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The vanishing hitchhiker (or variations such as the ghostly hitchhiker, disappearing hitchhiker, phantom hitchhiker) is an urban legend in which people travelling by vehicle, meet with or are accompanied by a hitchhiker who subsequently vanishes without explanation, often from a moving vehicle.
On a cold and rainy night, a young man is on his way to a party at a local dance hall and on his way there, he happens to offer a ride to an attractive young woman who agrees to go with him to the dance. Everyone at the party found her to be very charming and after the dance was over, the young man offered to drive her home as the night had turned quite chilly. She accepted and because it was so cold out, he gave her his coat to wear.
He asked for her address and she gave it to him and a short time later, they pulled into the driveway of the house where the girl said that she lived and the driver turned to tell her that they had arrived. To his astonishment, she was gone! The passenger seat of the car was empty, although the door had never opened - the girl had simply vanished.
Not knowing what else to do, the man went up to the door and knocked. An elderly woman answered the door and he explained to her what had happened. Right away, she seemed to know exactly what he was talking about. The young girl he had taken to the dance was her daughter - but she had died ten years before in an auto accident.
The horrified young man didn't believe her, even though the name of the girl he had taken to the dance and the woman's daughter were the same. In order to convince him, the old woman even told him where to find the grave of the dead girl in the local cemetery. The young man quickly drove there and following the directions he had been given, found the stone with the girl's name on it. Folded neatly over the top of the marker was the coat that the girl had borrowed to ward off the night chill!
Stories just like that one have been with us for many years for without a doubt, the greatest addition to haunted highway lore is the phantom hitchhiker. Tales of these spectral passengers (usually young women) are often attached to bridges, dangerous hills and intersections and graveyards. There were stories of "vanishing hitchhikers" being told as far back as the late 1800's, when men would tell stories of ghostly women who appeared on the back of their horses. These spectral riders always disappeared when they reached their destination and would often prove to be the deceased daughters of local farmers. Not much has changed in the stories that are still told today, outside of the preferred method of transportation.
RESURRECTION MARY
The Elusive Ghost of Archer Avenue and Chicago's favorite Spirit! Discover How She Left Proof of her Existence Behind!
CHICAGO'S OTHER VANISHING HITCHHIKER GHOSTS
While they are not the most famous hitchhiking ghosts in Chicago, they are certainly just as spooky!
MESHACK ROAD
A Kentucky roadway where a young girl still searches for a ride from the place where she was killed!
