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.
Columbus, OH
Ohio State folklore says an art student became trapped in a Hopkins Hall elevator overnight and left frantic handprints behind while trying to escape. Versions of the story claim a mysterious handprint still reappears on the exterior of the building; the site is on a public university campus, though visitors should not disrupt classes or enter closed spaces looking for it.
Middlesboro, KY
Coal miner and self-taught folk artist Henry Harrison Mayes spent decades creating concrete crosses, hearts and religious messages that he distributed across America and envisioned sending around the world. He also constructed his Middlesboro home itself in the shape of a cross; it remains a private residence, with surviving original crosses visible from the public street.
Meriden, CT
The Hanging Hills around Hubbard Park are home to the legend of a small black dog whose appearances supposedly grow increasingly ominous: seeing it once brings joy, twice brings sorrow and a third sighting foretells death. The story is folklore, but it has been repeated for generations.
Lake City, SC
A bronze statue preserves the memory of Huey Cooper, a beloved Lake City character remembered for sitting at the corner of Acline and Main and letting passersby rub his lucky rabbit's foot for a nickel. Sculptor Alex Palkovich installed the figure in 2014 at Cooper's old corner. The statue still holds out the rabbit's foot and even includes a slot in its pocket so visitors can continue the nickel tradition. Secondary source: https://saintteresacoe.org/tour/huey-cooper-statue/
Shadehill, SD
A monument near Shadehill Reservoir marks the region where frontiersman Hugh Glass was mauled by a grizzly bear in 1823 and later began his legendary survival journey. The event became the basis for generations of frontier storytelling and eventually inspired The Revenant.
Keene, NH
Keene State College students have long passed around stories of wheelchair sounds and other unexplained activity inside Huntress Hall, often attributing them to Harriet Huntress. Historical timelines complicate the legend because Huntress died before the residence hall opened, making this a good example of campus folklore evolving independently of fact. The hall is an active residence, so OddWay visitors should view it only from public campus areas.
Līhuʻe, HI
A large ancient fishpond beside Huleʻia is traditionally linked to stories of the Menehune, who are said to have built its stonework in a single night. The pond is also an important Hawaiian engineering and aquaculture site; use lawful overlooks or authorized tours rather than entering private wetland areas.
Chicago, IL
This life-sized statue of a young girl in Graceland Cemetery inspired persistent stories that the figure vanishes during thunderstorms.
Douglas, WY
Douglas embraces its claim as the jackalope's hometown with a large horned-rabbit statue and town-square tribute to the invented creature.
Near Hollywood / Jacksonboro, SC
Lowcountry legend says a lantern-like light appears along Parkers Ferry Road, carried by the ghost of a preacher eternally searching for his missing daughter after he was killed by a train. Stories sometimes add the sound of a phantom train whistle to the moving light. This is a folklore route point only: remain on public roads, never enter railroad property and never stop where doing so would be unsafe or illegal.
Wheatley Heights, NY
Long Island legend says Jacob Conklin sailed with Captain William Kidd before building a home in this area around 1710. The house burned in 1918, but a Legends & Lore marker on Colonial Springs Road preserves the local pirate connection.
Salt Lake City, UT
Brewer and politician Jacob Moritz became the subject of a long-running Salt Lake Cemetery ghost tale under the nickname 'Emo.' The city itself identifies him as a cemetery figure associated with legendary ghost lore.
Galveston, TX
A historical marker recalls pirate Jean Lafitte's Campeche settlement on Galveston Island and the island's enduring buried-treasure lore.
North Bennington, VT
This secluded stone mansion on the Bennington College campus is often identified as a possible visual inspiration for Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House. The connection is literary lore rather than proven fact, but Jackson lived in North Bennington and the building's isolated setting closely fits the association.
Griswold, CT
After tuberculosis killed multiple members of the Ray family, frightened relatives exhumed corpses in the 1850s and burned remains in an attempt to stop what they believed was a vampire-like curse. The episode belongs to a documented New England tradition in which disease was blamed on the restless dead.
Marshall, MO
Jim was a Llewellin setter celebrated in the 1930s for apparently understanding complex spoken commands, predicting events and identifying objects he had not been trained to recognize. A public memorial garden in downtown Marshall preserves the story of the dog whose abilities became local legend.
Stockbridge, WI
Stop on Joe Road, south of Stockbridge off WIS 55, 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.
Talcott, WV
The park commemorates the legendary steel-driving man John Henry and the story of his race against a steam drill during construction of the nearby Big Bend Tunnel. Visitors now find a large John Henry statue, interpretive displays and walking areas at the location traditionally associated with the legend.
Danbury, CT
After comedian John Oliver mocked Danbury on television, the mayor jokingly threatened to name the city's sewage plant after him — and the city ultimately followed through. A sign now officially identifies the John Oliver Memorial Sewer Plant, turning a municipal facility into a comedy landmark.
Deer Park, NY
For decades, local stories claimed President John Quincy Adams once owned a summer home in Deer Park. Research instead traced the property to a different John Quincy Adams, a clergyman who owned land here in the nineteenth century, and a Legends & Lore marker now explains how the presidential connection became local folklore.
Fort Wayne, IN
John Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed, died near Fort Wayne in 1845 after decades of planting and tending orchards across the frontier. A prominent memorial in Johnny Appleseed Park marks the burial place traditionally accepted as his grave, giving the American folk figure a real public destination.
Manhattan, KS
The giant green Johnny Kaw figure represents a fictional Kansas folk hero invented in the 1950s as a regional answer to Paul Bunyan. His exaggerated legends involve shaping Kansas geography, fighting giant creatures, and performing impossible farm feats.
Cullowhee, NC
This large soapstone boulder is covered with hundreds of ancient petroglyphs and is one of the most significant Native American rock-art sites in the Southeast. Cherokee tradition connects the stone with Judaculla, a powerful giant or supernatural being whose name is associated with the landscape.
Shullsburg, WI
Stop on Judgement Street, just past Rennick Road, 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.
