Ohio Urban Legends

Hell Town

The area known as Hell Town today was once known as Boston Mills, before the town was bought out by the US government to make way for Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

The once thriving town eventually turned into a ghost town. Today, some people claim that the government actually closed the town after some sort of chemical accident that caused the citizens to mutate—and some people claim to have actually seen disfigured, mutated people still hiding in the area.

Legend has it there is also a decaying church with an upside down cross within the abandoned town that was once (and possibly sill) used for satanic worship.

The sentiment among citizens who had no choice but to leave their homes was expressed in a message scribbled on the wall of one of the houses: "Now we know how the Indians felt." The empty homes were boarded up and adorned with U.S. "No Trespassing" signs. The government quickly fell behind on its plan to create the park and the village sat neglected. The remaining buildings, remnants of a "vanished" town, have created a fertile soil for the innumerable urban legends that have popped up over the years.

The hellish aura of the area only continued to grow when the NPS acquired Krejci Dump in 1985. Rangers visiting the site became ill and covered in rashes. It was soon discovered the dump was highly polluted with toxic chemicals improperly disposed of. The dump became a Superfund site and as of 2015 the NPS is wrapping up restoration of the area.

There are a number of myths surrounding the vacant properties but some have been a bit more durable than others. There is the Presbyterian church which is said to have been built by Satanists complete with upside down crosses. The abandoned bus is said to be host to lingering ghosts and, maybe most outlandish of all, there is talk of mutants who were created by the Krejci Dump spill, including a monstrous snake known as the "Peninsula Python."