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| Clinton Road in West Milford Township, New Jersey, is said to be one of the most haunted stretches of highway in America. |
Victims of the Iceman
Richard Kuklinski, was a professional killer who prowled New Jersey and New York in the 1950s through the 80s. He got his name by freezing his victims so that the time of death could not be determined. Police examiners actually caught onto his scheme after he dumped a body on Clinton Road that he did not let thaw enough and chunks of ice were found inside the body. This later led to his arrest.
The road's notorious past as it relates to The Iceman, may have only helped Clinton Road's reputation for being haunted, because stories of strange encounters on this road date back to the early 1900s long before The Iceman's time. There have been many sightings of shadowy figures randomly standing along the road as travelers pass by at night.
Phantom Rangers of Terrace Pond
There are hiking trails and a camping area near Terrace Pond along Clinton Road. Some hikers who decided to camp near the pond claim to have been visited by Park Rangers who politely chatted with the group for a while. After their camping trip was over, the learned that there were no park rangers out and that two rangers meeting their description, had died in an accident in 1939. So when you are hiking the Terrace Pond Loop in West Milford Township, and you encounter a forest ranger, you may want to keep moving!
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| A view of the pond from Terrace Pond Loop in West Milford Township, New Jersey near haunted Clinton Road |
Phantom Lights
Many travelers on Clinton Road have reported being harassed by "ghost" lights. These lights appear to be head lights of a vehicle behind them. However, when they slowed down to let the vehicle pass, the lights would slow with them. And when they reached the end of Clinton road, the lights would suddenly disappear. There some who believe this is a phantom vehicle, not just lights, that randomly appears behind you as if to chase you off of Clinton Road.
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| While traveling Clinton Road in New Jersey, you may be followed by strange lights that suddenly appear |
Ghost Boy Bridge
At the area where Clinton Road crosses Clinton Brook, there once was a town which is no longer. This town was of course, the village of Clinton, New Jersey. At the bridge that crosses the brook, legend has it that a young boy was playing on the bridge and encountered a passing vehicle and tumbled over the side and downed in the brook. Some believe that if some visitors to the bridge have been pushed over the side by the phantom child in order to save them. Reportedly, the boy can be summoned by placing a quarter on the yellow line on the bridge. Many say that if you throw a coin into the water, the ghost of the young boy will throw it back!
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| A view from below "Ghost Boy Bridge" on Clinton Road where a boy supposedly drown after falling off of the bridge |
Phantom Camaro of Dead Man's Curve
There is a dangerous curve on Clinton Road where many have been killed. Some say that a phantom Camaro driven by a young girl that was killed on the road years ago can be seen driving the highway late at night. Many eyewitnesses have seen this vehicle driven by a girl pass them by, only to disappear into nothing.
Bizarre Animals
Another bizarre occurance that often occurs on Clinton Road is the sighting of strange animals. Some claim that there was an exotic animal park along the road that shut down and instead of being relocated, some of the animals were released into the wild and bred with local wild animals producing some strange species of animals that have been seen in headlights of cars. Some speculate that some of these encounters may be with the New Jersey Devil which is also legendary in the area. These things do not however, explain why there have been so many sightings of different types of animals that are all white in appearance.
Mysterious Stone Structures
Adding to the mystic of Clinton Road, there are rumors that a stone druidic temple and castle ruins along the road have served as a place for devil worshipers and other cult activities. Although, people may have used it as some sort of temple, the stone mound that many believe has Satanic purposes, is actually an 18th century furnace which was used to smelt iron during the Revolutionary War. This structure is located just south of Clinton Reservoir on the east side of the road where it intersects with School House Road.
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| Clinton Furnace, a 18th century smelting mound along Clinton Road in New Jersey believed to be a druid temple by many passers by |
Cross Castle which was built in 1905 by a man named Richard Cross in the hills along Clinton Road was a mystical place during it's existance, and even more so after it was destroyed by a fire. Supposedly, it became a favorite site for Satanic rituals and eventually the structure was demolished and all that remains is the stone foundation and a few walls. The castle is also near Clinton Reservoir located near School House Road and Van Orden Roads and is accessible by hiking trails. Many say that visitors to the site experience very strange feelings as if there is some unseen presence there. Visitors have also have seen unexplained visions as if something was altering their mind. Some people have actually claimed to have bruises appear on their arms and legs put there by some paranormal force after visiting the ruins.
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| In the hills above Clinton Road in New Jersey are the remains of Cross Castle |
A member of the Wicca community actually verified that indeed, some Wicca cults really have held ceremonies along the desolate stretch of Clinton Road. This could explain why there have been sightings of people in "strange" clothing have been spotted at night.
There is no doubt that there are a variety of haunts to spook you on Clinton Road. From the ghost of a young boy haunting a bridge, to unseen spirits of a castle ruins, it is things like these that make Clinton Road one of the creepiest highways in America!
The legends are true.
ReplyDeleteOn Friday night, 10/1, Me and the family took a cruise up the venerable Clinton Road in West Milford, NJ. The road is actually close to us here in Orange County New York as it boarders Greenwood Lake and it’s off of route 17.
Upon entering the road, we were surprised to see how isolated it was considering that it is considered the scariest road in the US and also considering our timing with the Halloween season upon us.
Our initial ride through the road was uneventful where we were able to identify certain peculiar landmarks such as ‘Dead man’s curve’ and the bridge where one child was drowned after falling off of it.
We noticed some houses on the road that were all vacant and boarded up. The road was very spooky emitting bad vibes to say the least.
After a u’ turn to return home, we passed the bridge and dead man’s curve where we slowed down almost to a stop deciding whether to venture ourselves out of the vehicle and look around and maybe toss a coin over the bridge. Legend has it that at midnight, if you toss a coin, it will be returned to u by the boy who had drowned in that spot. It was approximately 10:30PM (+/-) when we decided to continue driving and return home
On or way, we passed by an isolated road of which we considered investigating but the consensus was to avoid it. Later we learned that the road lead to a haunted area where witchcraft was practiced among other paranormal activities. As we continued our way back, a vehicle appeared, out of no-where, behind us but with the many curves on the road, we thought that it may have just appeared after a curve. As we continued to drive, the vehicle sped up to the point that it was right behind us and began to blink it’s light as though wanting to pass. It continued tail-gaiting us continuously blinking its lights while zigzagging left and right behind us. The road was very dark and with many curves therefore we were trying to be careful, but none the less distracted by the occurrence.
All of a sudden, the lights that were following us turned off. The vehicle was no longer behind us. After a few seconds, the lights of the vehicle were again upon us with the constant blink, intensity and rage that it had demonstrated before. This went on for a few more long seconds than all of a sudden, lights out! The vehicle had vanished.
It was very dark albeit almost a full moon out but yet we could not catch a glimpse of the vehicle itself. Legend has it that it’s a black truck that is looking to chase you off the road if you probe to much. We were probing.
I grew up on that road .. The only thing haunting those woods during the 1970's - 1980's was us!
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