GHOST STORY CLINTON ROAD

GHOST STORY CLINTON ROAD

What elements does a road need to be labeled genuinely creepy? Isolated area? Thick forest on both sides? A dark history? Clinton Road in West Milford, New Jersey certainly would qualify. This ten mile stretch of curves and dips makes you feel like you’re millions of miles from civilization. Clinton Road along with the reservoir and brook received its name from the settlement Clinton, once located where it crosses the brook. The KKK and Satanists have all been known to worship in places near it. The woods next to Clinton Road was also the site of serial killer dumping ground. Richard “The Iceman” Kuklinski was a mob hitman who claimed to have murdered over hundreds of people but the one found near Clinton Road led to his 1986 arrest. The legends attached to the road attracts and terrifies all those who attempt to drive on it.

In 1905, a writer warned travelers to avoid the road due to reports of banditry and witchcraft. This was one of the earlier reports but certainly not the last. There are still stories of local cannibals. If you’re driving along the road and come to a fallen tree blocking your path, you must turn around immediately or you will be trapped and eaten.

One of the well known stories is of a boy at Dead Man’s Curve. He supposedly was playing on a bridge nearby and fell to his death on the jagged rocks below. They say his ghost haunts the spot. If you toss a coin over the edge of the bridge, it’ll be tossed back at you. Another report states the little boy tries to push visitors over the railing. Other ghost stories include a girl driving a phantom Camaro. She supposedly died in a fatal car crash in 1988 and if you mention of this story while driving at night, you risk triggering a manifestation. There are also reports of a phantom truck either white or red who chases people off the road. Some people claimed to have seen two park rangers who allegedly died on the job in 1939 while camping.

There are even reports of strange creatures seen on or beside the road. From hellhounds to unidentified hybrids, they are believed to be the survivors of Jungle Habitat, a nearby attraction that has been closed since 1976, who supposedly was responsible for crossbreeding local animals with wild animals. When the animal attraction closed, rumors state a lot of these animals were released into the local woods instead of being transported to another facility. Some claim the infamous Jersey Devil has made an appearance once or twice.

These are but only a handful of eyewitness accounts and stories told about Clinton Road. Does any of them hold a degree of truth? Or is this simply a road with a bad reputation?