2 Frightening Wisconsin Roads Now Named Among America’s Most Haunted

Have you ever been driving down a dark, empty road at night when something catches the corner of your eye?

A shape near the tree line. A figure standing on the shoulder where nobody should be. The hair on the back of your neck stands up, your grip tightens on the wheel, and when you glance in the rearview mirror, there's nothing there.

Most of us chalk it up to a tired brain and a long day. However, if you happen to be on the wrong stretch of pavement, it might not be your imagination playing tricks on you. You might just be driving on a haunted road.

It seems every state has at least one. It's the back road locals dare each other to drive at midnight, or the bridge with the ghost story everyone's cousin swears is true. These tales get passed down at sleepovers and campfires for generations, and they have a funny way of creeping back into conversation every October.

Now, a new roundup of the 10 most haunted roads in the U.S. has put a spotlight on some of the creepiest drives in the country, and believe it or not, two of them can be found in Wisconsin.

10 Of The Most Haunted Roads In America

The list comes from a global car rental comparison site that gathered up roads known for phantom vehicles, faceless hitchhikers, and happenings nobody can explain.

It isn't a scientific ranking so much as a collection of the country's most enduring roadside legends, the kind that have rattled drivers for decades.

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Wisconsin claimed two of the 10 spots, one in the southeastern corner of the state and one in central Wisconsin.

Bray Road, Elkhorn (No. 6 on the list)

This rural road outside Elkhorn in Walworth County has long been notorious as a scary drive, thanks to one of the state's most famous legends, the Beast of Bray Road.

Witnesses have described a creature six to seven feet tall, covered in dark fur, with glowing eyes, sometimes running on two legs and sometimes on all fours. In one of the most chilling accounts, a driver who thought she'd hit an animal pulled over, only to be chased back to her car by the beast, which left claw marks on her vehicle as she sped away.

Sightings started piling up in the fall of 1989, and the story grew legs when reporter Linda Godfrey of the Walworth County Week was assigned to look into it. By the time she reached the county's animal control officer, he reportedly already had a stack of reports in a folder labeled "Werewolf."

Her first article ran December 29, 1991, and before long, news vans were rolling through Elkhorn from across the country.

Godfrey went on to write more than 20 books, and the legend inspired documentaries and a 2005 horror film. The sightings didn't stop, either. In October 2008, a middle-aged couple reported seeing the creature dart in front of their car and leap a guardrail.

Skeptics argue it was likely a large wolf, a feral dog, or even a bear, but nobody has ever settled the debate.

Boy Scout Lane, Stevens Point (No. 9 on the list)

This quiet, wooded road in the Town of Linwood near Stevens Point carries one of Wisconsin's best-known campfire stories.

Legend says a troop of Boy Scouts died there sometime in the 1950s or 1960s. Some versions blame the Scoutmaster, others point to the bus driver, and another claims a dropped lantern sparked a deadly fire.

Visitors have reported phantom footsteps, shadowy figures moving between the trees, and an overwhelming feeling of being watched. Some have even claimed to find small handprints on their cars and to see lantern light flickering through the woods.

However, the real history is far less sinister. The road got its name because the Boy Scouts of America once owned the land and planned to build a camp there that never happened.

There's also no record of a murder, bus crash, or fire on the property. The land is privately owned, and the local tourism bureau warns that homeowners have every right to call police on uninvited ghost hunters. Legends are fun to tell, but they're best enjoyed from a respectful distance.

SEE NOW: 15 Sensational Halloween Attractions To Visit In Wisconsin This Year

The 10 Most Haunted Roads In America

• Route 2A, Maine – Nicknamed the most haunted road in Maine, it's said to be home to a bride searching for her husband after a wedding-night crash, along with the spirits of two girls killed there in 1967.
• Clinton Road, New Jersey – Toss a coin off the bridge at Dead Man's Curve, and a ghostly boy is said to toss it back. Drivers also report a black Camaro that tailgates and then vanishes.
• Highway 666, Utah – Known as the "Devil's Highway," it was renamed Route 491 in 2003. Legends include a phantom sedan and a pack of hellhounds.
• Dead Man's Curve, Cleveland, Ohio – This sharp 90-degree turn is tied to a faceless hitchhiker said to appear between 1:20 and 1:40 a.m.
• Zombie Road, Missouri – Near historic Route 66, it carries a legend of an escaped psychiatric patient, along with reports of cold spots and disembodied cries.
• Bray Road, Wisconsin – Home of the werewolf-like Beast of Bray Road, reported near Elkhorn for decades.
• The Devil's Promenade, Oklahoma/Missouri – Drivers report the "Spook Light," a glowing orb first recorded in 1881, long before headlights existed.
• The Devil's Crossroads, Clarksdale, Mississippi – Legend says blues great Robert Johnson traded his soul for musical talent at this intersection of Highways 61 and 49.
• Boy Scout Lane, Wisconsin – A wooded road near Stevens Point tied to the legend of a lost Boy Scout troop.
• Kelly Road, Pennsylvania – Said to stir sudden rage in drivers and animals, with cries for help tied to a long-ago carriage accident.

SEE NOW: These Are Now the 10 Most Dangerous Cities in Wisconsin

So the next time something flickers at the edge of your headlights on a lonely back road, maybe just keep driving. You know, just in case.