Phantom figure said to wander back roads of Madera

There is a story of a wandering phantom that is seen along the country roads outside of Madera. The location isn’t exact but most accounts have seen the spirit somewhere in between Ave 15 and Ave 18 1/2.

The first recorded sighting happened in January of 2010 when a witness and her husband were driving home to Clovis from Madera on Avenue 15. They were driving down the country road when the witness suddenly saw a man walking down the middle of the road and had to quickly swerve to avoid hitting him. The man seemed oblivious to almost being hit despite the fact that the car was going almost 60 miles per hour. The witness described the figure as Caucasian, in his early twenties, wearing a dark sweatshirt with a hood and blue jeans. After they passed him they hit a thick patch of fog and the man was nowhere to be seen. The witness notes that her husband didn’t see the man at all despite looking in the same direction as she and he was surprised by her sudden swerving of the car. Ever since that night the witness has refused to drive down that stretch of road when going home.

An incident occurred late winter of 2013, this time on Avenue 18. This witness was driving home around 3:00 am and it was somewhat foggy. They were driving down the road when out of nowhere a man wearing blue jeans and a hoodie was seen in the middle of the road. The witness swerved to avoid him and noticed that he didn’t even try to get out of the way, which she thought was odd. When this occurred they didn’t think much of it as they never saw anyone on that road before that late at night. It was only upon hearing that other people had seen the same figure in the area that they thought this wasn’t a normal person.

Another account involves two witnesses who were driving down Avenue 18 1/2 around 1:30am. As they were passing a church a young male, Caucasian and wearing blue jeans and a hoodie suddenly appeared about five feet in front of them. He was standing on the dividing line of the road and the driver missed him by inches as they swerved to avoid him. Despite being so close to him they were unable to see his face. As they drove past him, she looked back and he was no longer there.

There are more accounts like this with the same description of the man, late teens to early twenties, Caucasian and wearing blue jeans and a hooded sweatshirt. Some witnesses have also said he was wearing white tennis shoes, but this varies. Another common theme is how the man is oblivious to the oncoming car and is described usually as looking down. Also most of the incidents happened late at night and it seems all the witnesses are females.

So here’s the question. Who is he? Conjecture (which I’m great at) has me wondering if some young man was walking down one of these roads late one night and wasn’t paying attention (like he was looking down) and didn’t see the oncoming car and was hit and killed. Perhaps the person who hit him was a woman and this is why he seems to only appear to them. It’s hard to say without researching more, which I will be doing. But it does seem that some poor soul is doomed to wander the country roads outside of Madera.

Haunted Pacheco Pass

If you ever took a trip to Monterery, Santa Cruz, or the Bay Area there's a good chance you've taken Highway 152 through Pacheco Pass. The part of the trip from Los Banos to Gilroy is rather mundane for those who have driven it before. Or is it? Did you know it has a rather dark history? There are stories of supposed Indian massacres by the Spanish settlers in the 1700's. And from 1860 to 1880 the pass was known as Robber's Pass due to two highwaymen that robbed, raped and murdered travlers along the route. And now in modern times it's known as Blood Alley due to the numerous traffic accidents that occur along it's route. Not all these accidents are fatal, but some are. And apparently some of the victims haven't moved on.

Blood Alley seems to have several spirits on it's stretch of road. On the old Bolsa Road there's a story of a headless figure wandering aimless off the side of the road. It's said the ghost is that of a man who was in a car accident and was decapitated and now he is searching for his missing head. Another story is as you are driving towards San Juan Baustista, right after you pass the mission you drive through a small grove of trees and on your left you will see an outcropping of rocks. Sometimes late at night it's said the ghostly spectre of a woman can be seen there. Apparently her fiance was killed in an accident on this stretch of road, and despondent, she put on her wedding dress and went to the scene of the accident and climbed the rocks and jumped to her death. Unfortunately for whatever reason she did not join her beloved in the afterlife and she wanders the road looking for him to this day.

Other miscelaneous sightings include a woman searching for her child, but when you approach her for help she disappears. Witnesses have also claimed to hear the sound of a stage coach and the sound of horses but never see the source of the sounds.

There have also been reports by numerous witnesses of seeing a man in a black robe standing on the side of the highway usually between Casa De Fruta and Bell's Station. Written reports of seeing the figure go back at least several decades and the figure was always seen late at night or early in the morning before sunrise. It's theorized that the figure could be that of a Fransican Monk given the type of garb the witnesses describe seeing him in.

Another story I came across is that of young Indian girl that fell in love with one of the local monks who helped find the San Juan Baustista mission. They had a secret meeting place on a hill besides Fremonts Peak. But once the local townspeople found out about this illicit affair, the preist was excommunicated from the church and the girl was banished from her tribe. The priest went to their spot to find his beloved so they could finally be together. But when he arrived there he found her dead. Distraut, he killed himself. It's said you can see them both on the hill to this day. Whether this monk is the same spirit that was mentioned previously is unknown.

And what haunted highway would be complete without a phantom hitchhiker? Claims of a young girl wearing jeans and a plaid shirt asking for a ride from truck drivers have been reported. The girl would approach a truck with a driver in it and ask for a ride. When the driver said yes, she would walk towards the front of the truck as she was heading towards the passenger side. The driver would wait for the passenger door to open, but it never would. When they would get out of the truck to look for her, she was no where to be found. It's said that this woman is the ghost of a hitchhiker that was accidently killed by a semi-truck years ago.

And because ghosts aren't enough apparently for Blood Alley, there have been sightings of a half human half birdlike creature standing in the middle of the road. Strange lights have also been reported along the pass that have no known explanation.

So next time you are taking a trip to the bay area (or maybe Gilroy for the garlic festival) and see a person on the side of the road, double check that they are actually there. Because there's a good chance you just saw one of the many ghosts of Blood Alley.

The phantom hitchhiker of Browning Road

In the small town of Delano, about 30 miles north of Bakersfield there is said to be a spirit of a woman who haunts Browning Road. No one who the girl really is, but there are stories that she was a young woman who was crossing the street early one morning when she was struck by a car and killed instantly. It's said that if you drive down the road that sometimes you can see her standing on the side, as if she's waiting to cross. There have even been reports of her actually appearing in the backseat of several vehicles, undoubtedly terrifying the driver.

Most of the sightings seem to have occurred on a stretch of road south of town between Garces Highway (Hwy 155) and Woollomes Road. One witness reported seeing a shadowy figure leap in front of a car they were following and watched the figure disappear as the car swerved to avoid hitting it. Another reported that they heard the story, but not believing anything took a drive there one night. They said they were messing around and flashing their headlights trying to attract the ghost of the girl. There was one passenger in the car and they looked outside and saw the ghost standing next to the car. Terrified they sped off as they were severely shaken up.

Phantom hitchhiker stories have been around for centuries. And for some reason it was always some desolate road that the ghost chose to haunt. In the case of the Browning Road ghost, the woman seems to haunt the road she was killed on? The legend is so well known that at one time there was an active Facebook group for people to report their sightings. Sadly it is no longer available.

Another interesting note. I was exploring the Google Streetview of the stretch of road that is said to be haunted. I noticed a roadside memorial. Hard to say if this is for the ghost of a woman or for someone else, but usually these are only at places where someone has died and I found that interesting.