Scotland’s Scariest Road

A fifteen-mile stretch of the A75 road, located in the south of Scotland between Annan in Dumfriesshire and Gretna Green is considered very haunted--it is often called the Ghost Road. 

Over the past fifty years literally hundreds of weird sightings and unexplained accidents have been reported in this area. These reports are so numerous I will share just three of these stories here. Multiple witnesses have experienced what these three accounts describe.

Donna Maxwell in July of 2000 was driving back from her mother’s home around 10:00 p.m. Maxwell stated it was a calm night with good clear visibility. So she was surprised as a man appeared directly in front of her car out of nowhere. He then just stopped and stood in the middle of the road. 

Donna traveling at 55mph had to slam on her brakes. She was so concerned that her car hit this man she went to the Annan police station.

The police then searched the road but they did not find the man’s body. Since Maxwell’s encounter several witnesses have reported seeing this man standing in the road looking at cars. Maxwell who does not believe in paranormal activity admits that she no longer will drive this road at night--she takes the bypass instead. 

An Annan police sergeant, Graham Young became so concerned about these sightings scaring people that he put out a description of this man: “He is in his late 30’s wearing a red jumper and black trousers.” This sergeant grew up in Annan and he takes it in stride that this road is haunted.

Another recent sighting of an old lady dressed in Victorian clothing took place many years after the same ghost was seen in the exact same spot. 

Margaret Ching and her fiancé John were driving from the West Midlands to Gretna on the eve of their wedding. As they approached Domock a mist suddenly appeared in the middle of the road, this is when they spotted the old lady. Their description matched exactly an account that had been told by another witness, Jim Carlyle 26 years before.

Ching stated that she could not see this lady’s face but she appeared quickly and she and her fiancé felt they were about to hit her. Instead to their amazement their car drove right through her. When this happened they both felt a strong chill. They looked back but the lady was gone. 

They reported it was a clear night with no fog or mists. This couple was so shaken up they had to sit in their car for a while before they drove on. Carlyle as a young man had seen this same ghost with his girlfriend when she appeared out of a mist. He slammed on his brakes but his car went right through her.

By far the most compelling encounter along the A75 occurred in 1962. Two brothers Dereck and Norman Ferguson were returning home to Annan from a vacation. 

They stopped for gas around midnight in the town of Dumfries. As they headed down the deserted A75 suddenly a large white bird flew toward their windshield. Dereck who was driving swerved the car to avoid this collision. But this bird didn’t hit their car it vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

A short time later the brothers spotted a strange old lady rushing down the middle of the road waving her arms erratically. Dereck again went into a panic thinking their car was about to hit this lady. At the last moment she just vanished. After this things got even weirder.

A strange succession of figures including: large cats, wild looking dogs, birds and vague shaped human figures appeared rapidly all seeming to hurl themselves at the young mens' car. Dereck spent the next minutes wildly zigzagging in an attempt to avoid crashing into these figures but they all disappeared before impact. 

During this time the temperature dropped drastically in the car. But the brother’s now very afraid were drenched in sweat.

As Dereck continued to drive he felt some unseen force start to control his hands. This force took over the steering wheel. He found it more and more difficult to turn the wheel. 

Now suffocating the brother’s rolled down their windows to get some fresh air. They heard an eerie scream and then a high-pitched laugh accompanied by crackling noises. Dereck felt as if something was trying to force them off the road.

Finally, Dereck managed to drive the car to the side of the road but as soon as he stopped the car it started to shake violently. He jumped out only to find everything calm and quiet. As he got back in the car it once again started to rock and shake. Both brothers heard a loud ghostly laugh. They then heard what sounded like multiple fists striking the car.

Realizing they needed to leave Dereck started to slowly continue down the road. Unearthly figures lined both sides as they drove on. 

The brother’s were relieved to see the headlights of a large truck heading toward them. But their relief was short lived as Derek felt something take control of the steering wheel once again. Their car was headed directly for the truck. Dereck found he could not slow down or swerve. Just as the two vehicles were about to crash this truck vanished as well.

Exhausted the two brothers did finally make it home. They were shocked to discover that all these events happened within 30 minutes. 

After this experience the brothers discovered that this section of the A75 had been used at one time for witchcraft. Other witnesses on this stretch of road have also seen this large phantom truck heading for their car then it just vanishes.

When the Scottish Office announced that they intended to improve this stretch of the A75 recently, many locals gathered in protest. They stated they were afraid this work might “unleash the already angry spirits”.