Burnt Mill Road Ghost

For over fifty years in Atco, New Jersey there is a rite of passage that many of the teens in this small town have participated in. It involves a haunted road that dead ends at the Pine Barrens. *

The following story like most ghost lore is part rumor and part true haunting.

Burnt Mills Road

For decades Burnt Mill Road has been considered haunted by a pale little boy dribbling a basketball. It is said that one Christmas night many decades ago this boy was playing with his new ball when it rolled out into the middle of the road.

A drunk driver not seeing him struck him. This driver then headed toward a dead end, he was forced to turn around and head back passing the small body of the boy he had just killed.

Since many witnesses have seen the apparition of this boy along this road. The youth of the town, since the 1950s drive out to Burnt Mill in hopes of catching a glimpse of this sad ghost.

From the way, this apparition behaves when cars drive along this road the locals feel he is trying to find the man who hit him. As a result, there are several rules that people are encouraged to follow to increase their chances of seeing this ghost.

One must drive to the end of the road and turn their car around as if they are about to head back. They then must turn off their car engine and lights and exit their car. It is said this is when the ghost will appear.

Most witness sightings have happened after dark for this is when the accident occurred.

Burnt Mills Road Dead End

After one young man exited his car, he spotted the apparition walking toward him, but it was if the boy was, “walking in place” for the ghost never reached where he stood. Another account states this ghost just sat down next to the witnesses’ car and didn’t move—as if dejected that they weren’t who he was looking for.

A common description of this ghost includes the fact this boy is still seen dribbling his basketball.

One group that went out looking on a misty night gave up when nothing happened but when they reentered their car and turned on the ignition a figure of a small child broke through the fog. As they left in a panic, this low-lying fog swirled around behind them faster and faster.

Most witnesses who have seen this ghost are not ashamed to admit they were frightened and left Burnt Mill Road quickly.

*  The Pine Barrens are known for the Jersey Devil and other specters.

Mommy, Daddy Came and Left You a Kiss

A drunk driver in a green Cadillac ran a red light causing a 6-car pile up on the highway.

A mother trapped in her car tried to free her hands from her car’s mangled steel. She desperately wanted to turn and check her backseat. She couldn’t see her twins--she prayed they had been thrown clear.

Firemen came and cut her loose, she kept asking them to check on her boys. But when they searched the car they found no other passengers.

The mother insisted her boys must be in the backseat but when they checked again they found two car seats with their seatbelts intact. She must be confused. She just thought her sons were in the car.

When one fireman turned to question her further he saw her running between the other crashed cars. She was shouting, “Please help me find my boys. They’re 4 years old and both are wearing red shirts with blue jeans that match.”

A police officer hearing the commotion came forward and told her that her twins were okay and that they were in the back of his squad car.

As he showed her to his car he explained they told me their daddy put them in my unit. I have searched for him but it appears he has fled the scene. This will not be good for him.

The mother hugged both boys crying. She then turned back to the officer. “He could not have fled the scene because their father died over a year ago.”

The policeman shook head and stated, “but how can that be?”

The twins overhearing the two adults conversation took turns talking to their mother.

“Mommy, daddy came and left you a kiss.”

He told me not to worry that you would be all right.”

“He then put us in this car. We begged him to stay but he hugged us both and said he had to go.

“He said that we would understand when we grow up.”

“He told us to be good boys and not to fuss.”

“We didn’t.”

“He told us to tell you that he is watching over us.”

The mother believed them for she remembered her husband’s last words, “I will watch over you.”

Later that night at the police station the officer told his peers. “A guardian angel was at the accident on the highway tonight.” 

Pennsylvania Ghost Car

Regional ghost stories are compelling. With each re-telling these stories become more and more real. This might be because the people who hear them can visit the place or places where they occur, which adds fuel to one’s imagination. The following is a good example of a local ghost story.

In the 1950s Newton Square, Pennsylvania was a sleepy farming community. The local newspaper reported mostly items about dogs killing sheep or escaped cows. 

One December in the mid 1950s this local paper reported a particularly bad traffic accident. A local family driving home from Christmas services on West Chester Pike shortly after midnight were struck by another car. Unfortunately, this family—a mother, father, and their teenage son were killed instantly.

It was determined that a young male driver who was drunk and driving recklessly caused the accident. He and his one male passenger survived the accident unscathed. The two were out late joy riding in hopes of finding more booze and a party. 

This young man’s family was well connected politically so he avoided persecution. It was stated this drunk driver felt no remorse for what he had done. In fact, he joked about the accident and the deaths he had caused on several occasions.

An early Christmas morning, a year later, this man with the same friend in the car were out driving drunk and reckless—again on West Chester Pike.The 1938 Plymouth hot rod the young man drove overturned near the spot were they had hit and killed the family twelve months before. Both men were killed. 

This coincidence is spooky but what happened next is even spookier.

Shortly after these two young men died officers from the local municipal and State Police started to report an unusual sight. They all recounted seeing a ’38 Plymouth careening down West Chester Pike recklessly. When they attempted to pursue the vehicle they were not able to keep up with it.

As the years passed these reports became even more interesting because to see a ’38 Plymouth hot rod on the road was no longer a common occurrence. 

Officers continued to report spotting an early model Plymouth speeding recklessly down West Chester Pike. The reports were all the same—they either couldn’t catch the hot rod or the car appeared to just disappear. 

The police even set up roadblocks in an attempt to catch this vehicle but it never appeared at the roadblock after being spotted heading in their direction.

Many of the witnesses stated they often spotted the car in the early morning hours. It has been seen around Christmas but there have been reports of sightings at other times of the year. 

More recently, two officers did manage to pull alongside the speeding hot rod. They saw two occupants in the car.

“… two young men in strangely out-of-style slicked back duck-tail haircuts, with expressions of absolute and abject terror and pain, as though they were seeing Hell and knew they could never escape.”

Local ghost stories are often the scariest…