Welcome to my channel. I make AI images of weird and strange events and turn them into videos. Today, explore with me 5 hiking trails with spooky legends.
Maybe you’ve been there. Maybe you want to visit there. In any case, these stories are interesting and can get creepy.
Let’s get to the lore.
Norton Creek Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains, North Carolina
According to the stories, two very different spirits lurk in the woods surrounding Norton Creek Trail.
The first is a witch called Spearfinger. She lives high up in the mountains and her story is told to scare children. With one finger made of stone and sharpened like a knife, she supposedly lures away children who strayed too far from the village.
She brings them to her home and would rock the children to sleep and sing to them,
before using her sharpened finger to cut out their liver (which she considered a delicacy).
Next is a far more benevolent spirit of a settler who died in the region many years ago. According to legend, the man died while searching the woods for his lost daughter (who was perhaps taken by Spearfinger?).
The settler's ghost is said to help lost hikers find their way back to safety. He is often seen carrying a lantern, and he is said to be a welcome sight to hikers who are lost or scared.
Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian Trail is very long and crosses through 14 states (namely through Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia).
And it has many haunted legends, we’ll only touch on 2 of them.
A popular one is the legend of the lady in white. The story goes that she’s a woman who was murdered on the Appalachian Trail in Virginia. Her body was never found, but her ghost is said to haunt the area where she was killed.
Some hikers have reported seeing a figure of a woman dressed in white, or hearing her screams, (much like banshees from Samhain legends.)
The next ones are stories of ghost soldiers killed in Civil War battles. Portions of the Appalachian trail that are close to battlefields are in the state of Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland.
The ghosts of the Civil War soldiers are said to haunt those areas of the trail. A common sighting for hikers seems to be that of a lonely ghost soldier standing in the woods or walking along the trail.
White Sands National Monument
The legend of the white maiden, Pavla Blanca, is rooted in Apache mythology since the days of Spanish conquistadors.
The story goes that the spirit of a Spanish maiden can be seen wandering about the White Sands National Park looking for her lost lover. The maiden is supposed to be dressed in her white wedding gown.
Some stories say that she is harmless and sad.
While others say that she is angry and vengeful.
Some say that she helps lost travelers find their way. Still, others say that she lures them deeper into the dunes to join her in her eternal search.
Transept Trail in Grand Canyon
Transept Trail in Grand Canyon National Park is supposed to be haunted by the “Wailing Woman”.
The legend goes that a family died in a hiking accident sometime in the early 1920s. The mother managed to survive and got rescued but committed suicide shortly after discovering the death of her family. It is said that the ghost of the grieving mother still walks the path in search of her husband and children.
Visitors and staff have reported encountering this bereaved ghost in a white dress wandering the Transept Trail and the grounds of the Grand Canyon Lodge.
Ghost House Trail in Big Ridge State Park, Tennessee
The Ghost House Trail takes you past the ruins of the Hutchinson family farm and their cemetery.
The area is said to be haunted by several spirits, including the family dog. It is said that the owner of the dog, young Mary Hutchinson, died from tuberculosis. The dog remained loyal, often hanging around her grave site until its death. Visitors have reported hearing the phantom panting of the dog around the cemetery.
Another familiar haunting in the Ghost House Trail is by the gristmill. A young woman, accused of witchcraft, was said to be hung by her father in these woods. Legend says that her spirit haunts the area including the trail.
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