Haunted Roads of Western Pennsylvania

by Thomas White

  The Devil’s hoof prints? Or just a horse? Courtesy of Justina White.

  Does this mean then that no Satanists or other occultists ever went to the road and attempted to perform rituals there? Of course not. In fact, it is likely that the legend may have attracted amateur or would-be Satanists and dabblers in the occult. However, there is no evidence that a large and organized cult regularly used the road for rituals or to summon the Devil or committed any murders there (creating ghosts in the process). But the legend did serve a purpose at the time for the culture that enforced it. As the outgrowth of a moral panic, it reminded teenagers that evil is real, and even though the world may feel safe, there is danger hidden everywhere. During the conservative shift of the 1980s, that evil was personified in its most obvious and direct form—the Devil and his followers. Going to Blue Mist Road might allow you not only to encounter a ghost, but the cult might also turn you into one.

  Still, in spite of the explanations, people continue to have strange experiences on Blue Mist Road. Some of these seem to be supernatural, and others are just bizarre. One of the authors of this volume, Thomas White, uses the road as a field trip when he teaches classes on folklore, myths and legends. On almost every occasion, even though the class knows that most of the stories about the road are urban legends, something strange happens. For example, one time, while walking back on the middle stretch of the road, a rustling noise was heard in the woods down by Irwin Run. When flashlights were pointed in the direction of the noise, they fell on an older couple that was standing almost motionless in the dark. The noise was coming from their unleashed dog, which was running in and out of the creek. In an almost emotionless tone, the man said, “Can you please turn off the light?” The flashlights were turned off, and the couple vanished back into the darkness. In the brief minute in which they were seen, they appeared to have no light of their own. The area in which they were standing was a fairly swampy place that would not be easy to get to in the dark. Between the stern expressions of the couple and the strangeness of the whole encounter, it was enough to spook the students who kept checking over their shoulders on the way back to the cars.

  While this was probably just a normal couple and their dog on an ambitious nighttime walk, on Blue Mist Road it became a bizarre encounter. In spite of all the explanations for its ghosts and legends, the road, especially at night, has an atmosphere of creepiness that makes one believe that some of the legends just might possibly be true. That is the reason that Blue Mist Road continues to attract the curious. If there really are any ghosts on Blue Mist Road, they will be having plenty of visitors.

  SHADES OF DEATH ROAD

  WASHINGTON COUNTY

  Washington County has its own equally mysterious haunted road. Outside of the small town of Avella, not far from the West Virginia border, is a long and sparsely populated tree-lined stretch that has become home to a variety of supernatural tales. Unlike many of the other haunted roads that we will discuss, this particular road does not need an alternative spooky-sounding name because its real name is creepy enough. A label like Shades of Death Road almost guarantees that legends and ghost stories will accompany it.

  Shades of Death Road meanders for almost two miles, connecting Campbell Drive and Bethel Ridge Road. Surrounded by woods and vegetation, part of the road follows Hollow Rock Run. A distinct feeling of isolation can quickly come over anyone who takes the lonely route, either by car or on foot. In addition to the very few and scattered houses, Bethel Church and Cemetery are located near the Bethel Ridge Road end. An old mine and possibly a cave exist in the woods along the road as well.

  One of the biggest mysteries about Shades of Death Road is the origin of the name. No one seems to quite agree on its source. The most mundane explanation is that the numerous trees that lined the road formed a canopy that blocked out most of the sunlight, even in the middle of the day. It was said to be so dark that farmers who took their wagons down the road during the day had to use lanterns to light their way. Today there are fewer trees on the road than in the past, but there are still enough to heavily shade the roadway when they have their leaves. There is no way to know for sure if this origin story is true, but it seems plausible.

  The street sign for Shades of Death Road. Authors’ collection.

  Bethel Church and Cemetery at the end of Shades of Death Road. Authors’ collection.

  A slight variation of this explanation exists. In 2001, while writing an article about the road for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, David Templeton interviewed a resident who heard that it was Indians, not the farmers, who named the road. The trees that blocked the sunlight were hemlocks, and therefore poisonous. While a road darkened by poisonous trees certainly seems like a good source of the name, Templeton pointed out a problem. It is hemlock plants that are poisonous—not the trees.

  Writer Heather Frazier heard another alternate explanation (in addition to the previous ones) when she was researching her book Pittsburgh’s Ghosts: Steel City’s Supernatural. She uncovered rumors that during the early settlement of the area, there was an outbreak of disease, possibly malaria, because of the swamp-like conditions near the road. The outbreak caused several deaths and depopulated the area temporarily; henceforth the road was known as Shades of Death. While it may seem like a reasonable explanation, this account has problems as well. Though historical information about the road is sparse, there does not seem to have ever been an outbreak of a malaria-type disease there in the past. In fact, the area around Shades of Death is not really swampy at all aside from the mud along the banks of Hollow Rock Run. It seems that this explanation was borrowed from another, better known, Shades of Death Road in New Jersey. (Yes—there is more than one!) The swamp story has been traditionally attached to that road for years. In the age of Internet legends, details like these can be mixed up, especially when the haunted locations share the same name.

  Of course, popular legends have claimed that the road received its name for more violent and unpleasant reasons. Over the years, different accounts of murders, hangings and suicides have spread among the youth in that part of Washington County. These alleged tragedies are also responsible for the road becoming a destination for legend trippers. Those who died on the road are said to haunt it, occasionally making their presence known to visitors.

  Much like Blue Mist Road, Shades of Death has several legends that involve hangings and, in one case, the Ku Klux Klan. One of these hangings reportedly dates back to the years just before the Civil War. Details are vague, as usual, but the story revolves around an unnamed escaped slave. The man managed to make it across the Mason-Dixon line and reach the Avella area when tragedy befell him. A group of local men found and captured the slave and dragged him down Shades of Death Road. There, they found a strong branch, tied a noose to it and lynched him in cold blood.

  Another somewhat similar hanging story is set sometime in the 1920s or ’30s. In that version, a young black man was abducted by members of the Ku Klux Klan. He was taken out to the lowest spot on the road by the hooded figures and lynched from a low branch. His body was left hanging from the branch and later discovered by a passerby. Like the ghost of the slave, he haunts the road at the location of his violent death.

  Tree-lined Shades of Death Road is the home of several ghost stories and legends. Authors’ collection.

  If two hangings were not enough, there is one more story that does not involve the Ku Klux Klan or racism. It is supposed to have happened more recently and is usually placed sometime between the mid-1970s and mid-1990s. A desperate young man drove to Shades of Death Road late one night when his life seemed to be falling apart. He had recently lost his job and faced financial ruin. To make matters worse, his fiancé had decided to leave him. Feeling that he had no hope, he parked his car near the lowest spot in the road, tied a rope around a tree and hanged himself. His body was allegedly not discovered for several days.

  The ghosts of one or all of these hanged men are said to manifest themselves in the
same way. To encounter the ghost or ghosts you have to park your car along the lowest portion of the road where it crosses the stream. If you exit the vehicle, you will hear footsteps and breathing behind you. When you turn around, no one will be there. Some legend trippers have said that to hear the footsteps and feel the presence, you can stay in your car. One has to drive to the spot and stop the car, shut off the headlights, roll down the windows and then blow his or her horn three times. Soon footsteps will be heard around the vehicle. Shadowy figures have also been reported in the vicinity, and sometimes eerie cries for help are heard emanating from the woods. Those who investigate can never find the source.

  The lowest part of Shades of Death Road, where the various hangings and accidents allegedly occurred. Authors’ collection.

  One twenty-six-year-old man from Washington County, who was interviewed in 2010, heard both the Klan and the car accident stories:

  I think I heard some stories in high school. That’s when I went to Shades of Death once with my friends. Nothing happened when we went. My friend—well—he was the one, I think, that first heard about the ghosts and stuff. One ghost was a black guy who was lynched by the KKK. Not sure when that happened. Then there was some other ghost. A guy that killed himself I think. My friend said you can hear him walking around and stuff. It was down by the creek. We got out and walked around. Heard some animals in the woods, but no ghost.

  Being a legend trip destination, the road also has a supernatural car-related story. It involves a fatal accident, of course, but with a bit of a twist. This time the accident is attributed to one of the other ghosts. The most common version tells of a young man who was driving a bit too fast on the winding and dark road late one evening. Something distracted him, causing his car to swerve and run into a tree. He was killed by the impact. It was the ghost of one of the hanged men who appeared suddenly in his headlights that caused him to swerve. Now the ghost of the angry young driver haunts the road, ready to frighten those who stop near the scene of the accident.

  Accounts of more recent accidents have circulated by word of mouth and have appeared on the Internet. They usually involve a lone person driving along the road at night, much like the young man who was killed. Ghostly figures either directly cause or trigger the accident, but in these instances, the driver is usually able to walk away.

  Brutal hangings and car accidents were not the only grisly tales associated with the road. Rumors that Shades of Death Road was a dumping ground for bodies have persisted for many years. While researching the legends, Victoria Trimble found a man with a direct link to such a story. Though he did not wish to be named in a publication, he told Trimble that his uncle made a disturbing discovery on the road in his youth. He and his sister had gone to the road to pick berries, but they soon discovered an abandoned car. Inside were two bodies—that of a man and a woman—each with a bullet hole in their head. Trimble’s informant had heard that the Mafia from Steubenville, Ohio, once used the isolated road as a place to dispose of bodies out of state. The same man had also heard, more recently, that stolen vehicles were occasionally dumped there as well. Supposedly the police were unwilling to go down the road to recover the vehicles.

  Perhaps their hesitancy is tied to another legend that briefly circulated on the road. Much like Blue Mist Road, vague rumors of satanic cult activity spread in the late 1980s and ’90s. In addition to the standard cult activities, this group was especially hostile to those who ventured down the road. Several visitors have claimed that they were chased off by men in black SUVs. Other times it is not directly implied that it is a Satanist that patrols the road but rather that there is someone suspicious or dangerous who lives on the road and does not like visitors.

  Not all of the legends of Shades of Death involve hangings and secret organizations. Some of the ghosts along the road belong to local coal miners who died in accidents or because of violence. Avella and its surrounding communities were economically tied to mining for many years. Given the dangers involved in such a profession, it seems natural that tales of tragedy might evolve into local ghost stories. Bodies of mine workers killed in strikes or labor-related violence are reportedly buried in the woods around the road. According to legend, the ghosts of these unfortunate souls have been sighted occasionally near Shades of Death Road. Unfortunately for us, there are not many firsthand accounts of these sightings that have been recorded. Most are brief, capsulized versions of what seem to be older stories.

  Victoria Trimble uncovered one tale of murder and miners. One of her sources told her that the road was a common shortcut for miners walking home from their shifts at certain area mines. Normally, this would not be a problem. If they passed through the area on payday, however, it could cost them their lives. According to the story, there was a pair of trappers who lived in the hollow below Shades of Death Road. These unsavory characters allegedly murdered and robbed anyone foolish enough to take the road while carrying his pay. Purportedly there were at least a few victims. The foundations of the trappers’ small homes are located somewhere in the valley.

  There are also vague reports of ghostly miners who were killed in accidents in old mines along or near the road. Details of these hauntings are sketchy, and it appears that if there were once more complete stories, they may have faded with time.

  Probably the strangest story told about the road involved a cave in the nearby woods. A man who only gave his name as Barry posted what he claimed to be a true, though disturbing, firsthand encounter on the Ghosts of America webpage. Barry claimed that he and his friends had gone into an old cave to explore it. After about four hundred feet, they came to a pit full of brackish water, so they stopped. When he shined his flashlight farther into the cave, the light reflected on what seemed to be a pair of orange eyes. Barry and his friends turned around and headed back to the surface, but a few minutes later they heard some noises, a groan and scratching sounds. Moments later, a rock fell, and Barry turned to see an evil-looking ghoulish figure “hovering beside the wall of the cave.” It had a decomposing body with long hair and a glowing white gown. The creature stared at him for a few seconds and then disappeared. His friends, who were much farther ahead, only reported seeing a glowing orange light pass them. Though this account may be interesting, no other similar tales have been recorded or mentioned. (We strongly advise readers never to explore a cave without a properly trained spelunker, and never enter an abandoned mineshaft.)

  So again it seems we have another road with stories of ghosts, the Ku Klux Klan, mysterious deaths, cults and car accidents. But Shades of Death Road also has its phantom coal miners and (maybe) a ghoul in a cave. Certainly the name of the road adds to the sense of danger and mystery. Some of these stories have the typical urban legend/legend trip characteristics. However, the ghostly coal miners have no direct legend trip ritual associated with them. To attempt to really understand these stories, we must look deeper and into the historical context. Surprisingly though, these ghosts and even some of the tales that seem to clearly be urban legends actually have some ties to real historical events.

  Since the ghost story of the hanged slave purports to be the oldest legend associated with the road, we will begin there. It may seem like a plausible story on the surface, but there is no record of an escaped slave being lynched on Shades of Death Road. Of course, it is always possible that it did happen and there is just no surviving record. Given the rewards that were frequently offered for escaped slaves, it may be more likely that he would have been captured and returned for payment. This is only speculation, and whether a slave was murdered or not, there may have been another inspiration for the story. There was, in fact, a route used by the Underground Railroad that passed through Washington County not far from Avella. James Switala mapped the route in his book The Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania. Perhaps the fact that escaped slaves frequently passed through the area at one time was enough to inspire the legend years later. Whether the Underground Railroad caused any tensions in the comm
unity at the time or in the years after we do not know, but enough of a community memory may have survived (or have been relearned later by residents) to inspire the ghost story. At the very least, it sets a historically possible context for the ghost.

  Another view of the long and winding Shades of Death Road. Authors’ collection.

  The alleged Ku Klux Klan lynching in the 1920s also has no evidence to directly support the legend. As mentioned earlier, the 1920s were the high point of Klan activity, so the time period is correct. Still, there is no proof that anyone was lynched there. Local writer Frank Muzopappa, who wrote about the region in his book Penowa: Alpha and Omega, may have given us a clue as to the origin of this tale. He discussed a woman named Rose Davis, also known as “Cross Creek Rosie.” Rose had lived for a while on Shades of Death Road during the 1920s. Rose was an eccentric character, known for dressing like a gypsy and having many lovers. In the 1920s though, she was married to an African American man named John Davis. Interracial marriages were much less common at the time, especially in a place like rural Washington County. John died in a mining accident and was not lynched, but it is certainly possible that the Davis marriage may have caused some tensions and the couple could have potentially faced harassment. Again, there is no way of knowing this for sure, but perhaps it lies at the root of the 1920s Klan legend.

  The part of the legend about the young man killed in the car accident has yet to be verified. Certainly there have been car accidents on the road, but it is not clear whether they have involved fatalities. The main problem with this legend is the fact that if the man was driving and died alone, how would we know what he saw in the road that caused him to crash? Often, car accident legends like this one have a practical purpose that is not readily apparent. Such stories are commonly attached to places that are potentially dangerous to drivers, like an unexpected bend on a dark road. When teenagers, who have less experience driving, hear the legend, they may slow down in the area of the alleged accident to look for the ghost or to provoke a reaction from it with a legend trip ritual of some sort or simply because they remember the story. While it is not clear there was a fatal accident on this road, conditions on Shades of Death certainly could be dangerous if a driver was going too fast. This and other stories of fatal car accidents, whether caused by a ghost or not, are a reminder to be vigilant behind the wheel.