This Story of the Ghostly Hitchhiker of Highway 20 Will Send Chills Down Your Spine
I don't like driving at night; it's one of my biggest fears. It could be caused by fatigue, but I have this horrible habit of seeing things that aren't there. You wouldn't think it, but it can be quite dangerous. Ask anyone who's ridden in a car with me on long; dark stretches of road.
Going forward, one road I'll be sure to avoid at night is Highway 20; you might too after hearing the story of the "hitch-hiking wraith."
Imagine you're driving down the highway and you see a woman dressed in black; normally you wouldn't pick up a hitchhiker but it's the middle of the night and you just can't bear to leave her out there.
After picking her up, you engage in some friendly conversation and learn that she was just at a party and was in need of a ride to Rockford. Perfect, that's where you're headed.
As you cruise down the road, the lighthearted chatter suddenly turns to silence; you figure your mysterious passenger simply passed out after her night of drinking and dancing, but then you look over into the backseat and there's no one there. No one.
According to the Rock River Times, this happened to a couple back in 1933 as they were traveling back from Chicago on Highway 20. The woman in the black dress, Mrs. Johnson, gave the couple an address in Rockford before she seemingly disappeared and out of curiosity they stopped by that address the following day.
A man answered the door and they explained the creepy encounter. Upon hearing the details, the man said that a young lady named Mrs. Johnson used to live there but she died a long time ago after being struck by a car while walking down the highway.
This was during prohibition so it was thought that Mrs. Johnson may have left the party with her two friends, intoxicated, and for some unknown reason pulled off the side of the road in Belvidere and decided to walk. All three were hit by passerby but Mrs. Johnson was the only one who didn't survive.