The Hitchhiker Readng
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T h e H i t ch h i ker AM a ssa c hus e tts G host S tor y R et o l d by S . E . S ch l o ss er O ur f riendsJosh an d S and y w ere fi rm be li eve rs in gh osts and cl aim e dtoha ve seen t he m yst eriousred-haired ph antom t ha t ha un t ed Route 44 . M y w i f ean d I w e re si t ti n g w ith t h e m a t d i n n e r o n eni g h t, a n d w e st art e dki d d i n g t h em a b o u t it. “ F un nyh ow w e’ ven ever see nh i m, a nd w ed r i vet ha t stret cho f r oa da l l t he time,” m y w i f e J ill d ra w led. “ Y o uske p tic,” S a nd ysai d , e m p h a sizin gt h ewor da si f it w e r eacu r se .“ O n eo f t he se days,y ou ’ r e go nna fi nd ou tI ’ m r i gh t .A nd you’ l l ow e m e a pi zza. ” “I f I e ve r se e t h e g h ostl yh it ch h iker, I’ll b u yyo ualar g ep izzae ve r yd a yf or a y e ar,” I promise d . T hee ve nin g en d e d p le a sa n t ly, a n dit w a sn’t lon g b e foreJill an d I w e re d rivi n g home throu g h the cri s p f all air. “ Le t ’ s t ake R oute 44 , ”Ji l ls ai d sud de nl y , fl ash ing m e a si de w ays l oo k. “ H op i ng to see a gh ost?”Ichu ckl ed, t aki ng t he t urn as she directed. “ H a !”Jill snor t ed d e risi vel y . S h e yaw n e dan d tur n edh e rhe ad t o f acet h e pa sse ng er w i nd ow . S ud de n l y, sh e l et out a shr i ek of shee r t er r or . I j um pe d an d
description
One of the oldest urban legends in the United States, it is ideal for beginners.
Transcript of The Hitchhiker Readng
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The Hitchhiker
A Massachusetts Ghost Story
Retold by
S.E. Schlosser
Our friends Josh and Sandy were firm believers in ghosts and claimed to haveseen the mysterious red-haired phantom that haunted Route 44. My wife and I
were sitting with them at dinner one night, and we started kidding them about it.
“Funny how we’ve never seen him, and we drive that stretch of road all the
time,” my wife Jill drawled.
“You skeptic,” Sandy said, emphasizing the word as if it were a curse. “One of
these days, you’re gonna find out I’m right. And you’ll owe me a pizza.”
“If I ever see the ghostly hitchhiker, I’ll buy you a large pizza every day for a
year,” I promised.The evening ended pleasantly, and it wasn’t long before Jill and I were driving
home through the crisp fall air.
“Let’s take Route 44,” Jill said suddenly, flashing me a sideways look.
“Hoping to see a ghost?” I chuckled, taking the turn as she directed.
“Ha!” Jill snorted derisively. She yawned and turned her head to face the
passenger window. Suddenly, she let out a shriek of sheer terror. I jumped and
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glanced sideways, my hands shaking on the steering wheel. A red-haired man with
a bushy beard wearing a plaid shirt and blue jeans was running right next to the
passenger side of the car. He kept glancing in the window and leering at Jill.
Heart pounding in terror, I hit the gas. A moment later, I glanced in the rearview
mirror and saw the red-haired man was sitting in the back seat of our car. Jillshrieked again and began pummeling the phantom with her purse.
I kept looking back and forth between my wife, the phantom, and the road
ahead, determined that I was not going to let the red-haired ghost force us into a
fatal accident.
I glanced toward the back seat for a moment, and the ghost laughed, a laugh that
made my teeth tingle and the hairs on my neck stand up.
“Hail Mary, full of grace; the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.” Jill gabbled the words of the rosary.
Glancing in the mirror, I saw the phantom grimace as she recited the holy words.Then he vanished without a trace.
I got us out of there much faster than the speed limit allowed. I was shaking
from head to toe, and Jill was sobbing hysterically. As soon as I pulled into the
driveway and turned off the car, I swept my wife into my arms and held her as
tightly as I could. We clung together for a long time, until both of us had stopped
shaking and Jill’s sobs had abated.
“I want to go inside,” Jill whispered against my neck, and I nodded, not trusting
my voice.
That night we discussed the incident, but oddly enough, neither of us hadnightmares. When we woke in the morning, I felt much better about the whole
thing, until I remembered my promise to Sandy the night before. I groaned aloud
and then clapped a hand over my mouth lest the sound wake my wife. Too late.
She opened her green eyes and gave me a sleepy smile.
“You owe Sandy a year’s worth of pizza,” Jill said.
“I most certainly do,” I replied, rubbing the back of her neck gently. “I most
certainly do!”
