Rockford Area Legend: The Phantom Woman of Kennedy Hill Road

The other day, I read with great interest a post on this website by my friend, Sweet Lenny. His post, Is This Nearby Rockford Road Really The Stuff Of ‘Nightmares?’ gives you the lowdown on the supposedly haunted Bloods Point Road in Boone County.

Another spot close to Rockford may also be haunted. Growing up in nearby Oregon, I've heard stories for years about a supposed ghost, or phantom woman who would wander up and down Kennedy Hill Road, which is just south of Rockford near Byron.

These stories were being kicked around when I was a kid, but the buzz about the phantom woman of Kennedy Hill really seemed to reach a peak around 1981. When I first started here at WROK in 1983, I made the daily drive up Route 2, which takes you right past Kennedy Hill Road. To break up the monotony of the same drive each and every day, I would occasionally break with my routine, and take Kennedy Hill Road. I kept my eyes peeled for anything resembling a supernatural presence, but really the only encounter I ever had was with a seemingly demonically possessed deer, which ran into the side of my car.

I'm not the only one who has been looking for a ghost on Kennedy Hill, though: