History & local legend
Axe Murder Hollow is a longstanding Erie-area legend associated with the woods along Thomas Road, south of Sterrettania Road near the Millcreek–McKean township line. Its reputation was already established in 1945, when a newspaper reported that the Harbor Creek High School football team had ventured into the woods and fled after seeing flashes of light and hearing wild laughter.
One version preserved in the James T. Callow Folklore Archive was learned in 1972. A young couple runs out of gas on a lonely road. The boyfriend leaves for a service station and tells the girl to lock the car. While waiting, she hears scratching on the roof but stays inside until morning.
Police eventually lead her away and tell her not to look back. She turns and sees her boyfriend hanging upside down above the car, his hands brushing its roof.
