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Phantom Hitchhikers & Road Ghosts

Curzone said:
God, a colleague of mine just told me that the A23 is supposedly the most hunted road in the UK, where ghostly figures include a small girl with no hands or feet, a figure in a white trench coat and a figure in cricketer's clothing! Apparently various paranormal sightings have been reported along the whole length of the A23/M23, from London to Brighton.

Not quite true. The source of this idea is in a recent survey result given out by a certain Fortean Times to various press sources following FT's publication of Paul Devereux's The Ghost Road article in FT153. Ahem...turns out there was no such survey -'twas a spur-of-the-moment reply to an unanticipated question.

:rolleyes:
 
Speaking of road ghosts, the one that really freaks me out are the 'hairy hands' way down in Devon, grabbing peoples stearing wheels, handlebars and wotnot and forcing them off the road.
Some woman reported a few years back that they tried to paw their way in through her caravan window which is pretty messed up I think you'll agree,


Someone should buy them a Rubik's Cube.

All the best,

Randall.
 
There are a couple PHH stories Stateside with which I'm familiar--but both are the same story. The one in Chicago is better documented. Basically, motorist picks up young girl, who's wearing an evening gown and returning from a dance. Girl asks to be taken home. She either disembarks at the graveyard (!) or at her former home, where her elderly mother informs the astonished samaritan of her status as spook-babe.

There was also a story closer to home (the Uhwarrie (sp?) mountains), where the PHH was not seen, but would considerable weigh down the wagon he jumped on until it crossed a creek or something. That part of the countryside was sacrificed to make a man-made lake.

Going to your site right now, Hermes. Can't wait!
 
Hermes,

Been to your website a number of times - it's a great site by the way - certainly a lot to take in… After reading about Blue Bell Hill, the A23 does sound very tame in comparison.

Incidentally, my girlfriend's encounter does seem remarkably similar to many of the cases mentioned on your website. Unfortunately she is adamant that what she saw was flesh and blood and not an apparition, although she admits that she felt there was something not quite right about the old lady, she attributed her trepidation to being alone and isolated in spooky surroundings.

However, and I think you will agree, I find it strange for an elderly woman, shrouded in old-fashioned clothing to be walking by her self in the dead of night on a remote road surrounded on each side by dense woodland.

Last night I quizzed my other half about what she saw and it now seems that the old lady was not only walking on the verge of the road, as I first thought, but at times zigzagged in front of the car, in the centre of the road, intently trying to slow her down. She also mentioned that her face reminded her of the wizened young girl from the movie "The Others" (We haven't seen the film but saw a recent preview on TV).

I mentioned in the last thread that I occasionally see women similarly dressed in Quaker type garb in the local area. Although their attire is antiquated, it doesn't seem to resemble my girlfriend's description of what the old lady was wearing.

Although the Quaker type garments are dark, their head-dress tends to be white and looks a little like the type adorned by French maids. As crazy as it sounds, the hag my girlfriend saw seemed to be wearing a black, pointed but stunted witches hat!

There was no sign of a witch's broom, which would probably account for the fact that the hag was walking instead of flying!!!
 
Paul Devereux mentions several strange happenings connected with the A23 in Haunted Land. Apparently the area around Pyecombe, near the junction of the A23 and A281, is particularly haunted.

Incidentally, there is a fairly well known and very short fictional ghost story called On the Brighton Road by Richard Middleton. I don’t know if the author was influenced by a “real” local story but his story, which was published in 1912, is set on the route of the A23.
 
A23 ghosts

Thanks Curzone for the comments, and the update re: your girlfriend's encounter. I agree - it's hard to apply the label 'ghost' to a figure that doesn't behave as we expect a ghost to, ie vanish on sight. But noteworthy all the same.

Thanks also to Spook. It'd be interesting to catch up with On the Brighton Road to find out if it contains a recognisable protagonist.


Hermes

:)
 
Again I ask about roadwraiths, anyone else heard of these half-bodied apparitions? I've heard of one in Monaghan and another near where I live in County Louth.
My mate's in-laws used to see half a man (the front half) standing in a ditch regularly on the side of the Slane Road coming out of Drogheda. They now take an alternate route, well at night anyway!
 
Hermes. If you are interested probably the easiest place to find Middleton's story is in The Oxford Book of English Ghost Stories. It's actually only about four pages long so you could probably read it in your local bookshop without arousing any suspicion that you were doing anything but browsing.

I re-read it last night and although I have no idea whether it is based on a local story or indeed if Richard Middleton was a local author it is fairly specific on locality. If I remember right it begins twelve miles north of Brighton on the road to London.
 
phantom hitchhikers in Ireland

There's something similar told about an old woman/hitchhiker in Glanmire in County Cork.

There's not much variation on the standard tale, just when you try and speak to her there's no face under her hat/scarf/hood.

Apparently taxi drivers refuse to take that road any time after 4 in the morning until dawn (the usual time of her appearance).

I think I 've heard of another phatom hitchhiker on the Cobh Road as well.

Richard.
 
.......shudder......
Just recalling childhood memory of the ole West Country hairy hands.... Didnt quite recall Randall's detail about the pawing at the caravan window til just now, but now's a good a time as any (cold, dark, wet & windy, etc..!) Glad I don't live in 'the sticks' no more!

Actually, wondering (for the sheer lazines of looking, I'm afraid) whether there's some theory of these kinds of spooks and spooky goings on? Not to suggest that there's some kind of UL at the root of so many numerous and well documented apperances, but surely there's a few too many similarities in these accounts to be coincidences?? :confused:
 
Don't the parents of the Blue Bell Hill girl get fed up with people knocking on the door after their now long dead daughter?

I'd just have a sign on the door. "Look she's dead, it was Blue Bell Hill. Do you not know the story? Shes been dead for about 30 years now!"


with regards to the first story in this thread there is a similar thread on the Urban Legends section. I'd post a link but I can't be bothered.
 
Bump! Two threads merged.

And a new story: 'Ghost mystery' of accident black spot (Map on webpage.)

"Villagers think a ghost could be to blame for a series of accidents on a country road.
Locals believe the ghost of a road accident victim from more than 60 years ago could be haunting a stretch of the A465 near Bromyard in Herefordshire.

A farmer says as many as 26 drivers have crashed into his fence in the same place over the last 18 months.

Some motorists have reported mysteriously losing control of the steering.

I'm not ruling anything out as many things go on that people can't explain

Checks on the cambers, speed checks and improved road markings have all failed to stop the crashes.

County councillor Richard James says some motorists who lost control of their vehicles reported the sensation of having their steering wheels pulled from their hands.

Mystery psychic

And a meeting in a country pub added to his suspicion that the supernatural could be to blame for the crashes.

Mr James was in the Crown and Sceptre in Bromyard when a man he had never seen before approached him saying "Don't worry, no-one will die there".

The mystery man, who claimed to be a psychic, told Mr James a woman had died on the road in the 1920s or '30s after a struggle over the steering wheel.

Mr James says he had not previously discussed the crashes with anybody: 'It was a strange conversation and it really freaked me out."

Neil Redding from Hereford lost control of his car on the road and crashed through the fence in July 2002.

"The wheels wouldn't react for a second or so.

"I don't know what it was as I wasn't going fast by any means - 99% of the time it would never have happened.

"I couldn't believe it. The farmer turned up and said 'not another one!'

"I wouldn't say it was anything weird though."

Identical location

The parish council in Stoke Lacy is now seeking the assistance of Reverend Keith Crouch.

The clerk Carole Surman, who called in Mr Crouch, is keeping an open mind.

"'I can't understand it.

"There are no skid marks... people roll their cars but no one ever gets hurt and it's always in exactly the same place.

"Until we know what's causing these accidents we can't stop them from happening," she said. "
 
Road Ghost in Cornwall

I normally sit beside my wife when we drive from Truro to the roseland where we lived. On the Probus Bypass (truro to St Austell) my wife sees a girl standing by the side of the road (wearing a floral dress aged around 20) she then appears in our car. I cannot see her but I can smell perfume (different to my wife's) My wife can see her she appears in between the back and front seats. She stays until a certain part of the road. then disapppears and then appears on the side of the road.

She see her every friday nite when we travel back from Truro
 
Eek! :eek!!!!: That's a bit close to here, but I rarely use that road.

Any other Cornish members had experiences there?
 
Thats pretty freaky :eek!!!!:

The local paper has a road ghost story this week- supposed to be a highwayman by the name of Pocock who was around 300 years ago , he was wounded and escaped but died apparently in a secret cave that has now disappeared . His ghost appears on the road between Street and Bridgwater and is seen as a slumped figure on a galloping black horse - the unique aspect of this ghost is that it appears to be galloping on the spot ! The road it is seen on is notorious for unexplained often fatal road crashes , survivors often report having swerved as figures appear in the road .
 
White Road Ghosts ?

One Winter, a couple of years back, I was riding a motorbike along a quiet country lane on the outskirts of Cardiff (not far from St.Fagans), heading home from a friend's house and it was the early hours of the morning. It was very cold but promised to be a quick and pleasant journey as I had not seen a single car on the roads.

As I rounded a bend I was surprised to see a couple walking in the road up ahead (given the late hour and the fact there were no pubs or houses anywhere nearby). The man and woman were dressed entirely in white and the woman appeared to be wearing something akin to a long, flowing wedding dress.

I had to alter my position on the road to avoid hitting them. What struck me most, was the way that even when I was level with them and turned to look at them, I could not make out any detail on either of their faces. They were just white, as if they were wearing white make-up or bandages !?

This could well have been a trick of the light but it did nothing for my nerves and I remember accelerating hard to get away from that stretch of road as fast as possible.

I can honestly say it never occurred to me that they may have been supernatural in origin but reading some of these posts on this thread has made me wonder.
 
Re: Roadghosts

Speaking of 'hitting' a roadghost, i've always wondered what'd happen if you didn't stop..
 
Is it true that Norway has a road sign for Phantom Hitchhikers?
 
i drive down Bluebell hill in maidstone 3 times a week at least and have never seen either of the ghosts, though i wish i'd seen them...

As far as i am aware there are supposed to be two ghosts on the hill. There is the hitchhiker who dissapears once in your car and i think its going up the hill there is supposed to be a girl who people think they've run over but is not there when they go back.


just giving some local perspective.



Rhianna :)
 
road ghosts

curzone could the ghost be a welsh witch?
 
Originally posted by Minor Drag
There are a couple PHH stories Stateside with which I'm familiar--but both are the same story. The one in Chicago is better documented. Basically, motorist picks up young girl, who's wearing an evening gown and returning from a dance. Girl asks to be taken home. She either disembarks at the graveyard (!) or at her former home, where her elderly mother informs the astonished samaritan of her status as spook-babe.

its resurection mary and i claim my 5£s/10$s/so meny euros:D
 
That one is such a whiskery one that researchers have traced it back
to the 1930s. It even spawned a song in the 1950s, when the dress became
the then fashionable jersey.

Generally speaking, if ghost stories have a punchline then they are myths. :(
 
Randall said:
Speaking of road ghosts, the one that really freaks me out are the 'hairy hands' way down in Devon, grabbing peoples stearing wheels, handlebars and wotnot and forcing them off the road.

I've driven past that spot lots of times and I'm glad to say no hands have appeared... yet. :eek:
 
Re: A road ghost

escargot said:
A few miles from my home is Northwich, a spooky li'l town. I used to work there and collected many ghost stories. (One was about a local stately home, currently a posh hotel. I spent a happy afternoon being well spooked by first-hand accounts of ghostly goings-on which were firmly supressed, under threat if the sack, by the management. Next morning in the doctor's waiting room I picked up a glossy mag, Cheshire Life possibly, with a long, beautifully illustrated article about said pile! Minus any mention of ghosts, naturally.)

What was the name of the stately pile/hotel. My wife is from the area and hates ghost stories, so I can kill two birds with one stone with this story.
 
I came across this tale on Snopes - I looked for it because I saw it reported on the local news (nr. San Antonio), must have been over a year ago now. It's kind of a mix of UL, road ghosts and those weird hills that appear to defy gravity.
I wonder if there's a British version?
 
Wow! How about this for a road ghost!
A3 crash skeleton is 'wanted robber'
By Adam Blenford and Chris Millar, Evening Standard
13 December 2002

Detectives are attempting to unravel the mystery of reports of a car crash that led them to discover the skeleton of a man killed at the same spot five months ago.

The body was discovered after police received calls from motorists that a car had swerved off the A3 in Surrey with its headlights blazing.

Officers found a wrecked Vauxhall Astra buried in the undergrowth. Inside the car they found the decomposed body.

Today it was revealed that the dead man was Christopher Chandler, 21, from Isleworth, who was being hunted for an alleged robbery. He had been reported missing by his brother, David, after last being seen in London on 16 July.

Surrey Police believe the crash happened in July and that the body had lain undiscovered for five months, yards from the dual carriageway which is used daily by thousands of drivers.

Motorists are now questioning whether what they saw was a ghostly apparition of the original crash on the A3 at Burpham, near Guildford. One officer called the discovery of the five-month old corpse "spine-chilling". Forensic teams cross-referenced the car's registration number and used dental records to confirm Chandler's identity.

Police were called at 7.20pm on Wednesday after motorists phoned to report the "accident". They began foraging in the undergrowth, where they discovered the car nose-down in a ditch, invisible from the road.

A police spokesman said: "We believe the car left the road and ended up in the ditch during July. It doesn't appear that any other vehicles were involved. The car was discovered as a result of a report from members of the public who thought they saw a car's headlights veering off the road."

Today police confirmed that they had identified the man, adding: "The family have been informed and confirmed that they reported him missing in July. We do not yet know why he would be travelling in Surrey."
 
This thread reminds me of the Kipling short story 'The Phantom Rickshaw.'

How's that for going off thread?
 
This thread is turning and turning in a widening Gyre.

What will happen when the centre cannot hold and mere anarchy is loosed upon the world?
 
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