The UK is home to a number of haunted roads, where ghostly figures, phantom vehicles, and unexplained accidents have been reported for decades.
(Image: BBC)
Across the UK, there are roads with such notorious reputations that even the most seasoned driver might think twice about a late-night drive.
Ghostly apparitions appearing out of thin air, phantom vehicles, and inexplicable accidents have been reported by motorists for years, earning some stretches of road a reputation for being notoriously haunted.
From quiet country lanes to busy motorways, these ghostly encounters have become woven into local folklore. Ovoko, an online marketplace for used car parts, has put together a list of the UK’s most haunted roads, where driving at night can be both eerie and unsettling.
Topping the list is the A75. Known as Scotland’s most haunted road, the A75 snakes its way through Dumfries and Galloway and has a history of strange sightings.
Scottish Paranormal has recorded the many ghostly figures that drivers claim to see again and again on the A75.(Image: Youtube)
Motorists have reported phantom lorries appearing from nowhere, spectral pedestrians stepping onto the road, and ghostly animals darting across the tarmac, reports the Mirror.
One spine-chilling tale, which may be more hearsay than official Traffic Scotland records, involves two lorry drivers who crashed into what they believed was an oncoming lorry, only to find nothing but an empty road when they came to.
The A75 has been the source of claims of supernatural encounters for centuries, making night-time driving here a disconcerting experience for those inclined to believe in the paranormal.
Several years back, John Hill from Mostly Ghostly paranormal investigators chose to investigate the route and its eerie standing. He maintained that he discovered so many supernatural incidents along the stretch of road that it thoroughly merits the “most haunted road in Scotland and some say Britain” designation.
Mr Hill and Mostly Ghostly founder Kathleen Cronie organised the inaugural ghost coach tour of the route in 2013, providing a guided exploration of its most chilling locations. Ms Cronie informed the BBC that one of the most notorious encounters was witnessed by Derek and Norman Ferguson in 1962.
“They were driving along here and the whole incident began with a large hen flying towards the windscreen of their car,” she said.
“They then witnessed great cats and various other creatures as well as witnessing a phantom furniture van – which is a bit unusual to say the least.”
Based on accounts from those employed on the route, HGV drivers would frequently report spotting groups of despondent, dishevelled individuals dragging handcarts. Additional ghostly figures bore bundles.
Bob Sturgeon previously operated a refreshment van on the A75 – a role that brought him into regular contact with the lorry drivers who travelled its length. He alleged that one HGV driver had abandoned the profession after encountering a collection of spectres on the carriageway.
“He had been parked on the Kinmount straight, and he had woken up at three in the morning, and he saw this ‘parade’ of people. He said that it went on for ages and he had just frozen – he was in an awful state,” Mr Sturgeon said.
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Scottish Paranormal, a group that investigates Scotland’s more spine-chilling occurrences, has put together a catalogue of the reported encounters along the A75 and the figures that seem to materialise repeatedly.
They also document vast processions of spirits wandering the carriageway, though of a distinctly different nature and era. “Travel back in time and envision a ghostly legion of Romans, marching along the A75, visible only from the knees up-a stark reminder of the land’s evolving topography and a haunting connection to Scotland’s ancient past,” Scottish Paranormal writes.
Another disturbing figure is that of the elderly gamekeeper, who is said to materialise beside the carriageway clutching a shotgun, observing passing motorists, before abruptly vanishing.
Those who feel unsettled by these accounts, and are contemplating taking a considerable detour to avoid the A75, needn’t fret. Phantoms are not genuine.