From scary paranormal crossroads to hometown streets, these are some of the scary U.S. streets to visit on Halloween.
Sometimes Halloween travel doesn’t have to be cross country or to Disney World or anywhere else. Sometimes it can be an hour away or closer.
We all know that thanks to A Nightmare on Elm Street, that any “Elm Street” already has a stigma about it. Yet for whatever reason trick or treating down Elm Street doesn’t bring much fear these days, that is unless a homeowner reminds you about Freddy Krueger.
From the east coast to the west coast our country has some interesting street names that might make you think a little bit before you pull out the bag to fill with candy. Here are five of those places that sound pretty, um, scary.
Gore Orphanage Rd. – Lorain County, Ohio
The lore: Travel to the road at night by the site of the old orphanage and the site of Swift Mansion and hear the crying and screams from dying children.
This is a bit morbid even for me but there is some history here for all those who like morbid tales.
An orphanage really did sit on the road and part of it burned down and some children did die way back in 1910. The Swift Mansion also burned down in the 1020’s. A school in that same area also burned down in 1908 killing 172 children and adults.
If that isn’t enough, a family by the name of Wilber lived in the Swift Mansion for a period and apparentlly conducted paranormal seances and such in the home. They lost four children to a diptheria outbreak.
Needless to say, it remains one of the north Ohio’s scary locations and even today, some believe that entire area is haunted.
Hell’s Bridge – Algoma Township, Michigan
A drive north into Michigan will eventually lead you to Hell’s Bridge. A small wooden bridge that spans the Cedar Creek. It is here, and in the area, that paranormal activities, ghost sitings, and more have taken place. It is the bridge that may be the scariest.
You will have to walk to the bridge which makes it worse as it is surrounded by woods.
The lore: A man by the name of Elias Friske tethered children to ropes and hauled them to the bridge where he killed them one-by-one and was then tracked down and hunted by the childrens parents who hung him until he died, presumably in that area.
This one is based a lot on fabricated tails that have grown over the decades but the paranormal sitings in the area reportedly do happen adding to the legend and the folklore!
Hells’ Gate Bridge is another ghoulish tale and this one is in Alabama. In the 1950s a couple drove their car off the bridge. Now, if you drive over it, stop in the middle and turn off your headlights, the couple will join you in your car and when you drive away, there will be a wet spot where they were sitting. Hmmmm.
65 Mulberry Street – Quitman, Arkansas
From a WWI ghost to the legend of Dog Boy Mullberry St. in Quitman, Arkansas may not sound all that scary but given the history and legends that surround it, it probably should give you some chills.
The lore: A couple living at 65 Mullberry St give birth to a child after years of trying. He isn’t a normal kid and as he grows his taste for the macabe grows with him. He begins taking local animals and torturing them, hence the name Dogboy.
In the 1800’s a woman lived in the home but died at the age of 28. Her son served in WW1 and died at the age of 21. It is said that he still roams the street and is seen in the windows from time to time. His ghostly presence however gave way to the DogBoy.
The Bettis’ would give birth to Gerald Bettis who would keep stray animals to torture. In his later years he reportedly imprisoned his parents and beat them. His mother eventually would be taken into medical care where she reported on her son. He was arrested eventually for having marijuana growing on his back porch that he had build to house more animals.
In 1988 he died in prison but some believe that he haunts the street as a 300lb half-man half-beast as a curse for his torture of animals.
Shades of Death Rd. – Warren County, New Jersey
I mean come on, really? The name alone implies that it is a must travel road for Halloween but if there is anything to it, then maybe not. Given the history of the road, maybe it’s best to stay away completely.
The lore: For starters, the road suns close to a state forest and because of that, there are strips of the road that is covered with trees on both sides. As history would have it, “highway men” would wait for unsuspecting travelers to pass and then jump them. They would kill them and leave them on the road.
Local lore says that the residents grew tired of this and set out to kill them by catching and hanging them from the trees alongside the road. Some say it was a message. Today, it is a haunted strip where you may see someone in a tree or a tap on your window as you drive by. Either way, the street name remains the same.
There is a lot of credited death along this stretch from a pack of wild cats that would attack travelers to a malaria outbreak as well as traffic accidents that have taken lives due to the twisting and turning route the road takes.
Albino tracks on Overlook Dr. – Belleville, Illinois
This one is interesting and you can reportedly test it out yourself despite the changes over time to the area.
The lore: Drive your car slowly over the railroad tracks and down the small hill and then put the car into neutral. Sit back and enjoy the ride as your car is pushed back to the tracks.
The legend in this small town located close to St. Louis, is bathed in mystery and intrigue. It is reported that some 100 years ago two twin boys were born albino and as they grew the local kids would harrass them. They lived in a small house near train tracks that were atop a small hill and would play around the tracks often.
Local folklore tells vayring stories of their ultimate demise. Some will tell you they were playing and were hit by the train while others believe the local kids tied them up to the tracks and let them die. To go along with the legend, a horse drawn carriage caught a wheel on the tracks and the occupants couldn’t get out and were killed as well.
Today, the tracks are gone and the hill is too but they still say that if you drive over the area where the tracks were on this little dead-end road, your car will still be pushed backwards, stopping where the tracks used to be. Some locals believe, in fact downright swear by the legend going so far as to say if you put baby powder on the hood of your car, you will see the handprints of little children when your car stops.
Dead Woman Crossing: Weatherford, Oklahoma
We have all heard of the “Dead man curve” which seems to populate almost every town and city in America, but a dead woman?
The lore: this one seems be based entirely on fact and not fiction. There are scant details about paranormal activities in the area but local teens will tell you that the woman is very much haunting the area.
The name comes from where a woman was repotedly murdered and her infant baby taken. In 1905, a woman and her child got off a train with a local prostitute. It is not known why. The prostitute and the baby would return but the other woman would not. Her remains were later found during a private investigator that was hired to track the woman who left Custer City for Ripley, Ok., she of course never made it.
The bridge is now gone and in its place is paved crossroad but the name still remains.
Bonus
Bucket of Blood Street – Holbrook, Arizona
We can’t leave off BOB St. since it is a real name, go ahead and Google it!
The lore: A wild west saloon sat on the now named BOB street where a gunfight erupted. The gunfight was so bloody that it was said to have left, you guessed it, buckets of blood on the wooden floor.
The saloon is obviously no longer there but travelers oftent report seeing figures in the trees, ghostly shapes on the ground, and taps on their windows.