Ghost riding stories have been around for a long time. The first known case of a ghost traveling by hitchhiker was in the 1600s. Stories about the “vanishing hitchhiker” are often told around a campfire at night. The hitchhiker is usually seen on the side of the road by a driver, who picks them up. He or she may disappear for no reason, or the driver may learn later that the person they picked up has been dead for years.
RV Trader’s blog chose the Roaring Fork Motor Trail as the most spooky road in Tennessee and the United States. Gatlinburg has its own version, which is called Lucy.
Where is Roaring Fork Motor Trail?
The trail is named after one of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s bigger and faster-moving mountain streams, Roaring Fork. This 5.5-mile, one-way loop road called the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail is a favorite side trip for many people who visit the Smokies. It has rushing mountain streams, views of old-growth forests, and many log houses, gristmills, and other historic buildings that are still in good shape. Please be aware that the road is closed during the winter.
Before going on the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, you can take a break at the Noah “Bud” Ogle self-guiding nature trail. This trail gives you a chance to walk through a real mountain farmstead that has a handmade wooden flume plumbing system. Rainbow Falls and Grotto Falls can also be reached from this path.
The Ghost of Roaring Fork Motor Trail
Along with references to “ghosts of hikers who met unfortunate ends,” RV Trader makes things even scarier. But Lucy, the most famous ghost that is said to haunt the Roaring Fork Motor Trail, is thought to be looking for a ride in this popular part of the park.
MySmokyMountainPark says Lucy was either a young girl or a woman who died when her family house burned down in the early 1900s. Is this how the story is told? A man named Foster found her in the dark old-growth forest on a cold winter night after she had died. He gave her a ride home on his horse when he saw that she was barefoot. He tried not to think about her, though, and he finally went to her house. After that, her folks told him she had died a long time ago. According to the stories, a young woman in white who is barefoot has been seen along the trail since then.
