In mid-August of 1887, 29-year-old John Bensonhafer loaded his wagon with twenty bushels of wheat to deliver to the local mill in Logan, Ohio. He brought along his new wife, 19-year-old Clara. The newlyweds had been married just a little shy of six months. Once settled into the wagon, the two traveled along what is now a part of State Route 93 but was then called Scotts Creek Road. At about 10:25 in the morning, they passed the ford along Scott’s Creek and headed a little farther down past a layer of stones called “The Falls” along the left side of the road.
A man following in a carriage had watched the couple pass the ford as he continued onward just a short way. Then, suddenly, he heard a raucous clatter and the scream of horses that forced him to turn his carriage around. To his utter horror, he found the team of horses pulling the Bensonhafer wagon struggling hard in a deep pool of water. John and Clara were nowhere to be seen. However, a hat and basket were floating near the surface, with tiny bubbles gurgling up from below. John’s jacket was near the bank. For some reason, the wagon had been turned along a deep section of water that local legend maintained was a nearly bottomless passage beneath the falls. The young man driving the wagon most likely had no clue about a twelve-foot drop. He had innocently urged his horses forward, and they plunged downward, along with the wagon laden with wheat. Clara and John were pitched forward and tossed like ragdolls into the water.
The young couple and their team of horses were pulled too late from the water. The corpses of Clara and John were laid on the bank awaiting the coroner. It was not long before throngs came to see the dead couple lying there in a state that described them as seeming to appear as if they had fallen asleep on the bank, complete with the color still upon their cheeks.
Both were buried in nearby Ewing. The newspapers would deem the tragedy the “Awful Calamity” at Scotts Creek. Residents would talk about the couple’s sad demise for years. Then, that news faded away. But the Bensonhafers do not rest. On some nights, you can hear the grind of wagon wheels along State Route 93, followed by the muffled and content chatter of the young couple as their ghostly wagon slips toward the bank near the falls. Then, there are the screams of horses as the phantom team descends into the murky, deep depths of Scotts Creek and disappears into the nothingness below.
You can watch it on my YouTube channel LoneGhostWriter: https://youtu.be/mI6H_uLsKC8
