In this Jan. 26, 1983, photo, smoke rises from the ground in Centralia, Pa., where an uncontrolled underground mine fire was burning. The attorney for the few remaining residents of the central Pennsylvania coal town that was decimated by a 50-year-old mine fire said on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2013, that they have settled their lawsuit against state officials who have been trying for years to evict them. The settlement allows eight Centralia residents to stay in their homes for as long as they live and it also includes a cash payout.
In this April 1981 photo, U.S. Bureau of Mines’ John Stockalis (right), and Dan Lewis drop a thermometer through a hole on Main Street in Centralia, Pa., to measure the heat from a shaft mine blaze that burns under the town. In 1962, a fire at the town dump spread to a network of coal mines underneath hundreds of homes and business in the northeastern Pennsylvania borough of Centralia, eventually forcing the demolition of nearly every building.
Twelve-year-old Todd Domboski of Centralia, Pa., looks over a police barricade at the hole he fell through just hours before photo was taken on Feb. 14, 1981 in Centralia. The hole was caused by a mine fire that’s been burning since 1962.
In this Jan. 26, 1983, photo, smoke rises from the ground in Centralia, Pa., where an uncontrolled underground mine fire was burning. The attorney for the few remaining residents of the central Pennsylvania coal town that was decimated by a 50-year-old mine fire said on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2013, that they have settled their lawsuit against state officials who have been trying for years to evict them. The settlement allows eight Centralia residents to stay in their homes for as long as they live and it also includes a cash payout.
Rusty Kennedy | AP file photo
In this April 1981 photo, U.S. Bureau of Mines’ John Stockalis (right), and Dan Lewis drop a thermometer through a hole on Main Street in Centralia, Pa., to measure the heat from a shaft mine blaze that burns under the town. In 1962, a fire at the town dump spread to a network of coal mines underneath hundreds of homes and business in the northeastern Pennsylvania borough of Centralia, eventually forcing the demolition of nearly every building.
Paul Vathis | AP file photo
Twelve-year-old Todd Domboski of Centralia, Pa., looks over a police barricade at the hole he fell through just hours before photo was taken on Feb. 14, 1981 in Centralia. The hole was caused by a mine fire that’s been burning since 1962.
AP file photo
A painted, wooden heart with the words “To Centralia with Love from Kingston N.Y.” stands in an open lot in Centralia, Pa., on Jan. 13, 2010.
Out of all the ghost stories, paranormal events and abnormal oddities in history, this story stuck out differently toward most audiences. This story doesn’t necessarily contain the same atmosphere the other stories have that I’ve written about.
This is more of a small town tragedy that just happened to strike in the middle of Pennsylvania back in 1962. It managed to remain one of the weirdest and most peculiar stories, and it became a franchise that most people know as “Silent Hill.” Before we introduce the idea of the franchise, let me inform you about the history of Centralia, the town that’s still burning.
The small town of Centralia was founded back in 1749. According to civilwarghosts.com, the land was used for “coal deposits” and would later become mines that made the town itself. Later on after many colonists came and went bankrupt or empty-handed, the town was officially named Bull’s Head after the only local tavern. It was renamed Centreville and finally named Centralia in late 1865.
The first two mines were introduced in 1856 leading up to three more openings later on. With five mines, the town became a gold mine — no pun intended — and attracted more and more citizens in later decades. Things were going really great for Centralia until tragedy struck.
The man who ran the town, Alexander Rae, was found brutally murdered by a gang called the Molly Maguires.
“During the 1860s, the town was home to members of the Molly Maguires, a secret society that originated in Ireland and made its way to American coal mines along with Irish immigrants,” according to history.com. “In the late 1860s, the Molly Maguires are suspected to have committed a rash of violence within Centralia.”
Although these people supposedly caused issues with the town, things got severely worse around a century later in late May of 1962.
During that year, the town met at a council meeting in order to speak about the new landfill that was placed within Centralia for “illegal dumpings.” They all agreed on one thing, “burning out the landfill” according to allthatsinteresting.com. It began to work for a decent amount of time and once things were done burning, they put it out with water. No big deal, right?
Well, residents began to see more flames around a week later and firefighters were baffled on where the fire’s source originated from. With everyone confused on what to do, they found out that the flames had seeped into the mines and into septic lines causing more toxins to reach the air.
Despite all of their attempts, the town had become unsalvageable. The town was deemed as unsafe and people began to evacuate, creating a ghost town. People have tried to stay and some still do; however, it is a very dangerous decision. To this day, the fire underneath the town still burns and it is said that it will still burn for another few decades.
Once Centralia became more of a known phenomenon, a franchise was created from the eeriness of the town, which is one of the coolest franchises, in my opinion, known as “Silent Hill.” The fictional story is set in a small town in West Virginia and was loosely based upon the tragedy of Centralia. The video game includes more horror elements than the actual town, but uses sirens and fog to give more of an unsettling experience for viewers. The town has more ghosts and monsters than the actual town of Centralia, which has a weird amount of cemeteries, and is entirely fictional.
