Spookiest Routes in the U.S.

You’ve heard of haunted houses — but how well do you know America’s haunted highways?

For decades drivers have reported eerie sights throughout their travels, from phantom headlights and ghostly semi-trucks to fantastical creatures of myth and legend. Though these tall tales might just be the product of superstition, some rumored haunts are still notorious enough to make drivers think twice before turning down certain roads at night…

I-44: Spooksville Triangle & The Hornet Spook Light

The small swatch of southern woods known locally as the Spooksville triangle plays host to a number of inexplicable supernatural sightings. Together with its surrounding thoroughfares, U.S. I-44 encompasses the joint borders of Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma, with the interstate itself passing directly through an area known for a peculiar phenomenon dating back nearly a century.

Nighttime travelers have long reported spotting a distinct floating light hovering above an area now nicknamed Spooksville Road or Devil’s Promenade (the road’s real name is the much more plain East 50). The light’s appearances are sudden and erratic, with one local legend asserting it’s the everlasting reflection of lanterns carried by Civil War soldiers and other deceased travelers who once frequented the old road — and who still grope their way through the pressing darkness of the Ozark foothills.

The light shares a title as both the Joplin Spook Light and the Hornet Spook Light — the former after the nearest populated town in an otherwise remote rural area, and the latter for Hornet, a small town said to be the location travelers are most likely to catch a glimpse of the phenomenon.

Visit the Hornet Spook Light Location here:

Route 666: The Devil’s Highway

Country music claims the devil went down to Georgia, but a string of unexplained frights along Route 666 suggests he may have actually taken up residence somewhere near the Rockies and the American southwest.

Spanning the four-corners region of the U.S. from Monticello, Utah down to Gallup, New Mexico, Route 666 is nearly 200 miles of barren, accident-prone pavement. Its unusually high concentration of fatal crashes and other strange sightings (along with the route’s rather unfortunate numerical designation) have earned it a sinister reputation as the now-infamous Devil’s Highway.

Superstitions surrounding this route once grew so extreme it was ultimately renamed U.S. Route 491 back in 2003, in hopes the rebrand would soothe any fears previously associated with the dangerous highway. But though the name is changed, the cycle of otherworldly occurrences have carried on into the present day; on several occasions drivers have reported being run off the road by a ghostly semi-truck or a mysterious black sedan, while others swear on encounters with phantom hitchhikers who vanish without a trace when offered a ride.

Look for Strange Occurrences Along Route 491 here:

Route 2A: “A Tombstone Every Mile”

A treacherous stretch of road even without the paranormal sightings, Route 2A passes through the Haynesville Woods in northern Maine. It forces vehicles through a series of sharp hairpin turns known for catching new drivers off-guard, especially in the blustery winter. Tragedies along this route inspired a popular country song by Dick Curless — “A Tombstone Every Mile.”

On top of the dangerous road conditions, the Haynesville Woods are said to be among the most haunted places in Maine. Two ghosts in particular seem to roam these woods: an adult woman and a young girl.

Rumors speak of the young girl walking along the side of the road, the ghost of a 10-year-old once hit and killed by a truck passing through the area. The girl is said to disappear suddenly once spotted or addressed.

The ghost of the adult woman is more startling. Truckers report an adult woman jumping out at them, yelling and screaming for help because she’s crashed and her husband is trapped in the vehicle. Some reports say the woman disappeared when they pulled over to help, while others claim she entered their cab to get help in town, then suddenly vanished from inside the car when they reached the end of the road.

Locals have deemed her the “Ghost Bride,” believing her to be a newlywed killed in a crash along with her husband decades ago when the couple’s car lost control and rammed into a utility pole.

Visit Route 2A Location here:

Clinton Road: Beware the Bridge at Dead Man’s Curve

Clinton Road may be just another rural roadway in New Jersey…or maybe not. It’s long been associated with dark doings, including the Jersey Devil, KKK gatherings and the rumored body disposal location for serial killers (with one such confirmed case). Adding to the already-potent “nope” factor, the road is pitch black at night with no street lamps in sight. Couple the total darkness with sharp turns and narrow lanes and you’ve got a road that’s plenty creepy — and highly dangerous.

The area’s most infamous supernatural rumor revolves around the ghost of a boy who drowned, and who now haunts the bridge near Dead Man’s Curve. Local legend insists if you drop a coin in the water, the boy will return it to you by midnight, placing it somewhere along the bridge. Some say they’ve actually caught glimpses of the boy appearing, while others have reportedly found their coin. All summoners of the boy’s ghost are warned not to peer over the edge of the bridge, or else he’ll push them in.

Visit Clinton Road here:

Archer Avenue: Meet Resurrection Mary

Archer Avenue is thought to be one of the most haunted roads in America, and it’s home to Chicago’s most famous ghost: Resurrection Mary. Since the early 1930s, drivers have reported picking up a young hitchhiker in a formal white dress. She’s always described as blonde with blue eyes, remaining fairly quiet as they travel along Archer Avenue. Just as the driver passes by Resurrection Cemetery, the hitchhiker vanishes.

Hitchhiking isn’t the only method by which Mary has made an appearance. Other sightings involve cars almost hitting her just outside of the cemetery, interactions at nearby nightclubs, and even claims that Mary had burned her handprints into the cemetery fence. The only commonalities among all of the reports are the description of the woman and her abrupt disappearance, always in front of Resurrection Cemetery on Archer Avenue.

Visit Archer Avenue here:

Tri-County Truck Stop: Actually Haunted, For Real

At the heart of it all is this crown jewel of America’s spooky trucker locales: the abandoned Tri-County Truck Stop in Villa Ridge, Missouri.

The exterior is creepy enough to dissuade most visitors from entering — the brave few who have claim to have seen a spector dressed in red plaid, as well as objects moving and falling without any physical explanation.

Paranormal investigators have designated the truckstop a haunted site, and visiting mediums have even claimed the location is a portal through which spirits re-enter our world to possess truck drivers and drive themselves home.

Visit The Tri-County Truck Stop Location here: