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Phantom Hitchhikers & Road Ghosts

DrPaulLee said:
Sean doesn't reply to any emails I send him. Word has it that he was so sick and tired of being harangued by his competitors that he turned his back on the whole field.
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That is a great shame, his standard of research was excellent. His Blue Bell Hill book is one of my favourite Fortean books.
 
IbisNibs said:
Whenever I hear of a time-slip involving people dressed in period clothing, I think "eccentric locals having a party." I used to know people who enjoyed dressing up for picnics, complete with wind-up phonographs and croquet sets.
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You make a fair point, however in many cases there is a high-strangeness to the incident that suggests it is paranormal. For example, Danny features a case in his 'Into The Uncanny' book of a group of bikers seeing a Victorian-era woman on a bicycle crossing the road in front of them. Eccentric woman on a bike, perhaps? But the bikers were on a relatively new road set in a cutting and the woman cycled across in mi-air and at the level of where the land used to be before the road was built.
 
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Robin said:
That UFO incident was actually on the Milverton-Wellington road, there's a hand-drawn map reproduced in one of the Haunted Skies books by one of the people who originally investigated it showing the exact location.

When you're coming from Milverton there's an 'S' bend (2 sharp corners) where the Langford Budville turning is. If you don't take that turning but carry on towards Wellington, it was just along there where the road straightens out. I suppose it's quite a way really from the A38 or the Beam Bridge bit.
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Found the original BUFORA Journal report on the Langford Budville UFO case and you are indeed correct:

Screenshot 2023-12-09 at 19.17.35.png





https://bufora.org.uk/documents/BUFORAJournalVolume8No.2Apr1979.pdf
 
Incidentally, the above abduction was fifty years ago and is now hopelessly anachronistic through modern eyes: a clanking meatal robot with "chain mail" between it's metal limbs and a craft with a panel of "levers, buttons and dials'. So no touch screen computers or poly carbonate on their planet?

Clearly, it wasn't extraterrestrial given it's 1970s sci-fi construction, but the woman was sincere and had apparently consulted her doctor and a psychiatrist before turning to Ufologists to explain her experience.
 
A cracking tale from Haunted Bedford by William H. King, p. 46.

Hammer Hill
Mr C. W. Taylor from Surrey was driving north-west along the A600; he had passed Deadman's Cross and was just approaching the top of Hammer Hill when he had a strange and frightening experience. Illuminated by his headlights, he could see what looked like a man walking in the same direction as he was travelling. He noted that the figure was wearing a long, dark coat which reached down to its feet and on the back of its head was what looked like a child's straw hat. As the area is a quiet rural one, Mr Taylor decided to stop and offer the man a lift - a decision he would later live to regret.

As he drew level with the figure he saw that it had no face and that the hat was perched in mid-air - as there was no head for it to sit on. Suddenly the figure gave out the most horrible of screams, which proved too much for Mr Taylor who fled in panic.Later he related his story to a clergyman, who told him that he had seen an elemental.

[...] [elementals] first appeared in the works of Paracelsus in the sixteenth century and are used by people working with natural magic who believe in nature spirits. They are very odd things for a member of the clergy to believe in.

I didn’t include the whole description of elementals, since it is rather besides the point, and only included that bit of all because the alleged witness was sufficiently disturbed to mention his encounter to a clergyman and I agreed with the author's opinion of a clergyman believing in elementals. This is a horrifying encounter, if true, but it fits in with road ghosts far more naturally than it does with "elementals".
 
Paul_Exeter said:
You make a fair point, however in many cases there is a high-strangeness to the incident that suggests it is paranormal. For example, Danny features a case in his 'Into The Uncanny' book of a group of bikers seeing a Victorian-era woman on a bicycle crossing the road in front of them. Eccentric woman on a bike, perhaps? But the bikers were on a relatively new road set in a cutting and the woman cycled across in mi-air and at the level of where the land used to be before the road was built.
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I do hope Techy and I will be seen happily cycling together in the Afterlife. :)
 
SimonBurchell said:
As he drew level with the figure he saw that it had no face and that the hat was perched in mid-air - as there was no head for it to sit on. Suddenly the figure gave out the most horrible of screams
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Arggghh!
After that, I think I'd be keeping company with the ghost in the afterlife! :eek:
 
SimonBurchell said:
A cracking tale from Haunted Bedford by William H. King, p. 46.

Hammer Hill
Mr C. W. Taylor from Surrey was driving north-west along the A600; he had passed Deadman's Cross and was just approaching the top of Hammer Hill when he had a strange and frightening experience. Illuminated by his headlights, he could see what looked like a man walking in the same direction as he was travelling. He noted that the figure was wearing a long, dark coat which reached down to its feet and on the back of its head was what looked like a child's straw hat. As the area is a quiet rural one, Mr Taylor decided to stop and offer the man a lift - a decision he would later live to regret.

As he drew level with the figure he saw that it had no face and that the hat was perched in mid-air - as there was no head for it to sit on. Suddenly the figure gave out the most horrible of screams, which proved too much for Mr Taylor who fled in panic.Later he related his story to a clergyman, who told him that he had seen an elemental.

[...] [elementals] first appeared in the works of Paracelsus in the sixteenth century and are used by people working with natural magic who believe in nature spirits. They are very odd things for a member of the clergy to believe in.

I didn’t include the whole description of elementals, since it is rather besides the point, and only included that bit of all because the alleged witness was sufficiently disturbed to mention his encounter to a clergyman and I agreed with the author's opinion of a clergyman believing in elementals. This is a horrifying encounter, if true, but it fits in with road ghosts far more naturally than it does with "elementals".
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This is the area, from the OS, not much there:
Hammer Hill.png


It's about 1.5 miles northwest of the hamlet of Deadman's Cross, and slightly less than that southeast of Cotton End.
 
SimonBurchell said:
A cracking tale from Haunted Bedford by William H. King, p. 46.

Hammer Hill
Mr C. W. Taylor from Surrey was driving north-west along the A600; he had passed Deadman's Cross and was just approaching the top of Hammer Hill when he had a strange and frightening experience. Illuminated by his headlights, he could see what looked like a man walking in the same direction as he was travelling. He noted that the figure was wearing a long, dark coat which reached down to its feet and on the back of its head was what looked like a child's straw hat. As the area is a quiet rural one, Mr Taylor decided to stop and offer the man a lift - a decision he would later live to regret.

As he drew level with the figure he saw that it had no face and that the hat was perched in mid-air - as there was no head for it to sit on. Suddenly the figure gave out the most horrible of screams, which proved too much for Mr Taylor who fled in panic.Later he related his story to a clergyman, who told him that he had seen an elemental.

[...] [elementals] first appeared in the works of Paracelsus in the sixteenth century and are used by people working with natural magic who believe in nature spirits. They are very odd things for a member of the clergy to believe in.

I didn’t include the whole description of elementals, since it is rather besides the point, and only included that bit of all because the alleged witness was sufficiently disturbed to mention his encounter to a clergyman and I agreed with the author's opinion of a clergyman believing in elementals. This is a horrifying encounter, if true, but it fits in with road ghosts far more naturally than it does with "elementals".
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The story seems to be lifted straight from Paranormal Bedfordshire by Damien O'Dell (Haunted Bedford was published in 2012, Paranormal Bedfordshire originally published in 2009).

Here's a link to the same story from Paranormal Bedfordshire on Google Books:
Google Books
 
Paul_Exeter said:
Incidentally, the above abduction was fifty years ago and is now hopelessly anachronistic through modern eyes: a clanking meatal robot with "chain mail" between it's metal limbs and a craft with a panel of "levers, buttons and dials'. So no touch screen computers or poly carbonate on their planet?

Clearly, it wasn't extraterrestrial given it's 1970s sci-fi construction, but the woman was sincere and had apparently consulted her doctor and a psychiatrist before turning to Ufologists to explain her experience.
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Like the fairy said "we appear however we want to appear" whatever the prevailing zeitgeist they mimic it
 
maximus otter said:
View attachment 72078

https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=15.2&lat=50.99759&lon=-3.25664&layers=193&b=1

maximus otter
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A power line seems to cross the field at pretty much the location of the craft. I had thought perhaps it was quite modern but this map suggests otherwise

@Robbrent I think that is nail on head and that the big, muscular 'alien' black cats being sighted are just a variation on a theme and get encountered in much the same locations as these humanoids and their UFOs used to appear.
 
Paul_Exeter said:
Incidentally, the above abduction was fifty years ago and is now hopelessly anachronistic through modern eyes: a clanking meatal robot with "chain mail" between it's metal limbs and a craft with a panel of "levers, buttons and dials'. So no touch screen computers or poly carbonate on their planet?

Clearly, it wasn't extraterrestrial given it's 1970s sci-fi construction, but the woman was sincere and had apparently consulted her doctor and a psychiatrist before turning to Ufologists to explain her experience.
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It's certainly a weird story that one; if it wasn't a purely psychological experience then it was a very unpleasant encounter with some freaky beings pretending to be extra-terrestrials.

John Hanson (who's very good at tracking down witnesses to old UFO incidents) tried to find the whereabout of the lady in question to interview her but was unsuccessful, and he says in his book that he believes that she has either changed her name or emigrated, which is a shame as it would have been fascinating to hear her take on it now.
 
Robin said:
It's certainly a weird story that one; if it wasn't a purely psychological experience then it was a very unpleasant encounter with some freaky beings pretending to be extra-terrestrials.

John Hanson (who's very good at tracking down witnesses to old UFO incidents) tried to find the whereabout of the lady in question to interview her but was unsuccessful, and he says in his book that he believes that she has either changed her name or emigrated, which is a shame as it would have been fascinating to hear her take on it now.
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She was Italian, so may have gone back to her native country.
 
Steven said:
Re: phantom hitchhikers & road ghosts ~

I would dearly love to know why these events take place, what causes them. This is as enigmatic and as interesting as the apparitions themselves, I think.
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Yes. It's long struck me that the phantom hitchhiker / road ghost represents something outwith the usual (if you can use such a term in regard to such a subject), when it comes to the subject of hauntings and the haunted. I have come to feel that the subject maybe has more in common with fairy lore and/or the trickster figure than it does with your average run of the mill ghost.
 
Spookdaddy said:
Yes. It's long struck me that the phantom hitchhiker / road ghost represents something outwith the usual (if you can use such a term in regard to such a subject), when it comes to the subject of hauntings and the haunted. I have come to feel that the subject maybe has more in common with fairy lore and/or the trickster figure than it does with your average run of the mill ghost.
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Yes, I agree completely.
 
IbisNibs said:
This certainly has creepy ramifications for the individuals who actually see such things!
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Or could it be that some people are just more tuned in than others? Or a certain set of conditions have to be in place?

We are told by many people that our world interacts with other dimensions on occasions (yes I know it's not a scientific conclusion) or that we are surrounded by spirits, I was driving down some very dark roads this week across the supposedly very haunted Halsall Moss (West Lancashire before you ask) and did not see a thing save from the odd rabbit in the headlights but many other have reported lots of strange things in that area
 
Having rapidly run out of brains, I'm reduced to wondering if there's a reason why some mysterious phenomena remain stubbornly mysterious. For instance, there doesn't appear to be a single, convenient 'grand theory' regarding phantom hitchhikers & road ghosts; and so I wonder if the mystery may be the point. What I mean is, if it's accepted that humankind's curiousity drives progress in all manner of spheres, could it be that mysteries - in effect - play a similar role? Is the journey to (possibly) understanding such mysteries more important than the destination/solution?

That sounds as if I'm suggesting that an intelligence - whether benign, malign, or neutral - lies behind all deeper mysteries but it's not intended - I don't have a clue, or a particular bias.

TL;DR version: Steven just pawn in game of life.
 
Spookdaddy said:
Yes. It's long struck me that the phantom hitchhiker / road ghost represents something outwith the usual (if you can use such a term in regard to such a subject), when it comes to the subject of hauntings and the haunted. I have come to feel that the subject maybe has more in common with fairy lore and/or the trickster figure than it does with your average run of the mill ghost.
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This does remind me a bit of being ‘Pixie Led’ and makes me think of an experience I've written of on here before when we were on holiday in Pembrokeshire and simply could not find the turn-off to the village we were staying it. And we’d been there once to unpack and gone back out to drive into Newport.

Up and down that road we went, turning round and going further and further and getting more hilariously hysterical. Well it was funny in a way! We pulled in and I got out the map and it simply was not that hard to find. We spent a good half-hour cruising up and down until we eventually did find the turning and it was there, not hidden, not hard at all; we’d found it the first time without any problem.

A few days later we wanted to visit a cromlech on the Prescelli Hills (Pentre Ifan) and it started off very nice then the mist came down and we could not find even a signpost to it, despite the map. The day before we’d gone that way to the lovely little Gwaun Valley without a hitch and passed signage for Pentre Ifan.

It was a funny holiday that; someone had signed the cottage guest book and said they thought the place was haunted, we walked to Nevern churchyard (of the Bleeding Yews) which had a very liminal kind of atmosphere and frightened off a bird of prey who’d just caught a rabbit in a pile of grass clippings. Everything was very dreamlike that week I have to say, very strange a dreamy kind of feeling.
 
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RaM said:
Must be loads of people that don’t say anything for the same reason
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True Ram.

The current yuppie lot I work with would have me down as a crank, if I started a topic of conservation of anything Fortean, so I don’t let on that I have a fascination on the subject.

Go down to my local village pub however, and you could have a really good chat for hours on anything fortean.

Country people v City types eh.???.........Country People all day for me.
 
Fanari_Lloyd said:
This does remind me a bit of being ‘Pixie Lead’ and makes me think of an experience I've written of on here before when we were on holiday in Pembrokeshire and simply could not find the turn-off to the village we were staying it. And we’d been there once to unpack and gone back out to drive into Newport.

Up and down that road we went, turning round and going further and further and getting more hilariously hysterical. Well it was funny in a way! We pulled in and I got out the map and it simply was not that hard to find. We spent a good half-hour cruising up and down until we eventually did find the turning and it was there, not hidden, not hard at all; we’d found it the first time without any problem.

A few days later we wanted to visit a cromlech on the Prescelli Hills (Pentre Ifan) and it started off very nice then the mist came down and we could not find even a signpost to it, despite the map. The day before we’d gone that way to the lovely little Gwaun Valley without a hitch and passed signage for Pentre Ifan.

It was a funny holiday that; someone had signed the cottage guest book and said they thought the place was haunted, we walked to Nevern churchyard (of the Bleeding Yews) which had a very liminal kind of atmosphere and frightened off a bird of prey who’d just caught a rabbit in a pile of grass clippings. Everything was very dreamlike that week I have to say, very strange a dreamy kind of feeling.
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What does pixie lead mean?
 
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