From freight to fright: Monroe County local runs railroad museum, haunted house

What was once an abandoned Monon train station on the verge of demolition is now John Baker’s brainchild, better known as Baker’s Junction.

Today, Baker’s Junction is a haunted railroad yard complete with a haunted museum and kiddie game room, a black light room, three adult haunted train cars and two outdoor mazes.

And lest we forget, there’s a key chain made from Baker’s severed finger, priced at $5,000.

While cutting a board overhead in the depot last year, Baker lost his balance.

“The saw jumped out and wiped (my finger) right off,” Baker said. “It was so mangled up they couldn’t sew it back on, so I just stuck it in my pocket and brought it home.”  

Baker has been trying to sell the mummified finger key chain to fund new roofs on the train cars.

Before it was taken off e-Bay on Tuesday, it had 25,000 views but no bids.

"If it’d pay for a roof, I’d cut off another one,” Baker said.

Baker’s Junction opened the first weekend in October with it’s annual charity night drawing a crowd of 500 customers. The haunted house is open Friday and Saturday nights during the month of October from 7-10 pm. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for kids.

In 1976, Baker was medically discharged from the Navy with bone cancer. Later, he discovered the century-old station near his home in Clear Creek.

With a grandfather who worked on a railroad and a grandmother who worked in a railroad boarding house, Baker said he couldn’t resist continuing the family tradition.

Baker spent the next 20 years transforming the station into an antique railroad shop.

Eventually, however, Monroe County officials and neighbors challenged the legality of his planning and zoning permits in 1995.

Baker auctioned his antiques to meet court costs and fight what he called the “commie P-and-Z pinheads.”

Losing money and patience, Baker decided to renovate the museum into a haunted house.

Despite hardship, Baker remains in high spirits about a shift in his business agenda.

“I’ve never made a lot of money,” Baker said. “It costs a whole lot more than I’ll ever make. But I just like to do it. It’s a way of life I’ve set up.”

Family friend and longtime employee James Lane said there is a strategy and tactful technique to working behind the scenes.

He credited his grandfather’s advice in his ability to frighten customers.

“My grandpa always told me to walk on my toes when we’d go hunting. I like to creep up on customers — especially those who whine,” Lane said.

Lane works year-round to tune up and modify the haunted railroad.

“People like change to keep it new, but they also like to come back year after year and know what to expect” he said.

Though the haunted house changes from year to year, one thing remains the same — John Baker’s one unrelenting fear.

“The only thing that scares me is Planning and Zoning,” he said.