by April Helms

Special Products Editor

It was a dark and stormy night...

Well, actually, it was in the middle of the day. And the sun was shining, an uncommon site in Northeast Ohio in the middle of March. But the bare, skeletal branches and slight chill in the air at least added some atmosphere for "Train Wrecks, Shipwrecks and Spooky Tales," offered through the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad on March 21.

I went with my best friend, my li'l sis and another friend that day, boarding from the Akron station. We settled into our car for the three-hour trip. On the way up, volunteers and staff from the Cuyahoga Valley National Parks entertained with ghost stories, most of them set locally and most having to do with transportation of sorts. Such as the Great Lakes sailor who, after his ship sinks, finds himself rescued by a ghost ship. Or of a young train engineer who is forced to race against a ghost train. Or the man who finds a wealthy survivor of a shipwreck, and decides to steal his money -- with haunting results.

"Ghost stories are kind of like history stories with ghosts," said Ranger Pam Machuga to those on the train. "What more fun way to learn history than through ghost stories?"

As a fan of local ghost stories, as well as disaster stories, who am I to argue with that logic?

For details on other train excursions, call 800-468-4070, or visit www.cvsr.com.

For more information about the national park, visit www.nps.gov/cuva/ or www.dayinthevalley.com/ or call 330-657-2752 or 800-445-9667.

E-mail: ahelms@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3153