Another weird NJ legend I’m familiar with is Clinton Road in West Milford (which, from my reading, seems to be a center of weirdness for NJ; I believe West Milford is also where the silver thread I previously mentioned was seen, as well as being the general location of the rumored Midgetville). I’ve never been on Clinton Road, but it’s one of those things I’ve been planning on next time I’m in the area.
A while back on the Travel Channel they had a show featuring haunted spots across the country and Clinton Road was featured. A legend they gave (and I may have some details inaccurate, but this is the gist of it) was that at one time a young boy was killed on the road near a bridge (probably a car accident, but my memory’s not clear on this). The legend is that if you stand on the bridge and toss your change over the side, the boy’s ghost will come and return your change to you.
Another thing about the road I seem to recall is that there’s a tight curve on the road; over the years several lethal accidents have occurred at that spot where the driver missed the turn and drove their car into the lake just beyond.
Because of my interest in visiting Clinton Road one day, this post has always stuck in my mind (njufoic’s post, fifth one down).
Now I’m a fairly skeptical person. I’d love to see some first hand evidence that would convince me of hauntings or the Jersey Devil or what have you, but until then I’ll remain interested in such legends but still skeptical. But Clinton Road is another example where I can’t help but wonder if there’s some truth to the legends that can be traced back to the Mafia presence in NJ.
One more thing about NJ roads that just occurred to me. (And I must admit this is a fairly vague memory. While I’m pretty sure it happened as I’ll describe it, it is possible I dreamed this event). I mentioned earlier about visiting my friend several years ago in Glassboro, NJ. While we were there we took the short road trip to Atlantic City.
Now my friend is more skeptical than I am, one who typically ridicules others for believing in ghosts, UFOs, and that sort of thing.
I was doing the driving from Glassboro to Atlantic City, and most of the trip was along the Atlantic City Expressway, which connects Atlantic City to the Greater Philadelphia area.
Before we left, my friend mentioned some legend about the Expressway being cursed and that over the years there have been several fatal accidents on the highway. Knowing how skeptical he is, I was a bit surprised he brought something like that up in the first place.
I asked him if he thought there was any truth to it. He said that yes, he did think so. He went on to explain he didn’t think it was supernatural, of course, but just that the layout and environment of the highway itself was kind of dull, and was prone to inducing tiredness and sleep in drivers. Before we left, he told me to be sure and let someone else behind the wheel if I began to feel tired.
(That’s all there is to tell; I just thought it was an amusing anecdote about the prevalence of NJ legends. As I recall, I drove out to Atlantic City and back without any trouble).
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