I’ve written about cryptids before, but this is a bit different. While it’s thought there’s a cryptid in the town, this is about the town itself.
Boston Township was a small town in Ohio, although now it’s better known as Helltown. While it used to be a settlement, all of the residents have since abandoned it. The buildings are a mix of early American and 20th century, giving the town a no doubt odd appearance. The truth about what happened to the residents is a lot less exciting than the rumors that float around. One states that the town was a hideaway for Satanists, while the other says that the town was forcibly abandoned due to a chemical spill nearby.
There’s a lot of myths and mystery surrounding the town. Theories surrounding the chemical spill go on to say that the spill caused mutations among the population and the local animals. The most famous of these mutations is the ‘Pennsylvania Python’, an enormous snake that is rumored to still be in the town today.
However, in actuality, most of what is rumored to be Satanic or haunted about Helltown can be easily explained. For instance, the upside down crosses on the church were a common Gothic style. The ghosts that everyone claims to see in the old school bus were actually a man and his family that lived there while their house was being renovated.
The hellish and creepy nature of the town was only furthered when the NPS acquired the Krejci Dump in 1985. This was the foundation of the chemical spill rumors. In regards to the python and the chemical spill, no actual proof of either has been found, but it hasn’t prevented people from celebrating Python Day anyway.
In 1974, President Gerald Ford approved a piece of legislation that allowed the government to come in and seize whatever land they saw fit for national parks. The town was forced out, but not before placing an epithet on a wall that read, ‘Now we know how the Indians felt.’
Legend has it, there was also a ‘ghost hearse’ that was known to chase cars driving along the roads. Randall Chilesworth, from Weird Ohio, has visited Helltown himself. He states that during visits, he has seen people dressed in all black peeking in his car windows at 2 am when he returns from walks in the town. Two churches still stand, but that’s roughly it for what’s left of Helltown. It was torn down by government officials, and while people can still drive down the famous “End of the World” road, there’s nothing left to see in Helltown, Ohio.
Jeri Hensley
Reporter