Mitchel Road and Hotrod Haven: A Ghostly Legend from Kentucky

Mitchel Hill Road is a place in Kentucky that locals call Hotrod Haven. While teens and young adults today tend to think they invented, or refined street racing, those that hopped along this road during the 1940s and 1950s would beg to differ.

The road itself is fairly dangerous to drive during the day, and even more so at night. With a number of curves and twists, it's a road that begs people to take it slowly. Yet not everyone heeds its warnings, and that has resulted in at least 25 deaths over the years. The death of one such individual on the road has led to a ghostly tale that still plagues the area.

The date was September 23, 1950 when a young couple headed down Mitchel Road traveling to a dance. The two made it to a certain bend in the road where they lost control of the car. The car careened into the bottom of a hill, killing the two instantly. Though their deaths were tragic to locals, it also brought forth a long-standing ghost story.

Supposedly the couple was buried in a cemetery on the road that is reserved for several local families such as Mitchel and Griffen. Story claims that the two were buried side by side so they could still be together in death. The story further claims that the young woman is now doomed to wander through the cemetery, and along Mitchel Road.

Oddly enough history doesn't recall the name of the young couple, or even the names of even one of them. Some people claim the young woman was named Mary, while others are convinced she is Sarah. There are stories that people in the area simply picked the name out of the cemetery, based on women that died during the same time period.

There actually was a deadly accident on Mitchel Road, but it happened on September 23, 1946. A young couple was traveling down the road on their way to a dance when the car crashed. Roy Clarke and Sarah Mitchel were both killed in the accident and buried together in the cemetery.

There are many who believe that this tragedy gave birth to the urban legend told about the road, while others believe it is proof that the ghost story is real. There are also some who believe the story originated as a way to keep teenagers from racing down the dangerous road.

Mitchel Road is a place that if you visit, you should be careful driving down. Whether there are ghosts or not, it is still a dangerous place to visit.