Truth Or Tale: Patch Readers Share Their Spooky Stories

NEW JERSEY - Maybe it is the house at the end of the block that has been vacant but still has lights turning on and off. Maybe it is the local woods where unexplained shrieks and howls come from. Or perhaps it was an up close and personal experience with a specter or haunted locale. New Jersey is full of supernatural spots and after Patch shared some spooky urban legends we turned to our readers for tales of their own.

And they delivered.

Cursed Ground On Route 1

"There's a rumor that the strip on Route 1 South where the Houlihan's (and a gazillion other restaurants used to be) was a staging ground of sorts for distribution of soldiers' bodies brought back during WWII, which is why no businesses ever do well there. Have never found proof, but that's what urban legends are all about" -Dora Ramos

Hookerman Sighting?

"I graduated from West Morris Central in the mid-80’s. I had moved to Long Valley my freshman year and heard all the stories about the infamous Hookerman but thought they were nothing more than urban legend. Before they closed off the entrance to the tracks three friends of mine and I decided to find out for ourselves what Hookerman was all about. One night I pulled my mom’s volvo on to the tracks from Bartley Road, turned off the car and headlights and the 4 of us sat there, doors locked, in the dark watching. At first we didn’t see anything but darkness and then the suspended orbs started to appear. Balls of light of various sizes appeared in front of us some within feet of the front of the car. Of course we started screaming and agreed we needed to back out of there. But the car wouldn’t start! Then the screaming really started. I’d never had a problem starting the car but it wouldn’t turn over - was it Hookerman who wanted us to stay longer? Once we all calmed down I tried one last time and thankfully the car started. We still talk about that night." -anonymous

Disappearing Man

"We were horseback riding on a beautiful clear night in early October about 4 years ago with a full moon & everything.

I left first around 8:30pm or so & made a left on Boss Road in Ringoes, NJ (across the street is a big graveyard). As I went down the hill & over the small bridge it was suddenly very very foggy so I had to slam on my brakes & go slow. I see a tall thin man walking or standing in the middle of the road & I look down for a second & then he was gone & a minute later I was out of the fog & figured he got out of my way & kept going.

Well, 10 min later I get a call from my daughter about the fog & the man & how he disappeared but this had happened to her just before the small bridge & then we both freaked out. Take it as you may but no one else who drove that way later that night experienced what we did." -Linda O'Donnell

Headless Bride

"Drive along Union Boulevard around midnight and see the ghost of the bride that was killed on her wedding night while she sat in the back of a car's rumble seat." -anonymous

Surprise Lake Lives Up To Name

"Two couples went down to Surprise Lake, off of Glenside Avenue, in one of the guy's car to park and talk while looking out at the Lake. It got darker and darker as they all sat there and talked. One of the boys had to get out and pee. As the 3 of them sat in the car waiting, they began to hear something scratching and going back and forth, back and forth on the roof. The girls were getting so spooked and the boy was wondering WHAT THE HECK ?! He got out of the car much to his girlfriends dismay to investigate. He didn't have a flashlight but heard the scratch, scratch back and forth on the roof. As his eyes got accustomed to the dark, he saw a dark form on top of the car swinging back and forth. When he neared, the form had clothes on much like his friends and was upside down over the car.....scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch......as he got even closer, he saw there was blood trickling down his friends hand.......AND AND AND he had NO HEAD.......he screamed and screamed and falling back onto the ground he also noticed his tires were flat ............trying to get back into the car, he fumbled with the door handle and out of the darkness came a figure with a pickax in his hands...........

Bodies WITHOUT HEADS were found as the sun was rising, never ever RECOVERED again..........
Beware as you enter Surprise Lake.....u might just see the heads bobbing on the lake ........BOO!!"-Betsi Tidaback

Less Successful Than The Chicken

"At exit 82, near the Tom's River State Police Barracks, you'll find the Parkway Phantom. A man will appear waving his arms, trying to cross the road. Dressed in a long topcoat, he only appears at night. Legend has it that he died crossing the stretch, and is still trying to make it to the other side." -Patch poster

Here are some shared through the short answer segment of our survey.

Angel Hair

"The falling thread in Caldwell 1970. A string hanging from the sky for months near Forest Avenue."

Bumps In The Night

"There is a road leading up to the Watchung Reservation it has 13 bumps you drive over it is said that while counting if you count 14 it’s your grave bump."

"13 bumps in the Watchung reservation. Tale of Feltville when 13 sisters were accused of killing the children of this small town. They were tried and found guilty and buried on the road each bump was for each sister buried. Even though they have paved in recent years the bumps keep appearing."

Leper Colony

"House of Leper’s in Peapack still is a private mansion used to be actually owned by nuns and the mysterious lots of candles at night and nuns walking around in veils. Heard other legends of the same place."

Berkeley Heights Telephone Booth Ghost Girl

"Years ago, there was an old, red telephone booth next to the Berkeley Heights public library. A librarian at the library reported that the booth had been taken away quite a while ago but had been standing there reportedly for decades. The booth used to stand in an area that is now part of the library’s parking lot. Years ago, when the telephone booth was still standing as a historic relic, some people reported seeing a strange, transparent girl inside, slumped over the seat reaching for the telephone. Urban legend holds that a ghost had haunted the telephone booth for years. Rumors hold that the ghost was a girl who after being attacked, had run to the telephone booth in hopes of calling for help. Mid-dial, she died, and her ghost continued to linger, always trying to call for help."

Ghostly Bride

"A ghost-bride walks around the lake area of Branch Brook Park in Newark.. .The story goes as follows...the bride & groom drive thru the park on their wedding night...tragically the car goes out of control & plunges into the lake...the bride’s body is never found...hence...The Lady in White walks the lake every night..."

Quick Hits To Explore

• The Devils' Tree
• Shades of Death Road
• Bud's Grave in Atlantic Highlands
• Clinton Road in West Milford
• Annie's Ghost on River Road in Totowa

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