helping. He did not say anything.

Together, they pushed the car away from the railroad tracks and out of danger.

Once the vehicle was clear, the woman turned her attention away for only a short time.

When she looked back, the young man was gone.

There was no goodbye. No explanation. He had simply disappeared.

The woman reportedly looked around for him but could not find anyone nearby.

Who Was He?

According to the tale, the woman later began asking questions about what had happened at the crossing.

She reportedly learned of a story that a young man matching his description had once been killed at the same downtown Princeton railroad crossing.

That part of the story has never been independently confirmed.

But for those who have repeated the Princeton tale, the coincidence became the most chilling part.

Had a stranger simply happened to be nearby at exactly the right moment?

Had he walked away before the woman noticed?

Or had someone who once lost his life there returned to make sure another life was spared?

The story offers no answer.

Only the account of a woman whose car stopped on the tracks, a silent stranger who appeared when she needed help and his unexplained disappearance after the vehicle was safely out of the way.

The Tracks Through Princeton

During the day, the railroad crossing through downtown Princeton is an ordinary part of town.

Cars pass over it. Trains move through. Residents go about their daily routines.

But railroad tracks have always carried their own collection of stories.

Accidents. Close calls. People who never made it across.

And sometimes, stories about those who supposedly came back.

Perhaps there was nothing supernatural about what happened that day.

Perhaps the man simply walked away.

But according to the old Princeton tale, a mother and her baby were once stranded on the railroad tracks and a stranger appeared when they needed him most.

He helped push their car to safety.

And when the woman looked for the man who had helped them, there was no one there.

The series continues Wednesday with tales of unexplained sounds and sightings at Bentonville Battlefield.