23 October 2009

The Whole World Calls Me Hank



First up on the Take This Tune ghost express is "The Ride" and "Midnight In Montgomery".  Both involve a ghostly encounter where a phantom haunts a road or piece of real estate well known for their presence.  In this case, Hank Williams.  Both are great songs and the first time I heard each, they gave me chills.  It helps that the songs have great lyrics and wonderful singers to bring the stories to life.

This type of story has a long history and is among the scariest because seemingly "real" people interact with those still living and when disclosed as ghosts are particularly chilling.

The format is pretty simple.  A driver traveling at night picks up a strange hitchhiker, drops him or her off at some destination, then somehow discovers that the hitchhiker had passed away months or years earlier – often on that very same date.   These stories usually evolve into local urban legends.  A selection of some of the best can be found here with "The Dancing Ghost", The Girl on the Side of the Road, and The Vanishing Hitchhiker among others.

In the mean time ... drive safely




5 comments:

maryt/theteach said...

Jamie, Visited Sleepy Hollow, New York on Wednesday (I posted about it here Talk about a scary story where you meet a stranger on the road - The headless horseman!! I'll be posting my "Take This Tune" soon... :)

Recent blog:=-

maryt/theteach said...

Oh and I deciphered your new header "Pumpkin Pi" Fantastic!

Recent blog:=-

Jamie said...

I thought the pumpkin pie was fun. Couldn't think of a way to give everyone whipped cream.

Linda said...

What? No whipped cream? Ah well, I'll take Pumpkin Pie with or without it as it still all adds up to delicious for me!

It seems like country songs are always good for urban legends and ghost stories; bluegrass is probably even better! Amanda has been into the whole 'scary strangers' thing lately but considering we just walked around Gettysburg at midnight, I'd expect no less! In a way it would have been nice to encounter a mysterious stranger but perhaps my bladder might not have handled it well!

Recent blog:=- Stopping by Butts Bridge

Travis said...

I remember hearing a lot of those urban legend stories as campfire ghost stories.