Road Trip Horror: Back Roads Legends

Along the backroads of America, there are lots of odd, quirky spots. If you're planning a road trip based on creepy things, there's nothing better than unexplained legends.

Hitchhiking Ghosts

Legends go back to the 1930s that Resurrection Cemetery in Chicago has a ghost hitchhiker nicknamed "Resurrection Mary."  Supposedly this woman dressed in a party dress has been picked up by drivers and driven to the cemetery where she disappeared. It's believed she might be an occupant of the cemetery who died when going to a dance. Now and then, someone reports seeing her again.

Spooklights

 

 

Hornet Spooklight between Missouri and Oklahoma is one of many well-known natural light phenomena like Marfa, Texas and Brown Mountain, North Carolina.  Although no one is certain what these lights are, they seem to be something that remains in that location and reported for centuries, which makes it seem possibly land related, geology, or some phenomena that is of nature.

Gravity Hills

 

There are many gravity hills across the country. These locations are said to defy gravity. What looks like an uphill can make a car roll as if it's downhill. This optical illusion has fascinated people all over the world.  Salt Lake City, Oregon, and California are just some places that tout this phenomena.  Here's a sample of the legend from California, "here is a "Gravity Hill" in Moorpark. The story goes that a group of kids were on a school bus going on a field trip when the bus suddenly broke down.  Some of the kids decided to get out and push the bus up the hill but when they did it rolled back and crushed them killing them instantly.  Now when you park your car there supposedly the kids push you up the hill."

 

Roads to Nowhere

Whiskey Hollow Road is an example of such a creepy place, a road in New York near Baldwinsville. This dark tree-lined road is not lined by industry, just a kind of short cut. But, it has a lot of legends associated with it from KKK meetings to satanists.  Supposedly the child victims of sacrifice haunt the roadway.  They are seen wandering aimlessly.  

To look up local legends in your state and see what you might want to pursue on a road trip, check these two sources, Shadowlands and WeirdUS. In fact, you should buy a copy of Weird US or Weird Alabama (or whatever state you live in).