Vanishing Hitchhikers of the Uncanny Highway

Tags

1960s, 1970s, Americana fantasy, ghost story, Gothic America, Groovy Era, Haunted America, haunting, magic realism, Midwest Horror, modern fantasy, Prairie Horror, Road Crawl, Road Trip, Roadcrawl, Roadtrip, Seventies, Sixties, Small Town Horror, Southern Gothic, spirits, Urban Fantasy, Urban Legend, Weird America

Drive the Uncanny Highway for long enough, and you are bound to bound to encounter hitchhikers. Of course, most are just flesh-and-blood people who just want to get where they are going – or possibly skin you alive and wear your face. Others, however, are on an altogether longer journey.

These tables create the kind of Vanishing (or Phantom) Hitchhikers that are a staple of legends and folktales throughout America.

d12	Standing on the side of the road is a…
1	little girl in a white dress.
2	little boy in a suit.
3	teenage girl in a prom dress.
4	teenage boy in a prom tuxedo.
5	soldier in fatigues.
6	soldier in his dress uniform
7	male hippie. 50% chance to have a guitar.
8	female hippie. 50% chance to have a tambourine.
9	woman in a white dress.
10	man in the rough clothes of a hobo.
11	well-dressed older man.
12	old woman in rags.

d12	If you stop and ask them, they want to be taken…
1	to the nearest bar or roadhouse. If the ghost is an adult, they want to drink there. If the ghost is a child or teenager, they are supposed to be meeting their parents there. They died in or near the bar.
2	to the nearest roadside church, where they are late for a service. If there is a churchyard, they are buried there. If it is after midnight, there is a 75% chance the Church service is being attended exclusively by ghosts.
3	to the nearest farm, where they (or a relative) supposedly lives.
4	to the nearest roadside house, where they (or a relative) supposedly lives.
5	to the nearest roadside memorial. The memorial will be to them, of course.
6	to the nearest motel. The ghost died there, of course.
7	to the nearest roadside museum. If the ghost is an adult, they are supposedly applying for a job. If the ghost is a child or teenager, they are supposed to be meeting their parents there.
8	to the nearest trailer park, where they (or a relative) supposedly lives.
9	to the nearest truck stop. If the ghost is an adult, they are supposedly applying for a job. If the ghost is a child or teenager, they are supposed to be meeting their parents there.
10	to the nearest intersection. They died there in a fatal accident, of course.
11	to the school the nearest small town. Teenage ghosts will naturally claim to be going to a dance, or their Prom.
12	to a seemingly empty stretch of the road, which turns out to be the entrance to a graveyard. Naturally, their grave is inside.

d10	Along the way, they will…
1	ask to borrow an article of clothing. Possibly a coat, or a hat. If the PCs realize the Hitchhiker is dead and subsequently find their grave, the clothing will be on it, or draped on the headstone.
2	ask to stop someplace where they can dance (or talk) for a while with the PCs.
3	giggle constantly.
4	be completely silent.
5	talk about Heaven, Hell, and the afterlife.
6	talk about reincarnation, and how they think they might want to come back again in another body. If the ghost brought to place where there is a young woman present, that woman is obviously newly pregnant.
7	give a prediction of doom for the driver.
8	give a prediction of doom for the world.
9	give a prediction of good fortune for the driver.
10	give a prediction of good news for the world.

d8	Once they arrive at their destination, they will
1	leave behind an article of clothing, and disappear.
2	hand the driver a hand-written letter to a loved one, and disappear.
3	grab the driver, leave an indelible hand-print on their arm, and disappear.
4	exit the vehicle, touch its outer body to leave an indelible hand-print, and disappear.
5	laugh, and disappear.
6	howl, and disappear.
7	point to the location, and suddenly disappear.
8	disappear from the car without sound or warning.