Who doesn’t love a fall cruise down a beautiful wooded 2-lane road with dips and turns as the leaves begin to change? What if those woods held something other than deer and squirrels? Something more sinister? These 5 stretches of US blacktop are said to have everything from ghosts to escaped zoo animals, all ready to scare the hell out of you…
Archer Avenue
Possibly one of the most haunted areas in all of the Chicago area, the stretch of Archer Avenue between Resurrection Cemetery and St. James-Sag Church weaves its way through forests, lakes, and multiple cemeteries, all with their own terrifying tales. Ghostly monks haunt the areas around St. James-Sag, the “Gray Baby” lurks at Sacred Heart Cemetery, and phantom horse riders cross the street at nearby 95th & Kean, but perhaps none of the supernatural tales is as well-known as that of Resurrection Mary. As we detailed earlier, Resurrection Mary hitchhikes her way down Archer Avenue, the same road she was struck and killed on over 80 years ago…
Clinton Road
Ghost sightings, KKK meetings, Witches, and even Druidic ceremonies all on one road? That’s how the rumors go about Clinton Road in Passaic County, NJ. After a sharp “dead man’s curve” you’ll come to the Ghost Boy Bridge where legend says if you toss a coin into the water a boy will toss it back. A little further up the road is the ruins of Cross Castle, thought to be a hotbed for Satanic activities and even the KKK. Not scared yet? We forgot to mention that thanks to Jungle Habitat closing years ago there may be all sorts of terrifying wild animals roaming the woods. We went to Jungle Habitat in the daylight and it’s scary as hell. Good luck to ya!
Mona Lisa Drive
Legend says a rich man donated a collection of statuary with the stipulation they create one statue to pay tribute to his deceased daughter, Mona. The details around the legend of Mona’s death are murky, but supposedly Mona and the sailor she loved used to walk hand-in-hand through what is nowNew Orleans City Park, but their love would not last… One version has her father forbidding the romance and Mona killing herself. Another says the sailor didn’t really love her and when he dumped her the reaction from Mona was so violent he killed her to silence her. Sadly, people eventually destroyed her memorial statue in City Park. Today, she’s said to haunt young lovers who drive down Mona Lisa Drive. Couples hoping to do a little “parking” along Mona Lisa Drive may hear a woman moaning in heartache and even scratching at their windows.
Shades of Death Road
If Clinton Road is the scariest road in NJ, Shades of Death has to be a close second. Located in central Warrne County, NJ, the two-lane road is 7 miles of terror running right along Jenny Jump State Forest near I-80. If you can imagine something terrible, it’s probably been said to have happened here… Legend says a band of anti-establishment types took to the woods around Shades of Death Road and often murdered each other and anyone encroaching on their woods. The low-hanging branches are said to have been used in multiple lynchings. Others say the road used to just be “The Shades,” but as more and more murders happened here, “of Death” got added. The last, and most plausible, explanation for the name is that the area was the site of a nasty malaria outbreak and the road’s name is in reference to the many who died from the plague. The areas around the road such as Ghost Lake offer their own spooky stories too like the cabin near Ghost Lake where all sorts of supernatural activities have been reported. And you might want to stay in your car because the nearby Bear Swamp is also known as Cat Swamp for its packs of mean wild cats. For more on Shades of Death Road, read what Roadtrippers' Greg Newkirk wrote about it...
Haynesville Woods (Route 2A)
Route 2A that runs through the town of Haynesville in the southern part of Aroostook County in Maine has been a death trap for years and years, and now it has the ghosts of its dead to deal with too... Before driving the road, go listen to the Dick Curless song, “A Tombstone Every Mile.” It’s about this road. The song is more about how dangerous the road is during the winter, but it’s plenty scary the rest of the year for other reasons… With all the deaths this stretch of road has piled up, it’s only natural some scary stories would emerge. The most common involve a woman trying to beg for help for a car accident involving her and her husband. If you choose to help her, however, you’re overcome with a deep dark chill and the woman disappears. The other most common ghost sighting is a small girl who was killed by a semi while walking down the road. (Note: picture is not Haynesville Woods)
For your daily fix of everything awesome with a motor involved, follow Roadtrippers Rides on Facebook.
And then sometimes the car is way scarier than the road…Meet the real car that inspired “Christine”:
Read more about Clinton Road, quite possibly the scariest road in America:
One of our writers went to the abandoned Jungle Habitat BY HIMSELF… See what scared this idiot enough to run away: