Ohio's Hidden Tunnel Is An Urban Playground With Graffiti, Ghosts, And Daredevil Legends

Sometimes, it's the most innocuous or mundane that hides the most sinister, which locals of Columbus, Ohio, can tell you firsthand. Sure, the state's capital may be home to the German Village, one of America's most idyllic neighborhoods, but it's also where you'll find the "Gates of Hell," located in a drainage tunnel just behind a Tim Hortons in the suburb of Clintonville.

Also commonly known as the "Blood Bowl," this graffiti-filled tunnel has long charged the imaginations of folks looking for a bit of dark fun. This 1920s-built drain is surrounded by trees and deep ravines that make it feel like another world, which perhaps is what inspired the rumors of it being a portal to hell to begin with. Legend has it that in the tunnel, there's the ghost of a skateboarder who died while attempting to skate the nearly pitch-black drain (thus the name, "Blood Bowl"). Others say the name came from many skateboarders who attempted to tackle the Bowl in the dark and failed.

The lure of the drainage tunnel has brought in teens, witches, and urban explorers, all drawn to the location for their own reasons. The graffiti lining the tunnel is bright, complex, and oftentimes, straight-up creepy. While all this may not be enough to warrant the Gates of Hell a place on the most horrifying ghost tours in America, it's still enough to make it the perfect destination for anyone looking for a spooky or off-the-beaten-path experience of Columbus.

The stories surrounding the Blood Bowl are almost as numerous as the graffiti tags. The most prevalent tale is that one skateboarder attempted to skate the whole tunnel in the dark, but he never made it to the other side. Instead, he was found in the middle with his skull crushed, and folks say that his ghost now haunts the drain, still looking for a way out. 

Wally Carl, owner of Old Skool Skate Shop in Westerville (a 20-minute drive from the tunnel), repeated a version of this urban legend. Carl used to skate the drain in the '80s and told Columbus Monthly that "A kid was dropping in from the top and busted his head open in there and died. It was haunted by the kid who died." The name "Gates of Hell" came later, perhaps in reference to the trash racks and the creepy metal cage at the entrance that blocks large debris from entering the drain.

Unlike Ohio's other unique abandoned sites, like the Bridge to Nowhere, the Blood Bowl isn't exactly abandoned, since it's still a functioning drain. Perhaps because of this, it is technically off-limits to the public, but that hasn't stopped people from venturing in. Just be sure not to go after or during heavy rain, as the otherwise dry drain will fill up with water.