The Legend of Green Man’s Tunnel

Posted: 03.21.2025 | Updated: 03.21.2025

The Green Man is one of Pennsylvania’s most enduring and chilling urban legends. As the story goes, an electrical worker in South Park Township was involved in a grizzly accident that claimed his life. Since then, his spirit haunts the tunnel near where he died and terrorizes all who venture near the tunnel. 

There are many versions of the legend, and the facts behind the story are every bit as shocking as the fiction.

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What Is Behind The Legend of Green Man’s Tunnel?

As legend has it, an electrical worker was servicing power lines near Green Man’s Tunnel when a horrific accident occurred. The electrical worker was electrocuted so severely that his face melted off, and he died. In the 1960s, local teens started to see a ghostly figure with a green glow around him. They heard that if you honked your car horn three times, the Green Man would appear.

Most teens fled, but the unluckiest had their car touched by the Green Man. As a result, the car would stall or die completely. The Green Man was said to revel in the terror of local teens who continue to visit the haunted tunnel to this day.

History of Green Man’s Tunnel

Located about 10 miles south of Pittsburgh, Green Man’s Tunnel is located in South Park Township and was built in 1924. Originally named the Piney Fork Tunnel, it was constructed as a coal tunnel to help service the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Peters Creek Branch. 

The Piney Fork Tunnel was in operation until 1962 when the railroad abandoned it. It wasn’t long after that when reports started coming in about the Green Man traversing Piney Fork Road and making his way towards the derelict tunnel.

Today, Green Man’s Tunnel is largely inaccessible since it’s where South Park Township stores its annual supply of rock salt, which is used on the roads each winter. While road salt isn’t the creepiest thing you’ll ever see, there is a definite negative vibe around the tunnel. 

It’s shrouded in brush and covered with decades of graffiti. Symbols said to be used in satanic worship have been spray-painted outside the tunnel, along with the phrase, “As above, so below.” 

The overall feeling of Green Man’s Tunnel is that it’s a place likely to be haunted, but also one you wouldn’t go out of your way to visit.

Raymond Robinson

The origin of most urban legends is murky at best, but the legend of Green Man’s Tunnel has its basis in cold hard facts, making it all the more surreal. 

In 1918, a young boy named Raymond Robinson was playing by the power lines near where Piney Fork Tunnel would be constructed six years later. Little Raymond apparently lost his footing and fell into the powerlines, which sent 22,000 volts of electricity through his body. 

Unlike in the urban legend, this freak accident did not kill Raymond. However, it did melt his skin, resulting in him losing both of his eyes, his nose, one ear, and one arm. Raymond’s survival and recovery were considered a medical miracle by the standards of the early twentieth century.

Sadly, children have always been cruel, and they began calling Raymond “The Zombie” and “Charlie No-Face.” Eventually, Raymond retreated from public life and only went out for walks at night, which became the inception of the legend of Green Man’s Tunnel.

By the 1960s, local teens were telling their friends about a faceless ghost they saw walking near the tunnel. Some say he wore a green plaid shirt or some sort of reflective green clothing.

Those who dared to speak to the alleged ghost learned that he was Raymond Robinson. As many soon learned, Raymond was a kind and friendly person that society had shunned because of his appearance. 

Raymond became so famous in the area that he posed for photos, which he was typically paid for in the form of beer and cigarettes.

Raymond Robinson died in 1985, 67 years after the accident that by all accounts should have ended his life. Although Raymond’s name faded from public memory, the legend of Green Man’s Tunnel took on a life of its own.

The Hauntings of Green Man’s Tunnel

While it was revealed long ago that the Green Man wasn’t a ghost but a real person, that hasn’t put to rest claims that the Green Man Tunnel isn’t haunted. In fact, paranormal investigators have heard a tapping sound on the pavement outside the tunnel, which some believe is the ghost of Raymond Robinson using a cane on his nightly walks. 

There are also reports of a phantom locomotive blowing its horn in the middle of the night when there is no train in sight. Others have felt unexplained cold spots near the entrance of the tunnel and heard the disembodied moaning of a man.

Paranormal investigators have also recorded stunning EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena) evidence during investigations of Green Man’s Tunnel. One investigator recorded a ghost saying the name “Harris Brooks,” the phrase, “Good luck,” and the words “dead” and “kill.” 

The investigators believed that someone had been murdered in the tunnel years ago, and got the distinct impression that they were not welcome in the tunnel. This encounter relates to an unverifiable story that a man killed his entire family with an ax inside Green Man’s Tunnel.

Corvette Tunnel

Directly next to Green Man’s Tunnel is a one-lane tunnel called Corvette Tunnel. The story of Corvette Tunnel is yet another urban legend that some believe contributes to the paranormal phenomena surrounding Green Man’s Tunnel.

The story goes that two teens were racing their Corvettes along Piney Fork Road, which has countless twists and turns. As the teens approached the tunnel, there was only room for one of them to pass at a time. As the two raced to be the first through the tunnel, one succeeded while the other crashed into the concrete wall of the tunnel. 

While there is no historical evidence to backup the story about Corvette Tunnel, it seems permanently tied to the legend of the Green Man.

Haunted Pittsburgh

The legend of Green Man’s Tunnel makes for a great ghost story and also proves that fact is sometimes stranger than fiction. While many have forgotten who Raymond Robinson was, the ghostly tale he inspired will remain a part of Pennsylvania lore for many years to come.

Planning a trip to Pittsburgh and want to make it spooky? Learn about the city’s many ghosts and hauntings by booking a ghost tour with Pittsburgh Ghosts today! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, and keep reading our blog for more real Pennsylvania hauntings.

Sources:

• https://www.jahernandez.com/posts/pennsylvanias-green-man-raymond-robinson-charlie-no-face
• https://middleageschmo.wordpress.com/2016/05/10/the-haunting-at-green-man-tunnel/
• https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/green-man-western-pennsylvania-legend/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Od1_6Vygsro&t=952s