They've been called urban legends, ghost stories, creepy
encounters. But they all have one thing
in common—unexplained happenings on dark roads in the dead of night. If you'll pardon the use of the word dead.
Or maybe it's more appropriate than you realize. :)
Since October is the month of things that go bump in the
night as well as Halloween, it's the perfect time of year to explore these
creepy lanes and the unexplained happenings.
Here's a sampling of some of these haunted highways and byways.
Shades of Death Road
in Warren Co., NJ: Yes, Shades of Death Road is the real name of
the street, but no one is sure exactly how the name came about. Over the decades many murders have happened
along this stretch of road, each its own ghastly tale, which certainly explains
why so many different ghosts haunt the area.
The San Antonio Ghost
Track: If you put your car in
neutral on the tracks, the car will move by itself off the tracks. And if you cover the bumper in baby power,
you'll find child-sized palm prints.
However, be careful if you decide to try it out. There have been reports of bandits waiting in
hiding for people to start their paranormal test.
The Georgia Ghost
Roads: Travelers late at night along
Railroad Bed Road and Old Ghost Road (Robertson Road) see a faint orange light
flashing in the distance. As they drive
closer to it, a man will appear who is digging a ditch…or perhaps a grave. He turns and walks toward the car, but
disappears before he gets there.
Buckout Road in
Harrison, NY: The shocking murders
committed by Issac Buckhout are believed responsible for the area's many
reports of notorious activities such as farms burning, vandalism in a local
historic cemetery, and people who claimed to have been attacked by flesh-eating
monsters because they parked in front of a specific red house and honked their
car horn three times.
Meshack Road in
Tompinsville, KY: This is supposedly
the original location of the oft repeated story of the young woman in the prom
dress who is walking along the road and given a ride by a young man. He gives her his coat to keep warm. The next day he returns to the house where he
took her in order to retrieve his coat.
The woman living there told him her daughter had died several years
ago…on prom night.
Milford Road in
Oxford, Ohio: The story of
star-crossed lovers. The boy and girl
were in love but the girl's father hated the boy. The boy would flash his motorcycle headlight
three times and if he saw her porch light flash three times in return he knew it
was safe to go there. One night he's
killed on the road, but the flashing lights continue to haunt the area.
Mona Lisa Drive in
New Orleans: A philanthropist
donated a collection of statuary to the city with one stipulation. The statue commissioned to commemorate the
death of his only daughter, Mona, be placed in a special location in the park
by itself. One night a car chase ended
with a car crashing into the statue and shattering it. After that, rumors began to circulate that
Mona lurked in the park where the statue had been, haunting innocent and
unsuspecting visitors.
Archer Road in
Justice, IL: Resurrection Cemetery
is the site of a story similar to the Meshack Road haunting. A young man met a pretty blond at a
dance. At the end of the evening, he
drove her home. When they reached the
cemetery, she asked him to stop. She got
out of the car, walked toward the gate, and disappeared. He went to the house where she said she lived
and the woman told him her daughter had been dead for five years.
Spook Hill in
Burkittsville, MD: In addition to
the ghostly reputation courtesy of the 1990s horror movie, The Blair Witch
Project, an unexplained recurring happening here is similar to the Railroad
Crossing in San Antonio. When driving up
Spook Hill, if you stop and put the car in neutral it won't roll back
downhill. It will continue uphill as if
being pushed. The local ghostly tale
claims it's Civil War soldiers who think they're pushing one of their cannons
up the hill.
Do you have any ghostly tales or spooky happenings where you
live?
