Everything OddWay knows about. Narrow it down by what you're after, or where you're going.
Stories a place tells about itself, passed down and still repeated.
Hampton, NH
Eunice "Goody" Cole was repeatedly accused of witchcraft in seventeenth-century Hampton and became one of the best-known witchcraft figures in New Hampshire history. A memorial stone on the town green acknowledges the accusations and the strange local legends that continued long after her death. It is a concrete stop tied to one of the state's strongest witch-lore stories.
Greenfield, MA
A covered bridge crosses the Green River near the place where Eunice Williams was killed during the 1704 Deerfield raid. Local ghost lore claims her apparition still appears near the bridge, especially on moonless nights. The haunting is folklore layered onto a documented historical tragedy.
St. Martinville, LA
A live oak on Bayou Teche is traditionally identified with the meeting place of Evangeline and Gabriel from Longfellow-inspired local lore. The story is literary rather than documented history, but the tree remains a major Acadiana folklore landmark.
Colorado Springs, CO
The historic chapel sits within one of Colorado Springs' oldest cemeteries and is often included in local haunted-history accounts. The cemetery is a burial ground first, so OddWay routing should respect posted hours and any chapel access restrictions.
Au Train, MI
A weathered human face carved into the sandstone along Lake Superior has become one of the Upper Peninsula's stranger shoreline landmarks. Local interpretation connects the carving with a nineteenth-century story involving a French voyageur and an Ojibwe leader, although the exact origin of the carving is not firmly documented; reaching it requires a shoreline walk.
Bandon, OR
Offshore sea stacks form the profile called Face Rock, tied to a Coquille story about Princess Ewauna; viewpoints keep visitors on public, lawful access.
Stuart, VA
The park is famous for naturally occurring staurolite crystals shaped like crosses, which local legend says formed from the tears of fairies who learned of Christ's crucifixion. Visitors can hike, camp and search designated areas for the distinctive stones while the state park interprets both the geology and folklore.
Baltimore, MD
The family that gave Fell's Point its name once had a burial ground here, now reduced to a tiny graveyard squeezed between later Baltimore buildings. Very little remains above ground, and uncertainty over what happened to some of the burials has helped make the small plot a recurring stop in neighborhood ghost lore.
St. Georges, DE
A Delaware legend recorded in the twentieth century tells of a local Black fiddler who drowned near Scott’s Run and whose music could supposedly be summoned by tossing a dime from the bridge. The original bridge associated with the story was already gone by the 1950s, so the present crossing is a geographic folklore marker rather than the historic structure itself. Do not stop on active highway lanes.
Rockwood, ME
A carved moose with large wings stands beside the road north of Rockwood, accompanied by a sign recounting a locally attributed Abenaki flying-moose legend. It is best treated as a roadside viewing stop without entering the nearby private property.
Boston, MA
A memorial plaque dedicated to carpenter Fook C. Kan contains puzzling errors and inconsistencies that have made its exact backstory difficult to untangle. The modest marker is a small urban mystery hidden in plain sight.
New Harmony, IN
New Harmony tradition once claimed that the Archangel Gabriel visited communal leader George Rapp in 1819 and left footprints impressed into a limestone slab. The weathered slab still survives behind a brick wall near Church and Main Streets, but it is on private property and should only be viewed from the public sidewalk through or over the wall.
Chatsworth, GA
A long, low stone wall snakes across the summit of Fort Mountain, and its original builders and purpose remain uncertain. Archaeologists have rejected many of the more extravagant legends attached to it, but the unexplained prehistoric or early historic structure remains one of North Georgia's best genuine mysteries.
St. Augustine, FL
Archaeological attraction intertwined with the enduring Ponce de León Fountain of Youth legend.
Ballston Spa, NY
In 1869, Spiritualist Samuel Hides said a séance message from the spirit of Benjamin Franklin told him exactly where to drill for a healing mineral spring. A spring was struck at the predicted depth, and the story became part of Ballston Spa folklore; a Legends & Lore marker now identifies the site.
Stuart, VA
A wooded mountaintop park at about 2,930 feet with several overlook platforms and picnic tables. It carries the same Lover's Leap story as the Route 58 pull-off nearby, but this is the park viewpoint rather than the highway one — they are two distinct stops.
Freeman, MO
Stop on Route D at East 299th Street, near the Kansas line, put the car in neutral, and it appears to roll uphill. The slope is an illusion — the surrounding land hides the true horizon, so a gentle descent reads as a climb — which has never once stopped anyone trying it with a bottle of water. A public road, so pull over sensibly and watch for traffic.
Assonet, MA
This large state forest forms another major point in Bridgewater Triangle lore. Stories attached to the woods include Pukwudgies, phantom lights and other unexplained encounters, while the forest also has a documented history of serious crimes. The paranormal material should be presented as regional folklore rather than fact.
Burkittsville, MD
Stop on Gapland Road, West Main Street, put the car in neutral, and it appears to roll uphill. The slope is an illusion — the surrounding land hides the true horizon, so a gentle descent reads as a climb — which has never once stopped anyone trying it with a bottle of water. A public road, so pull over sensibly and watch for traffic.
Casper, WY
Stop on Garden Creek Road, near the Rotary Park entrance, put the car in neutral, and it appears to roll uphill. The slope is an illusion — the surrounding land hides the true horizon, so a gentle descent reads as a climb — which has never once stopped anyone trying it with a bottle of water. A public road, so pull over sensibly and watch for traffic.
Columbus, OH
A large storm-drain tunnel beneath North High Street has acquired the nickname Gates of Hell and a collection of urban legends involving deaths, strange noises and supposedly supernatural encounters. The tunnel itself is drainage infrastructure and should not be entered; treat this as a view-from-public-ground folklore stop only.
Knowlton Township, NJ
This small lake beside the famously named Shades of Death Road developed its eerie name from mist that rises from the water on cool mornings. The surrounding road has accumulated decades of murder tales, ghost stories and supernatural folklore; visitors should use the designated state-forest parking area rather than stop in traffic.
Yazoo City, MS
Glenwood Cemetery contains the grave associated with the "Witch of Yazoo" legend, a local tale later popularized in Willie Morris's writing. The grave is real; the witch story is folklore, and visitors should treat the cemetery respectfully.
Rangeley, ME
Tiny houses and more than twenty gnome figures are scattered through the woods along trails at the Rangeley Lakes Trails Center. The handmade village turns a normal forest walk into a small-scale folklore scavenger hunt.
