America's 25 Strangest and Most Haunted Roads
Apr 30, 2023 15:57:10 GMT -5
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Post by Graveyardbride on Apr 30, 2023 15:57:10 GMT -5
America’s 25 Strangest and Most Haunted Roads
The United States is full of “haunted” and “cursed” roads with intriguing backstories. While many of the tales of tragedies and dastardly deeds are based on actual events, others have been invented by thrill-seeking teenagers from a time when young people were much more imaginative than they are today. The following list is by no means comprehensive, and those mysterious roads in which the haunting falls solely within the “haunted bridge” category are omitted because to include them would be prohibitive.
Annie’s Road (Totowa, New Jersey). According to the legend, some years ago, a young woman was killed in a motor vehicle accident on Riverview Road near the gates of Laurel Grove Cemetery (above). Ever since, the lady’s spirit, now known as “Annie,” is occasionally seen on the side of the highway near the spot where she died, and if anyone attempts to follow her, she, much like Chicago’s Resurrection Mary, strolls into the cemetery and disappears. This story figured prominently in the February 1992 “Hail Mary Murder,” wherein 17-year-old Robert Solimine Jr. was strangled to death by James Wanger, also 17, in a plot hatched by Wanger and three other teens.
Boy Scout Lane (Stevens Point, Wisconsin). There’s more than one version of the story about this road off West River Drive, but the most popular version has it that back in the 1950s, a group of Boy Scouts hiked to this heavily wooded spot for a camp-out. At some point in the night, while the boys were sleeping contentedly in their tents beneath the trees, their troop leader, for reasons unknown, stealthily entered each tent and killed them all, one-by-one. Some traveling this dead-end stretch of road during the night claim the murdered boys still haunt the area and appear at random, often covered in blood from their wounds. The location where the mass murder allegedly occurred is now privately owned and trespassing is discouraged.
Clinton Road (West Milford, New Jersey). On this lonely, roughly 10-mile highway beginning at Route 23 near Newfoundland, N.J., there are reports of phantom headlights that appear out of nowhere and closely follow drivers. Additionally, at a bridge near Dead Man’s Curve, people say if one tosses a coin into the water, the pitiful spirit of a drowned boy will toss it back. However, the scariest location is the spot where an old house known as Cross Castle once stood: according to local tales, those who trespass have been chased by Satanists, modern-day Druids and others who utilize the site for their dark and mysterious rituals.
Cossart Road (Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania). Those who have seen the 2004 movie The Village are at least peripherally familiar with the area around Cossart Road, aka Devil’s Road. It was because of the weird legends associated with the area that M. Night Shymalan chose it as the setting for his film about a reclusive group of people who are afraid to leave the confinement of their settlement because of “Those we don’t speak of,” i.e., the dangerous creatures in the forest. A little more than two miles in length, the road is undeniably spooky, particularly at night, and in places, the crooked trees on either side seem to be bending away from the narrow, winding byway. According to legend, the ruins of an old, abandoned mansion built in the nearby woods by the DuPont family were later taken over by a Satanic cult. Known for years as the “Cult house,” those who attempt to locate the place are chased by “something demonic.”
Dead Man’s Curve (Clermont County, Ohio). Located in Bantam, where Route 222 meets Route 125, many have lost control of their vehicles on this curve, and before the advent of the automobile, horse-drawn conveyances sometimes overturned as drivers attempted to guide their animals along this difficult bend in the road. Accordingly, in 1968, when the highway was widened, the curve was straightened ... to some extent. Unfortunately, around a month later, five teens in a Chevrolet Impala collided with a driver operating a green Roadrunner traveling at an estimated 100 miles-per-hour. It was following this crash that people began reporting two phantom cars in the area, one of which appears to be a vintage Chevy Impala. Other apparitions include a “faceless hitchhiker,” also a result of the 1968 accident, and a horse-drawn carriage, believed to be the manifestation of a long-ago mishap.
Devil Worshiper Road (Shubuta and Waynesboro, Mississippi). The narrow Waynesboro Shubuta Road winds its way through 18 miles of dense forest and farmland, and there are dark spots where the sun shines only in winter after all the deciduous trees have lost their foliage. At night, lone drivers can easily become spooked, particularly when a horned, satyr-like creature brandishing a pitchfork suddenly appears in their headlights. Legend has it that many years ago, a local farmer made a pact with the devil and when he died, Satan turned him into a seven-foot, cloven-hoofed demon destined to haunt the location where he practiced his worship of the Horned One until Judgment Day. Over the years, the story has attracted practitioners of the Dark Arts who gather in the woods just off the road and attempt to raise Old Scratch himself. People have reported seeing strange lights in the forest and finding peculiar burned areas, pentagrams and other evidence of ritualistic activity. There also have been reports of vehicles shaking and stalling for no apparent reason, and “something” leaving mysterious hand prints on windows. Many claim the entire 18-mile stretch of highway is haunted, others, however, insist the Goat Man is seen only on the section of highway north of Clear Creek Baptist Church because the devil cannot pass a holy structure.
The Devil’s Highway (New Mexico, Colorado and Utah). Originally designated Route 666 (above), the 193-mile road beginning in Gallup, New Mexico, was considered unlucky from the beginning because it bore the “Number of the Beast.” Some claimed there were many unexplained accidents along the God-forsaken stretch, and lone drivers sometimes reported encountering faceless hitchhikers, skinwalkers, hellhounds and other entities of the supernatural realm. Finally, in 2003, the highway was redesignated U.S. 491, but the name-change didn’t exorcize the alleged demonic activity, for there are still reports of strange things along the lonely road, and those who find themselves driving the former Route 666 at night risk being forced off the highway by a phantom black car.
The Devil’s Promenade (near Hornet, Missouri). Every evening, something very odd happens along a strip of East 50 Road, aka Spooklight Road, south of Hornet. The “Spooklight,” as it is called, is a basketball-size sphere seen through the trees long after the sun has completely set. It is usually green, but has been known to shift in color and size, and nobody knows what causes it. There have been spooklight sightings in the area since the 19th century, and according to legend, the mysterious luminescence is the spirit of two lovers searching for each other.
Extraterrestrial Highway (Nevada). State Route 375 begins approximately 65 miles north of Las Vegas at Crystal Springs, and runs 98 miles northwest to Warm Springs. Just south of 375 is Homey Airport or Groom Lake – better known as Area 51 – and the road passes through Rachel, home of the Little A’Le’Inn, a motel, restaurant and souvenir shop that capitalizes on the region’s UFO sightings. Those traveling Route 375 at night often witness mysterious lights and other aerial phenomena.
Ghost Road (Brooklet, Georgia). Railroad Bed Road, which, as its name suggests, is the site of a former railroad, is haunted by a ghost light, said to be the specter of a signalman who was decapitated when he was hit by a train. The man’s body was recovered, but for some reason, his head was never found, and to this day, his spirit has walked the location where it happened in search of his missing head. Robertson Road, a narrow, unpaved thoroughfare connecting Railroad Bed Road with Highway 80, is haunted by a digging ghost, the apparition of a man with a spade diligently digging for something at the side of the road. Some say he is digging his own grave, while others claim he is digging up a head, possibly that of the decapitated signalman. Railroad Bed Road has such a sinister reputation, it is featured in a documentary.
Haynesville Road (Aroostook County, Maine). This particular stretch of road, designated Route 2A, is so notorious there’s a song about it: “A Tombstone Every Mile,” released in 1965 by truck driver-turned-singer Dan Curliss. In addition to an inordinate number of accidents, the highway is the domain of a vanishing hitchhiker, who appears suddenly in the headlights of lone travelers or walks along the side of the road waiting for someone to give her a ride. Some say she is the wraith of a young woman involved in a crash one frigid night who froze to death before help arrived. A second apparition encountered on the Haynesville Road is that of a young girl hit and killed by a semi-truck. While there is no record of the lady who died of hypothermia, two 10-year-old Haynesville girls, Janet Marie Rouse and Melody Shorey, were killed when they were hit by a truck on August 22, 1967.
I-4 Dead Zone (Sanford, Florida). A section of Interstate 4 near Lake Monroe was constructed over a location known as the “Field of the Dead,” where victims of an 1887 yellow fever outbreak were buried. Truckers and others who frequently drive through the area have reported strange occurrences, including phantom voices coming over radios and cell phones inexplicably going dead. Some have even told of catching fleeting glimpses of human shapes on the side of the highway, which has a higher-than-average accident rate.
Jack Cole Road (Blount County, Alabama). According to legend, for well over a hundred years, there have been an unusually high number of deaths associated with this dark, unpaved dead-end road in the town of Hayden, just north of Birmingham. Although some of these individuals – such as those who succumbed to cholera around 1900 – did not actually die on the road itself, they were apparently transported to their final resting places along this route that cuts through thick woods. Also, at some point, hunters came across an old cabin wherein they discovered the mummified remains of a woman, whom some believed was a witch responsible for many of the bizarre incidents in the area. Then, in the 1960s, the body of a local farmer, the victim of an axe-wielding fiend, was found at the end of Jack Cole Road. Sometime later, a photographer taking photos in the region reported seeing “strange things” in the woods adjacent to the thoroughfare and shortly thereafter, he was found dead on or near Jack Cole Road.
But not all the strange things associated with the location occurred in the distant past. In 2015, the home of Lisa Weaver, a 52-year-old disabled woman who lived on Jack Cole Road, caught fire and when firemen arrived, they discovered the bodies of her three dogs in the rubble, but Mrs. Weaver’s corpse was nowhere to be found. The lady had spoken with her son, Michael Weaver, minutes before the fire, so there’s no doubt she was home when the conflagration started: eight years later, she is still listed as a missing person.
Many people traveling the road at night have reported seeing mysterious lights and human shapes darting about in the woods. Presumably, these phantoms are not of this world and, as such, cannot really harm anyone, but the same isn’t true of the half-Bigfoot, half-wolf creature that has terrorized some who find themselves on Jack Cole Road on nights of the full moon. Two men who allegedly encountered the beast late one moonlit night returned the following day and discovered clawed, five-toed tracks they estimated to be at least 18 inches in length.
Jeremy Swamp Road (Southbury, Connecticut). There’s a local tale that many years of inbreeding produced a race of humanoids with enormous heads atop puny bodies, commonly known as “Melon Heads.” These strange beings inhabit caves and tunnels in wooded areas, and live off nuts, berries and small animals, including pets. However, should the opportunity arise, they aren’t averse to feasting on a tasty teenager or two. Adults whose cars stall at night on Jeremy Swamp Road have little to worry about, but young people are in danger of being captured, killed and consumed by Melon Heads, for the nocturnal creatures seem to have an affinity for young, sweet meat. Unfortunately, those teens who think they’re safe by avoiding this specific road at night are deluding themselves, for Zion Hill Road in Milford, Saw Mill City Road in Shelton, Velvet Street in Trumbull, and various locations in Easton, Fairfield, Monroe, New Haven, Oxford, Stratford and Seymour have their own colonies of Melon Heads.
John’s Bayou Road (Vancleave, Mississippi). Several motor vehicle accidents have occurred in the same swampy location (above) on this road, with most survivors reporting a similar series of events. Drivers stop upon seeing what appears to be a great deal of blood on the road. After investigating the unusual sight and returning to their cars, headlights suddenly appear out of nowhere and a dark-colored van crashes into their stationary vehicles before disappearing in the darkness. Rumor has it that some years ago, a newly licensed teenager who came home with the front of his car bashed in swore his vehicle was hit by the dark van on John’s Bayou Road, but no one believed him.
Kelly Road (Ohioville, Pennsylvania). It is said that when animals scamper across the section of Kelly Road known as “Mystery Mile,” they become deranged. Additionally, the ghost of a pale boy in ragged clothing haunts the area, and people who have seen his apparition say the lad is surrounded by a bright, white aura-like light.
Mona Lisa Drive (New Orleans, Louisiana). Around the turn of the 20th century, a rich philanthropist donated money to establish a portion of what is now known as City Park in New Orleans on condition that it include a statue of his beloved daughter Mona, who had recently died. Unfortunately, the statue, which was reportedly located near Poppyseeds Fountain, was repeatedly vandalized by wild teenagers and eventually removed. Ever since, people walking or driving along what some call Mona Lisa Drive at night have occasionally seen – and heard – the moaning white wraith of the lovely Mona. Those foolish enough to stop their cars to await her appearance have found scratches on their vehicles the following day. In another version of the story, the daughter’s name was Lisa and because her ghost supposedly moaned, she came to be known as “Moaning Lisa,” which, through the years became “Mona Lisa.”
Ortega Ridge Road (Montecito, California). Those driving this section of road have reported seeing three nuns (aka Las Tres Hermanas) at the side of the highway. According to the legend, the nuns were attacked and killed by bandits many years ago, though why robbers would target nuns – who had taken vows of poverty and wouldn’t have been carrying anything of value – no one knows.
Owaissa Street (Appleton, Wisconsin). People driving or walking along the section of North Owaissa Street adjacent to Riverside Cemetery after dark sometimes encounter the apparitions of mourners in old-fashioned attire. Whether the phantoms in black are connected to the legend of Kate Blood, whose grave (above) has become a favorite tourist attraction, particularly with teenagers, is unknown. Because of her name and the fact her burial plot is situated a distance from others in the sprawling, heavily wooded cemetery, there are rumors the lady was either a malevolent witch or mad axe murderess. In fact, she was neither, just a young wife and mother who died of tuberculosis at the age of 23.
Prospector’s Road (Garden Valley, California). During the California Gold Rush, when thousands of weary men dug day and night in hopes of striking it rich, those who bragged about their finds were in danger of being murdered by unscrupulous miners. The phantom of one such victim is said to appear from the bushes on this narrow road, exclaiming in a harsh whisper, “Get off my claim!”
Sandhill Road (Las Vegas, Nevada). The whispers and moans of a couple who died in an underground tunnel are occasionally heard on South Sandhill Road near its intersection with East Olive Street. Additionally, there have been reports of the specter of an old woman who has been known to chase thrill-seekers.
Seven Sisters Road (Nebraska City, Nebraska). Officially known as L Road, the local name for this two-lane highway approximately five miles south of Nebraska City is Seven Sisters Road. Legend has it that in the early 1900s, a man who lived on a nearby farm with his parents and seven sisters got into an argument with other family members, and when the parents went visiting that evening, he somehow enticed, or forced, his sisters outside, one-by-one, and summarily hanged them from trees located atop several hills. Although the trees are gone and some of the hills have been leveled, on moonlit nights, people hear what sounds like the bloodcurdling cries of women in distress, cars inexplicably stall, and the ringing of phantom bells emanate from an old family graveyard. Those who have researched this legend believe the phenomena predates the story, which was likely fabricated to explain the strange activity.
Shades of Death Road (Allamuchy Township, New Jersey). Yes, the road sign actually reads “Shades of Death,” which is creepy enough, but what makes this road even more chilling by night aren’t the reports of thick fog and hangings that allegedly took place in the area, but rather the strange white light that appears just off the road at a place called Lenape Lane. It is said if the light turns red, the person watching it will die within the year.
Spook Road (Brandon, South Dakota). In the spring and summer, this approximately three-mile section of 264th Street containing five bridges – all of which cross Beaver Creek – can be inviting, but on dark nights after the trees have lost their leaves, it can be terrifying, particularly for those looking for ghosts. While no one is certain who or what haunts the location, some claim one crosses five bridges when driving east from Splitrock Boulevard (Route 11), but on the way back, there are only four. It is on the way back that thrill-seekers sometimes see the figure of a hanging man, either dangling from a tree to the side of the highway, or on the road itself. Those who claim to have seen the apparition say the face is bloated, the eyes bulging and the tongue is hanging out. One paranormal investigator who checked out Spook Road remarked, “Even though there is no documented history to support any of the claims of the road, is it possible that something is drawn to the area because people want it to be haunted? Remember that saying, ‘Be careful what you wish for because you just might get it.’”
Stagecoach Road (Marshall, Texas). For many years, stagecoaches rumbled along the red dirt thoroughfare (above), transporting passengers and goods to and from Shreveport, Louisiana, and Marshall, Texas, their iron-rimmed wheels cutting deeper into the clay with each trip. Today, the banks on either side are 10-feet high in some places and the overhead trees totally block the light. It is said that at one time, a Voodoo queen chased out of New Orleans took up residence in Marshall, where she sold potions and lucky gris-gris to locals and visitors and generally lived peacefully until her body was found on the side of Stagecoach Road. Even though it’s been well over a hundred years since the witch woman’s murder, people say that when the moon is full, her malevolent specter wanders the spooky old road muttering curses against the town and shaking shrunken heads at anyone she meets. A historical plaque marking Stagecoach Road is located at Pine Bluff Baptist Church, approximately 2½ miles south of the road itself.
Sources: Jim Collar, USA Today, October 28, 2015; Daniella DiRienzo, Only in Your State, August 31, 2022; Nick Kurczewski, The New York Daily News, May 23, 2014; Talia Lakritz, Insider, October 25, 2022; Robin Y. Richardson, The Longview News-Journal, February 22, 2018; Carol Robinson, Al.com, February 27, 2015; Mark Sceurman and Mark Moran, Weird NJ; Henry Stern, The Associated Press, September 22, 1993; Suzy Strutner, The Huffington Post, October 17, 2013; Frank Sulkowski, WJCL, October 26, 2022; Atlas Obscura; B102.7, September 22, 2022; Creepy Cincinnati, November 11, 2011; The Harrison County Historical Society; Haunted American Roads; The Historical Marker Database; Legends of America; The Marshall News-Messenger; The New England Historical Society; Only in Your State; Stephen F. Austin State University; The Texas Historical Commission; Travel&Leisure; Weird New Jersey, and Weird Pennsylvania.
