People of all ages have gotten goose bumps from a familiar story: a driver, traveling down the road late at night, spots a hitchhiker who appears on the shoulder. The driver picks up the hitcher and the two have a pleasant conversation. However, when they get to the hitchhiker’s destination, he’s disappeared. It’s a classic ghost story with countless variations, and with nearly 4 million miles of road in the U.S., you’ve probably heard one specific to where you live.
When looking for a scary good time this October, consider taking a joyride down one of America’s spookiest streets. We’ve combed through ghost stories from around the country to present six of the most haunted roads to drive before Halloween.
1. Elbow Road in Virginia Beach, Virginia
Elbow Road, a five-mile road that connects the cities of Chesapeake and Virginia Beach, is one of Virginia’s scariest roads. There are dozens of wrecks on the curvy rural thoroughfare each year, so many that it was shut down for several months in 2016 to improve driving conditions. However, terrible crashes still happen even after upgrades, and many locals believe the road’s legendary hauntings are to blame.
Two ghosts are said to haunt drivers on Elbow Road. One is the ghost of a young girl who drowned in a nearby lake. According to legend, drivers who park along the road and sit on the hood of their car will see wet footprints appear, moving closer and closer to the vehicle.
The other ghost that bedevils Elbow Road is that of Mrs. Woble, a woman who lived in a house next to one of Elbow Road’s most dangerous curves. It’s said that she was reported missing by neighbors and when the police came to her home to investigate, they found a grisly murder scene – but no body. Motorists have reported seeing a ghostly woman, covered in blood, frantically searching for her home. Some believe that the cause of many of Elbow Road’s accidents is the jarring sight of Mrs. Woble.
2. Whiskey Hollow Road in Baldwinsville, New York
A short road that winds through dense forests near Syracuse is so scary that officials have moved to close it at night. The five-mile Whiskey Hollow Road, which connects County Route 272 with County Route 241 between the towns of Memphis and Baldwinsville, has been described by some locals as “severely haunted.” Ghost hunters flock to the road each year, hoping to catch sight of the apparitions that linger nearby.
The lore surrounding Whiskey Hollow Road is particularly grim. It’s said to have been a meeting place for both a chapter of the Ku Klux Klan and a violent group of Satan worshippers, both of whom carried out vicious racial and ritualistic killings in the woods that encompass the road. Many believe the ghosts of the groups’ victims wander the narrow lane at night, hoping to find peace. Some report having seen a bloody children’s blanket hanging from the trees, while others mention seeing spectral children approaching vehicles for help before disappearing.
3. Munger Road in Bartlett, Illinois
Chicagoland has its fair share of ghost stories, but one of its most notorious is the haunting of Munger Road. Running north-south between the villages of Wayne and Bartlett in the western suburbs, Munger Road is flanked by thick woods on one side and the wide expanse of a prairie field on the other. At one point, the road comes to a railroad crossing, which is the site of its pervasive mythology.
There are a few different versions of the legend of the Munger Road haunting, but they all revolve around an accident at the train crossing. The most well-known version of the tale is that a school bus full of children stalled on the tracks. The driver couldn’t get the bus to start and it was hit by an oncoming train, leaving no survivors. Locals say that ghosts of the children linger around that railroad crossing, and push off to safety any cars that are stuck on the tracks.
4. I-4 Dead Zone in Sanford, Florida
There’s a quarter mile of Interstate 4 in Sanford, Florida, that locals have nicknamed “The I-4 Dead Zone.” When the interstate – which spans 132 miles between Tampa and Daytona Beach – was being built, many tracts of land were sold to the state to allow for construction.
One such site, located just north of Orlando, was the former site of St. Joseph’s Catholic Colony. The colony had been occupied by German immigrants since the 1870s and was hit hard by a yellow fever outbreak in 1887. Survivors, who later fled the area, buried their dead in the woods at a gravesite now known as “The Field of the Dead.” Over the years, legend grew that anyone who tampered with this gravesite would face ghastly consequences – and tampering is exactly what the state did by paving over it.
Strange occurrences have happened around that stretch of highway ever since. On September 10, 1960, Hurricane Donna suddenly shifted course, heading straight for Sanford and nearly wiping the area off the map. Many truckers have reported that their CB radios malfunction and blast static as they traverse the I-4 Dead Zone. The stretch is known for a high number of car accidents, and other drivers report seeing mysterious lights or suddenly losing cell service.
5. L Road in Nebraska City, Nebraska
Amid the rolling hills an hour outside of Omaha and Lincoln is a mostly unpaved country road surrounded by farmland. Though it’s called L Road on maps, locals refer to the old path as Seven Sisters Road. According to local lore, seven sisters were murdered on a farm near the road in the early 1900s. The specifics of the tale change depending on who tells it, but the basics remain the same: a young man, either a farmer or brother to the seven sisters, snapped one night and murdered his whole family, hanging each from a tree.
Many who drive on Seven Sisters Road report seeing ghostly figures wandering the hills in the darkness, or hearing the murdered sisters screaming out. If you drive the road at night, you might notice electrical problems like your headlights flickering or your windows rolling up and down by themselves.
6. Kelley Road in Industry, Pennsylvania
In western Pennsylvania, just northwest of Pittsburgh near the Ohio border, lies a two-mile stretch of Kelley Road known as the “Mystery Mile.” There are lots of reports of paranormal activity happening on Kelley Road, including vehicle malfunctions, strange animal behavior, and the sounds of someone screaming for help. Locals say the road has a “bad aura.”
There are a few theories about how this negative vibe came to settle on the road. One such theory is that the local Indigenous population, driven out by white settlers, cursed the land. Another points to supposed satanic cults holding meetings in the surrounding woods, summoning evil spirits or demons. One of the most prevalent legends is that as a young couple took a carriage ride, something spooked their horse and the carriage was overturned, instantly killing both of them. Their ghosts call out for help to motorists who pass through.
Haunted Roads: Spooky Fun Behind the Wheel
The next time you’re looking for the thrill of a good old-fashioned fright, consider seeking out one of these haunted drives. Just remember to hold the steering wheel steady and keep your eyes on the road – no matter how scared you are.
