~~The Dirt Road~~
I was never a believer in the supernatural. I never gave it much thought since I myself had never experienced anything that could be described as even remotely supernatural. When I heard people talk about something that either they themselves or a friend or relative had experienced, I always scoffed at their stories. Now I perk up my ears and listen to every word, because I am still trying to convince myself that I wasn't hallucinating,the night I saw a ghostly bride.
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I had only visited my Aunt Helens a few times, so I wasn't really familiar with the roads that ran across town. I remember thinking how well maintained the City kept their roads. Traveling these roads were a pleasure. I was use to roads speckled on both sides with various size pot holes. I was looking forward to a family gathering. We were sure to have a good time, and I wasn't disappointed.
I had left Aunt Helens quite late that evening. The night was brisk and very clear. It would be a nice drive back to the city. When I got into the car I wasn't sure if the turnpike was North or South of the quite suburban street. I looked around to try and get my bearings, when I spotted the lights that I assumed came from the large fuel tanks that were on both sides of the entrance to town. They were like beacons, pointing the way.
Well I can't go wrong if I just keep the lights in my view, so that was the direction I would head. I was driving for what seemed only a few minutes, when I found myself on a dirt road. I must have turned off the main road, but couldn't see how that was possible. I was a State Policeman at the time and was on the road constantly, how could I have just driven off the main highway within a matter of what seemed like minutes. "Nothing to do but keep going." I told myself. The road was dirt and narrow. As if a veil had fallen over the road, the fog was coming in so fast I had to slow down to the lowest mileage without stalling out. The visibility was only about fifty feet. I could smell the marsh that ran along the side of the road. That seemed to be where this fog was rolling in from. I could barely make out the sides of the road. There seemed to be ditches on both sides. Well If I just keep moving along it's bound to bring me back to a paved road, I kept telling myself.
Just up ahead I could make out a small one lane wooden bridge. As I got closer I could hear the ripple of the creek that ran underneath. As I started across my eyes blinked in disbelief. Standing on the side of the road a few feet from the bridge, stood a woman dressed in a BRIDAL GOWN AND VAIL. I started to roll down the window as I approached this poor unlucky bride. "They must have broken down, and her husband went in the other direction to find help" I reasoned with myself. Rolling to a stop directly in front of her, I leaned out to ask if I could be of any assistance. The fog was thick around her, yet a breeze played around her vail. The vail blew away for an instant, and I was looking into an ...EMPTY VAIL....No face, just a vale blown aside and surrounding emptiness. The hairs bristled on both my neck and arms, as I hurriedly started to roll the window back up, the much too warm fog started to seep into the car. I stepped on the gas and in the blink of an eye I was on a paved main highway. THIS was something I will have to think and re-think a dozen times in my mind. Hopefully tomorrow's light will put this whole experience into a rational explanation.
Though it meant a couple hours drive going back to Aunt Helens; I decided it was worth the trip back to try and find the DIRT ROAD. With all the fog that was surrounding the area it was quite possible for me to have missed seeing the turnoff, where I must have turned. I also wanted to see the marshes in the sunlight.
I arrived back into the small town early in the morning. I drove over the same route that I had traveled over the night before. Back and forth, up one street and down another and still NO DIRT ROAD. Aunt Helen said she would have been surprised if I had found one, as to her knowledge there are no dirt roads any where in that area.
My experience happened in the early fifties. I never really sorted it out in my mind. Years later reading a supermarket tabloid, I read of an identical incident which happened to another lone driver on a lonely dirt road. It was nowhere near the dirt road I was on. WAS SHE SEARCHING FOR THE WAY HOME?
Submitted by: Name Withheld
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