The Prosecutors – Episode 332: Haunted Highways -- Cross Road Blues
Release Date: October 21, 2025
Hosts: Brett & Alice
Podcast: The Prosecutors (PodcastOne)
Episode Overview
In this chilling October episode, Brett and Alice take a road trip through America’s most haunted highways, exploring spooky folklore, deadly accidents, and true crime tales linked to infamous roadways. Leaning into the Halloween season, the hosts unravel the legends and mysteries of four notorious stretches of road, each shrouded in its own darkness—where vengeful spirits, supernatural creatures, and even real-life killers are said to lurk after dark. Blending folklore analysis with prosecutor-level skepticism (and a fair dash of humor), the hosts promise to have you thinking twice about your next late-night drive.
Key Haunted Highways & Stories
1. US Route 491 – The Devil’s Highway (formerly US Route 666)
Location: New Mexico, Colorado, Utah
Discussion Begins: [05:40]
- Background: Originally dubbed US Route 666 due to its numerical sequence, the highway is now known as US Route 491. The “number of the beast" and a high number of fatalities earned it the nickname "the Devil’s Highway."
- Host Commentary:
- Brett: “Did nobody think, huh, maybe we should name it something else? Maybe 666 is just not what we should go for?” [05:50]
- Haunted Legends:
- Satan’s Sedan: A black sedan that chases drivers at night, vanishing without a trace after running them off the road. [08:04]
- Haunted Semi Truck: Reports of a sinister, driverless semi that barrels toward broken-down motorists before disappearing. [09:25]
- Hellhounds: Supernatural dogs with fiery eyes, capable of keeping pace with vehicles, allegedly causing accidents. [10:29]
- Skinwalkers: From Navajo lore, these shapeshifters purportedly appear along the road to warn or terrorize drivers, sometimes possessing them, resulting in fatal crashes to capture the soul. [11:53]
- The Ghost Girl: A melancholic little girl in a white dress seen on the roadside; vanishes when approached. [12:16]
- Paranormal Phenomena:
- Missing Time: Drivers report lost hours, even days, with no memory of where the time went. Some experience what feels like time travel. [13:05]
- Brett’s Analysis: Connections between folklore across regions—ghost hitchhikers, missing time, and recurring motifs of lost souls seeking rides. [14:03]
2. Haynesville Woods – Route 2A, Maine
Location: Northern Maine
Discussion Begins: [16:14]
- Background: A dangerous, winding stretch famous among truckers (especially during Maine’s potato harvest), with black ice, steep turns, and a high fatality rate. Inspired Dick Curless' 1965 song “A Tombstone Every Mile.”
- Ghostly Apparitions:
- The Vanishing Bride: A ghostly woman, attributed to a tragic newlywed accident, is seen asking for help, only to disappear en route. [17:49]
- The Little Girl: Ghostly hitchhiker, thought to be one of two 10-year-olds killed in 1967; she disappears as drivers near the end of the road. [18:45]
- The Flesher Witch Legend:
- Story (Alice): "Annie Wilcox… began experiencing strange things at their Haynesville home. At first, it was just scratching noises at the window…then her blankets being pulled off…felt as if someone was biting her skin." [20:35]
- The Curse: Annie is eventually found dead and mutilated, her family dying tragically one by one, cementing the woods’ reputation for haunting and terror. [22:05]
- Host Banter:
- Grammar lesson: “You hanged people and you hung pictures.” [22:47]
- Population trivia: Only 97 residents in Haynesville. [22:47]
3. Clinton Road – West Milford, New Jersey
Location: Passaic County, NJ (10-mile stretch)
Discussion Begins: [27:33]
- Background: Known as “the most haunted street in America” due to a concentration of ghost stories, cryptid sightings, and a real mob murder. Infamous for having the country’s longest stoplight (over five minutes). [28:09]
- Haunted Locations:
- Dead Man’s Curve: Throw a coin from the bridge; a ghostly boy tosses it back. Legend says he died in a dare gone wrong. [28:40]
- Dangerous Curve: Frequent ghostly sightings—sometimes 3 at once. Ghosts encourage safe driving, acting as spectral traffic cops. [29:37]
- Helpful Ghost Rangers: “Are these not the most New Jersey ghost ever? You got park ranger ghost checking in on you…” [32:49]
- Ghostly Hitchhiker: Young girl in old-fashioned clothes disappears when offered a ride, especially in bad weather. [33:40]
- Haunted Vehicles:
- Black Pickup Truck & Blue Camaro: Ghost vehicles that terrorize night drivers, linked to former residents killed on the road. [34:51]
- Cryptids and Cult-ish Legends:
- The Jersey Devil: The infamous cryptid is rumored to live in these woods.
- Cross Castle Ruins: Brooding stone structure, former site of ritual gatherings and devil worship. Allegedly rife with ghostly chanting. [36:08]
- True Crime Connection:
- Discovery of a human head in a bag (1983) led to the conviction of mafia hitman Richard “Iceman” Kuklinski. [37:09]
- Host Dynamic:
- Alice: “You know what’s a surefire way to get me to crash my car is if I see a ghost or three ghosts on the side of the road.” [30:35]
4. Highway 50 Phantom – Bullion Bend, California
Location: Sierra Nevadas, California
Discussion Begins: [38:18]
- Incident: On June 11, 1994, Deborah Hoyt and her husband saw the body of a naked woman on the roadside. Fearing a trick, they drove to the next payphone and called police, but nothing was found.
- Five Days Missing:
- 23-year-old Christine Scubish and her son Nick had vanished while driving this stretch. When officers, prompted by Deborah’s call, searched again, they found a child’s shoe and the wrecked car—Christine dead at the wheel, Nick barely alive after five days alone. [39:47]
- Paranormal Element:
- Nick reported being enveloped in white light each night and comforted by a mysterious woman, believed to be his mother's ghost protecting and trying to alert passersby. [42:39]
- Notable Quote:
- Brett: “If you think Deborah’s making it up, well, it certainly was a good coincidence because it led to finding these two people on the side of the road.” [44:05]
- True Crime Meets Supernatural: The case is featured on both Unsolved Mysteries and Paranormal Witness, cementing its place as a rare story with tangible evidence and living witnesses.
Thematic Insights and Notable Commentary
Threads in American Roadside Folklore
- Recurring Motifs: Ghost hitchhikers, lost time, spectral vehicles, and shapeshifters reappear across different regions, indicating shared anxieties and the power of oral tradition.
- Host Skepticism vs. Wonder:
- Brett provides critical analyses ("Not to be all rationalist…” [11:14]), but notes how such legends often serve rational purposes—warnings, expressions of grief, or explanations for deadly accidents.
- Alice brings reluctant amusement and adds to the fun with personal anecdotes, making her the episode’s avowed “unwilling passenger on this road trip of horror.” [05:24]
- Folklore and Modern Fear: The episode situates modern myths within the framework of ancient fears—wilderness, isolation, the unknown—and investigates how roadways become new frontiers for the supernatural.
Most Memorable Quotes
- On Route 666:
- Alice: “You can rename places, you can rename people, but the original name is what tells the truth of the personality. And here I think we see why.” [08:04]
- Dissecting the Ghost Stories:
- Brett: “...You hear those stories really all over the country…they give them an address and it’s a cemetery…[the family says] that was my daughter. She was killed 10 years ago in an accident. Right. Like, these are very common legends…” [14:03]
- Jersey Ghosts:
- Brett: “Are these not the most New Jersey ghost ever?...We got park ranger ghost checking in on you to make sure you’re doing what you’re gonna do.” [32:49]
- On the Highway 50 Phantom:
- Brett: “This is a very famous story. It absolutely happened. You can find there’s an Unsolved Mysteries episode about it…Nick recovered, is healthy…and, you know, it’s one of those things. If you think Deborah’s making it up, well, it certainly was a good coincidence because it led to finding these two people on the side of the road.” [44:05]
- Episode Sign-off:
- Brett: “I hope you made it all the way with us and didn’t pick up any unwanted passengers on the way. If you’re listening to this in the car, you might want to check the backseat just to make sure there’s nothing lurking there behind you.” [44:59]
Timestamps for Major Segments
- [05:40] – Route 666 / US Route 491 (The Devil’s Highway)
- [16:14] – Haynesville Woods / Route 2A, Maine
- [27:33] – Clinton Road, New Jersey
- [38:18] – Highway 50 Phantom, California
- [44:05] – Reflections and Paranormal vs. True Crime Discussion
Additional Highlights
The Hosts’ Tone & Banter
- Poetic intros mixing spooky blues references (Robert Johnson’s "Cross Road Blues") with lighthearted teasing.
- Ongoing debate: Brett leans into the fun of the supernatural, while Alice maintains skepticism and jokes about never voluntarily traveling haunted highways.
- Lighthearted side tangents: Practical advice about gas stops, stories about Murder Creek, and amusing riffs about New Jersey's persistent ghosts.
Listener Engagement
- Brett invites listeners to share their own tales of haunted highways, lost time, ghostly apparitions, and anything paranormal tied to travel. [14:40, 44:59]
- Final episode teasers for their Halloween series; building community dialogue around spooky season.
Conclusion
This episode delivers a vivid tour of America’s haunted highways, mixing urban legends, real-life tragedy, and prosecutor-guided folklore analysis. Whether you’re a believer or a skeptic, you’ll leave with an arsenal of spooky stories—and possibly a new hesitance to drive after dark.
“We want to hear what you think about these stories. We want to know if you have any stories about paranormal events on roads, highways, airplanes, trains, automobiles, boats, wherever. If it involves transportation, go ahead and shoot it our way.” – Brett [44:59]