The Legend of the Green Man Haunts Beaver County, Pennsylvania

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The story of the Green Man sounds very familiar in the creepy world of traditional boogieman. It’s the bizarre story of a local utility man who had an accident while working on some electrical lines. Some say that he was killed only to return from the dead, others say he lived and hid in a boarded up house by day only to surface at night.

Green Man's Tunnel
Green Man’s Tunnel

The consistent piece of the tale is Green Man’s description: a man whose face was melted off and with skin turned green from the extreme electric shock. Locals would say he could be seen lurking in the bushes along suburban streets. In Western Pennsylvania’s South Park Township, Piney Fork Tunnel was abandoned in 1962 and was later nicknamed Green Man Tunnel after teenagers would drive into the tunnel, turn off their car, and call out to the ghost of Green Man. Other stories state that if Green Man were to touch your car, he could shock the car and stall the engine.

It’s all the stuff of local urban legends that has for years scared kids in the region. Except in this case, the story is true.  Well, most of it.

In reality, Green Man was actually a local resident name Raymond Robinson. Born in 1910, Raymond grew up just northwest of Pittsburgh in Beaver County. When he was eight, he and his friends were crossing the Morado Bridge and noticed a bird’s nest on one of the support beams for the trolley that ran along the bridge. Raymond scaled the support beams to get a better view of the nest and accidentally made contact with the trolley electrical lines and was blown from the bridge. His face was severely disfigured and scarred from the accident and doctors didn’t expect him to live. In the end, he survived but lost both eyes, his nose, an ear and one arm.

rrobinsonm

Raymond lived with relatives and was fairly active: some say he learned to work with leather in order to make wallets and belts to sell while others claim he even mowed the lawn. At night, he would take walks, feeling his way along with a stick, and this is where the legend was born.  Rumors of the mysterious night hiker began to spread and in a sense, he became a local tourist attraction. Groups of locals would gather and search for him on his walks in hopes of a glimpse of the faceless man. Generally, Raymond tried to avoid the attention, sometimes even resorting to hiding in bushes, but other times he would stop for brief conversation and even an occasional picture in exchange for a cigarette or a beer.

Ray_Robinson_2

In his years of walking, Raymond was struck by a car multiple times and suffered at the cruelty of some occasional hecklers, but most of his nightly visitors were friendly so he continued walking until he was no longer able to do so later in life. He spent the last few years of his life in an assisted living home and passed away at the age of 74 in 1985. Raymond was a kind, gentle man in life, and his story lives on as the man behind a (mostly) true urban legend.

Ray Robinson
Ray Robinson
Story contributions courtesy of Wackulus.com.

About Post Author

Devon Lee Cane

I'm a man with a keen interest in the world, and writing for MadMike'sAmerica allows me to express those interests.
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8 years ago

Anyone who’s studied medieval architecture or Celtic mythology recognizes the green face surrounded by vegetation used as architectural ornaments in cathedrals. He’s supposed to be a symbol of death and rebirth like Osiris of the Egyptians who is also shown as green.

I wonder if someone didn’t dub him the green man because of this.

What a sad story though.

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8 years ago

No doubt this story is feeding ” dare you to go in the cave” challenges and other high school pranks.

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