UK's 'most haunted road' where 'phantom trucks have caused real-life crashes'

Across the UK, there are roads with reputations that could make even the most experienced driver second-guess a late-night journey.

Ghostly figures appearing from nowhere, phantom vehicles, and unexplained accidents have been reported by drivers for decades, making some stretches of tarmac notoriously haunted.

From rural lanes to bustling motorways, these spectral encounters have become part of local lore. Below, Ovoko, an online marketplaces for used car parts, has compiled a list of the UK’s most haunted roads, where driving at night can be an experience that’s equal parts eerie and unnerving.

At the top of the list is the A75. Dubbed Scotland’s most haunted road, the A75 winds through Dumfries and Galloway and has a history of bizarre sightings. Drivers have reported phantom trucks appearing out of nowhere, ghostly pedestrians stepping onto the tarmac, and spectral animals darting across the road.

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One chilling story that may be more rumour than the stuff written into Traffic Scotland's archives involves two truck drivers who crashed into what they thought was an oncoming lorry, only to find nothing but an empty road when they recovered.

The A75 has inspired claims of supernatural encounters for centuries, making night driving here an unnerving experience for those inclined to believe in the paranormal.

Several years ago, John Hill, of Mostly Ghostly paranormal investigators, decided to research the road and its spooky reputation. He claimed that he unearthed so many ghostly encounters on the tarmac length that it is well deserving of the "most haunted road in Scotland and some say Britain" title.

Mr Hill and Mostly Ghostly founder Kathleen Cronie held the first-ever ghost coach tour of the road back in 2013, offering a guided tour of its most spine-chilling sights. Ms Cronie told the BBC that one of the most infamous sightings was made by Derek and Norman Ferguson, in 1962.

"They were driving along here and the whole incident began with a large hen flying towards the windscreen of their car," she said.

"They then witnessed great cats and various other creatures as well as witnessing a phantom furniture van - which is a bit unusual to say the least."

According to those who worked on the road, lorry drivers would regularly report seeing groups of dejected, bedraggled people pulling handcarts. Other translucent figures carried bundles.

Bob Sturgeon used to run a snack van on the A75 - a job that put him in regular contact with the HGV drivers who went up and down it. He claimed that one lorry driver had quit the industry after seeing a gaggle of ghosts on the road.

"He had been parked on the Kinmount straight, and he had woken up at three in the morning, and he saw this 'parade' of people. He said that it went on for ages and he had just frozen - he was in an awful state," Mr Sturgeon said.

Scottish Paranormal, an organisation involved in Scotland's spookier happenings, has compiled a list of the alleged sightings along the A75 and the characters that seem to appear multiple times.

They also report large groups of ghosts walking along the roads, but of a different sort and from a different time. "Travel back in time and envision a ghostly legion of Romans, marching along the A75, visible only from the knees up—a stark reminder of the land's evolving topography and a haunting connection to Scotland's ancient past," Scottish Paranormal writes.

Another alarming character is that of the old gamekeeper, who is said to appear at the side of the road with a rifle, watching the vehicles driving by, before suddenly disappearing.

Those who are put off by the sound of the above, and are considering making a lengthy diversion to skip the A75, need not worry. Ghosts are not real.