The UK's Most Haunted Roads

We all know of roads that make us feel a bit uneasy, but that’s usually down to a poorly thought-out junction, limited visibility or slightly menacing surroundings.
However, sometimes your unease may be because you’re being accompanied on your journey by a ghostly presence… It’s not actually that uncommon. Several roads in the UK have a reputation for being haunted by ghosts and ghouls of all shapes and sizes. Here, we pick out some of the most notorious, running from north to south, in case you feel like taking on your own phantom-filled road trip this Halloween.

The A75, winding through Dumfries and Galloway, has earned a reputation as Scotland’s most haunted road. Tales of spectral animals, ghostly pedestrians, and even inexplicable ‘phantom trucks’ have filled local lore for centuries, with more sightings than anyone can keep track of. One particularly unnerving encounter involved two truck drivers who reported crashing into an oncoming truck—only to find no vehicle in sight. The A75’s history of hauntings is so long and varied that it’s practically part of the landscape. If you’re driving along this route at night, don’t be surprised if you see something that’s no longer quite there.

Close by Platt Lane lies the site of the Pretoria pit disaster, in which an explosion claimed the lives of almost 350 miners in 1910. Numerous drivers have reported many pairs of ghoulish eyes peering at them from hedges at the side of the road, along with packs of ghostly miners shuffling along the road pulling mining carts.

This section of B-road runs between Halesowen and Stourbridge, and is considered an accident blackspot, despite the fact it’s basically straight and has no strange cambers to speak of. The other big difference between this and other blackspots, though, is that many drivers report their accidents came about as a result of swerving to avoid ghostly apparitions, most commonly small children in Victorian dress.

This road lies just two miles from the previously mentioned Oldnall Road, and has been the subject of numerous ghostly sightings. The most common figure reported is that of a cavalier. A tin-hatted fellow on horseback, that is, not a mediocre Vauxhall saloon car...
Indeed, one such sighting of the cavalier was reported by none other than the area’s very own Detective Constable. If you can’t trust him, who can you trust?

The M6 is the longest road in Britain, but what you may not know is that it’s also reported to be one of the most haunted. Most sightings along its 230-mile length centre around three themes. Some tell of a deranged female hitch hiker, others of packs of Roman soldiers marching up the hard shoulder (might they have run out of petrol?), but perhaps the most disturbing is of an old-style lorry steaming the wrong way down the carriageway at high speed. That’s certainly going to make you wish you paid extra to go down the toll road...

With rugged hills and eerie tors, the B3212 carves through Dartmoor’s windswept landscape, connecting Exeter to Yelverton. But beware of the stretch near Postbridge—it’s haunted by “the Hairy Hands.” Since the early 1900s, travellers have told of ghostly, disembodied hands gripping their steering wheels, steering cars and bikes into deadly crashes.
Sceptics blame tourists unfamiliar with Dartmoor’s tricky roads, but those who’ve glimpsed the Hairy Hands say it’s no exaggeration. If a ghostly pair of mitts appears on your steering wheel, it’s best to surrender the controls… or find another route.

The stretch between Sheffield and the Peak District, built to connect the M1 with the Woodhead Pass and the A1616, has been spooking drivers for the past 30 years.
Hauntings include a medieval monk and ghost children and have been reported since construction began in 1988. Back then, two security guards claimed to see young children playing in the middle of the construction site – only for them to disappear with no footprint evidence left behind.

The ghost of an eighteenth-century highway man is said to haunt The Spaniard's Inn in Hampstead. He now hunts for passing motorists on the roads near the pub - and local legend states the highway man’s ghost stalks the road at a sharp turn just before you reach the inn.

The A666 might be officially named Bolton Road, but locals know it better as ‘The Devil’s Highway.’
Stretching between Bolton and Pendlebury, this eerie road has seen a surge in supernatural stories over the years, from inexplicable fogs that cut off all visibility to shadowy figures darting in and out of the woods. One particular tale of a woman who appears on the roadside, only to vanish as drivers stop, has haunted late-night travellers for decades. Whether it’s the road's ominous name or the dark, tree-lined stretches that fuel these stories, the A666 certainly lives up to its devilish reputation.

Forget haunted houses, Electric Brae is all about the inexplicable.
This quarter-mile hill plays with perception, making cars appear to roll uphill by themselves. Local legends once chalked it up to spirits or magnetic forces, but science tells us it’s a gravity hill—an optical illusion created by the slope and landscape around it. Logic or not, it’s an uncanny experience to watch your car defy gravity, and it adds an eerie sense of wonder to an otherwise quiet country road.

Why limit yourself to one haunted castle when you can visit two in a day?
Alnwick Castle houses the legend of the Alnwick Vampire, a medieval nightmare who plagued the town after his untimely death. Visitors have reported shadowy figures, including the tragic Grey Lady in the castle’s tunnels. A half-hour’s drive away, Bamburgh Castle holds tales of the Pink Lady, a forlorn Northumbrian princess in pink, awaiting a lover who never returned. Wander the halls, and you might meet Green Jane, the emerald-clad ghost of a beggar, or even the castle’s faithful Dr. Sharp, who seems reluctant to leave his restoration work unfinished.

No spooky road list is complete without Pendle Hill, home to England’s most infamous witch trials. In the early 1600s, twelve Pendle locals were accused of witchcraft and sentenced to death. Locals say their restless spirits still wander the area, especially on moonlit nights. Tales even claim the Devil himself left his mark on the nearby hillside.
With its wild, rolling landscapes and history of haunting tales, Pendle Hill remains a draw for seekers of the supernatural hoping to catch a whisper of the witches’ lingering presence.

Every moor has its mystery, but Bodmin Moor’s claim to fame is a bit wilder: the Beast of Bodmin Moor.
Since 1978, reports of a massive cat with piercing eyes have circulated, with more than 60 sightings and a string of mutilated livestock to show for it. Explanations range from a supernatural creature to a pack of pumas released from a private collection in the 1970s. In any case, if you catch a pair of glowing eyes in your headlights, it might be best to turn back and let the Beast keep its territory.

Tucked away in Kent, Pluckley Village isn’t just quaint; it’s reportedly Britain’s most haunted village, as certified by Guinness World Records. It’s rumoured to have over a dozen restless spirits, from a phantom coach and a drowned brick worker to the forlorn Lady of Rose Court.
And if the village’s ghostly charm isn’t enough to give you chills, the nearby Screaming Woods surely will. Wandering its roads and hearing disembodied shrieks might make you rethink your rural retreat.

Several drivers have told of the same harrowing experience on the A229, in which a girl dressed all in white steps out in front of their car, giving the driver the impression they’ve run her over. In most cases, the girl has disappeared into thin air as soon as the driver stops to look, but one man reports that he covered her body with a blanket before she vanished, leaving the blanket behind. The girl is thought to be the ghost of Judith Langham, who was killed in an accident on the road on her wedding day in 1965, while wearing her wedding dress.

If you’re planning on driving past any of these roads, we recommend getting a fast car that’ll zip through. Browse through thousands of fast cars available on Auto Trader.
Keep reading: Halloween special: Our team’s scariest experiences in cars