Have the spirits come to play? Here are ten of the spookiest roads!

Many of us can all feel slightly on edge when driving down country roads in the dark when they’re unnervingly quiet. When embarking on a journey, we might fear that otherworldly figures lurk in the shadows, yet tell ourselves it’s just our mind playing tricks and paranoia setting in, but what if that’s not the case?

Believe it or not, it’s believed many spirits haunt routes across the country — prepare the hairs on the back of your neck as we go through the spookiest roads in Britain, with some chilling real-life accounts along the way!

1. Platt Lane, Lancashire: Somebody’s watching you

On the 21st of December 1910, the Pretoria Pit tragedy happened, killing 344 boys and men. People still class the mining incident as the third worst in British history, almost 115 years later. On the 636m B road, situated in West Houghton where the tragic accident happened, many drivers claimed to have seen ‘eyes’ poking out of the bushes and staring at them. As freaky as that seems, it gets worse…

Many motorists have called the police after witnessing phantom miners slowly walking down the side of the road with coal wagons and picks. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, this is certainly weird! 

2. A666, Bolton: Devilish games

The road number (666) is creepy all on its own, but alongside the menacing and unexplainable activities, it feels like more than just a strange coincidence! The long stretch of road that travels past the West Pennine Moors has an extraordinarily high accident rate — three times higher than other motorways in Greater Manchester. Many believe this is due to a supernatural intervention. 

According to many drivers, the eerie sight of a figure limping along the road has caused several accidents. The entity is known simply as the ‘A666 Ghost’, and dashcam footage from 2015 has caught the white limping ‘thing’ walking towards the car, resulting in a petrified driver and a crying passenger. 

3. B3212, Dartmoor: I’ve got hold of you

For at least 90 years, ‘The Hairy Hands’ spirit has terrorised motorists on this road. Being one of the most remote areas in England, it’s no surprise there are stories of paranormal activity taking place here. According to legend, the ‘hairy hands’ spirit will grab the steering wheel and steer to cause a collision. Unfortunately, there are many stories of this sinister occurrence. 

The first fatal account of the ‘hands’ was in 1921, when a man was on his motorcycle with two children in the sidecar. The motorist suddenly screamed at the children to jump out as he struggled to gain control of the bike. Unfortunately, this ended in a fatal crash, but the children survived. 

In the same year, a British Army Captain lost control of his motorcycle and was thrown onto the verge. When interviewed by local media, he responded: “It was not my fault. Believe it or not, something drove me off the road. A pair of hairy hands closed over mine. I felt them as plainly as ever I felt anything in my life – large, muscular, hairy hands.”

4. A75, Scotland: Ghouls just want to have fun

This road has paranormal activity sightings dating back over 60 years, dubbing it ‘Scotland’s Ghost Road’. According to sources, some lorry drivers even refuse to drive down the road at night and instead sleep in the laybys until morning. 

This fear originated from several harrowing tales of ghostly sightings, including a couple wearing Victorian clothing, screaming old men, and women with no eyes! One report claims a man actually quit his driving work after seeing “groups of dejected, bedraggled people pulling carts and bundles like medieval followers”.

 The strangest account was in 1962 when the Ferguson brothers allegedly experienced witchcraft — their car was shaken so badly by an unknown entity that they were both violently sick! 

5. A229, BlueBell Hill, Kent: Til death do us part

On the 19th of November 1965, a fatal car crash killed three women — one of which, Suzanne Browne, was due to be married the following day. The 24-year-old was returning from her hen night when her Ford Cortina spun out of control on the A229, colliding with a Jaguar heading the other way. It’s a common misconception that Miss Browne died on the road, but it was, in fact, one of her friends, Judith Lingham. The other passengers, including Suzanne, died in hospital a few hours later.

Despite Suzanne not passing away on this road, there have been hundreds of reports of a woman in a white dress haunting Blue Bell Hill. Many tales cite spotting a woman only for her to disappear, including her running into vehicles and then vanishing when the drivers attempt to check on her.

6. Stocksbridge Bypass, Sheffield: The spirits have come to play

Constructed in 1987, this road is a main route across the Pennines towards Manchester, bringing heavy traffic, as well as heavy hauntings. Even before construction, many already thought this area was haunted due to it being a mining area in South Yorkshire.

Some reported sightings in this area include ghostly children playing in the fields, a floating monk and a leaping ghoul who tried to hitch a ride with unsuspecting motorists.

During the road’s construction, two security guards driving at night apparently saw a group of children dancing and singing in a circle on the roadside. When the guards stopped, the children vanished. They then noticed a hooded figure standing on a bridge above the bypass and held their headlights to it, which appeared to shine straight through the figure, and as they headed closer, it too vanished. The two guards were found later on in a state of shock, physically shaking and ghostly pale. They called the police and even the local priest! 

To this day, it’s believed you can see the children playing if you look over into the fields. The bypass itself has a high accident rate, especially within the first 10 years when there were 14 fatal crashes. Could this be due to people swerving to avoid hitting a ‘child’?

7. The Old Tay Bridge, Dundee: All aboard the Ghost Train

On the 28th of December 1879, the Tay Bridge disaster occurred. Just two years after this bridge was built — which ran over the River Tay, the longest river in Scotland — a storm hit the area and weakened the bridge’s central section, which in turn caused the bridge to collapse. Unfortunately, a train was crossing the bridge at the time of its collapse, and all 75 passengers on board were killed, and only 46 bodies were recovered.

Years later, in 1887, a second bridge was built, which ran parallel to the remains of the original bridge and is still in use today. Parts of the old bridge can still be seen, with the pillars stumps eerily poking out of the water. But that’s not all that remains… 

Each year on the anniversary of this event, it is said that the eerie sight of a ghost train can be seen crossing where the bridge once stood, and screams of the passengers can be heard as the train disappears, once again plunging them into the cold waters below.

8. B519, by the Spaniard’s Inn, Hampstead: Spirits on Tap

On the B519 road is  The Spaniard’s Inn — a well-known sixteenth-century pub in Hampstead. According to legend, the Inn’s name originated from the pub’s early landlords, two Spanish men known as Juan and Francesco Porero. Allegedly, the brothers both fell in love with the same woman and fought over her in a duel. Sadly, Juan was killed and buried by the Inn, and to this day, people claim to see his spirit on the premises.

 Juan Porero isn’t the only spirit seen at this establishment, as many shadowy figures have been spotted roaming the pub. A notorious highwayman by the name of Dick Turpin was born in the Inn. His father owned it, and Dick would often use the Inn as a hideaway, planning his robberies and seeking the wealthy travellers he’d target. He is the ghost who roams the upper floor, where his childhood bedroom is believed to reside.

Even in his afterlife, Dick continues his criminal profession — the eighteenth-century highwayman continues to haunt the surrounding road, stalking down passing motorists. There have also been many sightings of him on horseback around the roads — a ghost horse is certainly a distraction!

9. M6 Motorway, Rugby to Gretna: The Boo-muda Triangle

This road dominates most of North England, but it’s not only known for being the longest and busiest road in the UK, it’s also spawned many terrifying tales! The main images that come to mind when thinking of haunted roads are dark, narrow, and windy, but evidently, this isn’t always the case.

Junctions 16 to 19 are often referred to as the Bermuda Triangle (a nod to the mysterious phenomenon in the North Atlantic Ocean) because this area is so accident-prone. The area is also home to many spooky sightings, potentially due to the lost souls here. Several motorists have reported being distracted by unexplainable activity whilst driving between these junctions, such as a dark mist drifting across the road and odd smells in the air. 

In 1958, Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan opened the first part of the road, known then as the Preston By-Pass, making it the UK’s first motorway.  However, parts of the route have existed for nearly 2,000 years and would have been used by Roman soldiers during the invasion of Britain. Some claim the Roman soldiers still haunt the M6 There have been numerous sightings of Roman Soldiers marching along the road!

Tony Simmons, a sightings coordinator for The Guardian in an article naming the M6 as Britain’s spookiest road, said: “The M6 is one of Britain’s longest roads, and it travels through many counties – and therefore an immense amount of history. It’s interesting that we’ve had more really clear sightings reported from the M6 than any other road.”

10. A3, Burpham: A mysterious wreckage

A bizarre event occurred in this area of Surrey that caused a country-wide media frenzy in 2002, making the A3 known as one of the most haunted roads in Britain. In December 2002, multiple motorists called the police after witnessing a car veer off the road. However, when police arrived, there was no sign of a newly crashed car. Police did find a wreckage, but this was nose down and buried in the undergrowth, showing this happened a while ago. Even creepier, the police then found the driver’s skeleton close to the wreckage. 

The investigation revealed that the car had crashed five months prior, in July 2002. This revelation led those who witnessed the crash to believe they had seen a ghostly apparition of the original crash, perhaps the spirit wanted the motorists to finally discover the driver’s body so they could rest in peace.

 

Take it easy driving down any of these roads, especially during Halloween, as after all, it is the day when the undead come out to play! As William Shakespeare once said: “Hell is empty, and all the devils are here”.

Stay alert on the road, and let us know if you see anything freaky on any of these roads or in other areas — keep the ghost stories alive!