The Tamarack Swamp is located near Corry in Warren County on its PA side and stretches north to Clymer, New York. It was originally a logging and gas drilling area; now it seems to mostly be the home of high school keggers, frackers searching for gas that the original drillers left behind, and insect-chomping plants. But it's also the origin of the legend of George. Here's the story...
There's a ribbon of a trail that winds through the swamp. One day two school buses tried to pass one another in opposite directions. The road was too narrow, and the vehicles bumped and splashed into the Tamarack. According to local lore, several-to-many of the kiddies lost their lives.
After the accident, one the drivers - yep, George - returned to the scene of the fatal wreck, and filled with remorse, hanged himself off one of the three bridges that spanned the lane.
Legend has it that if you drive over the northernmost bridge and chant "GEORGE, GEORGE, GEORGE," you'll hear thrashing under the bridge from the driver's tormented spirit. It's also claimed that you'll hear the voices of small children out in the swamp and your car will be covered with their little handprints. To make the adventure even dicier, cars are said to stall on the bridge, making them easy prey for George.
A popular game among the area youth is to dare one other to get out of the car, run down the dark road, and make it back to the car before George tears them to pieces. In fact, the footrace with George is pretty much the only game in town now. The state closed the trail to vehicles, making it accessible only to foot traffic like hikers and swamp scientists.
Some people reported that the rusting hulks of the buses still remain, but what they saw are actually the remnants of a couple of old campers parked out in the swamp. There's also an unsubstantiated tale alleging that a small town once existed there, but sank in the swamp. That tale claimed that apparitions and the sounds of former residents float throughout the bog.
One of our visitors, Morgana, who grew up in the area, provided us with the basis for George's story. "I did hear the tale and lore of a school bus that wrecked on the bridge leading into the swamp from the Clymer side near Catflish Lumber Company. The driver, as the story goes, was found hanging from the bridge.
She added more logs to the fire, too, writing that "...I recall as a child hearing the stories of the reddish orange glowing apparition that held his head in his hand. I also heard the tale that the water under the second (and now collapsed) bridge didn't have a bottom and if you stared at it long enough you'd fall in," and H&H would assume resurface floating in the China Sea.
Another thing that remains unexplained is the UFO sightings reported by swamp visitors. The Tamarack appears to be an intergalactic tourist trap, too.
So if you're around the state parkland, stop by and see if George is under his bridge or if a UFO is hovering. Maybe a headless orange blob will come callin', or you'll be lured by the depths of the swamp. And hey, if not, maybe you'll at least get to see a swamp mosquito or two become a snack for the Tamarack flora.
4 comments:
Are there two Tamarak swamps in Pa. because the one I remember running around as a teenager is in Warren county with the same George story LOL
Joker - thanks, you're right. There are two Tamarack swamps in the northern tier, oddly enough. I had it right on the web site but screwed it up making the transition to the blog. I thought it was a major water feature, but after checking a little more deeply, that's not so; they are separate. Thanks for the correction; I updated the story.
Hi Ron!
I came upon your blog here while I was doing some research for a writing project I am working on. I enjoyed reading your account here about Tamarack Swamp. The one you are referring to, is that the one located outside of Clymer, NY and Columbus, PA? I grew up living on the fringes of a Tamarack Swamp, the one in the backroads near Clymer, NY. My family owned the farm at the end of Allen Road. The Tamarack Swamp you mention in your story sounds like the one near where I once lived. It was a spooky place. There were three bridges. I haven't been back there in nearly thirty years. My brother went recently for a visit and mentioned that the second bridge fell in and the road was closed.
It was a perfect place, the fodder for spooky tales to be spawned. Nobody lived around there at all, it was desolate for miles and miles. I recall as a child hearing the stories of the reddish orange glowing apparition that held his head in his hand. And, "By Gum" it had to be true because the neighbor boy who trapped the swamp in the middle of the winter saw it! Alas, I never did. I also heard the tale that the water under the second bridge didn't have a bottom and if you stared at it long enough you'd fall in. Well....as a child I spent many a day in the summer sitting on its banks, staring into the water, fishing and I didn't fall in, lots of bullhead though.
As for the story of the school buses and George. I bet George morphed from the reddish glowing ghost holding his head to the ghostly figure you speak of! Thats a new one because I hadn't heard that tale growing up and chanting, "George" three times. I did hear as a child the tale and lore about a school bus that wrecked on the bridge leading into the swamp from the Clymer, NY side, near Catflish Lumber Company. The driver, as the story goes, was found hanging from the bridge. I never did see any ghostly children running about the swamp nor hear their voices. The only buses I recall were two old rusted relics from the late 1950's used for camps.
Back in the 60's and 70's it was a different world there from today. One could drive over those three bridges and get the entire experience of the swamp. I never dared ride my bike or horse alone past the third bridge. There were lots of creepy slithery critters, blood sucking skitters, and weird people who would drive through. All of this lending to the lore and ghostly ambiance of the swamp. George and the story about the handprints on the windshield was spun after I grew up and moved away, as is the story about the UFO. I enjoyed reading your account and experience. it's nice to know that the lore and legends are still alive. And, who knows, maybe George does come o0ut every now and again and when the wind blows maybe the voices of those children whisper through the trees.
Morgana - great post; I was tempted to cut and paste it to replace mine. Though I did resist that temptation, ego being what it is, lol, I did add your lore to the post. Thanks!
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