11 Eerie Stories About Clinton Road, New Jersey’s Most Haunted Highway

Clinton Road, New Jersey

Every state has a haunted road, but Clinton Road in New Jersey takes it to another level. This lonely 10-mile stretch in West Milford has stories of ghosts, witches, and strange lights that go back decades.

From phantom trucks to cursed bridges, here are some of the most unsettling stories behind New Jersey’s most famous haunted highway.

A Real Mobster Left a Body on Clinton Road

One real case adds to Clinton Road’s dark fame when in 1983, a man on his bike found a dead body wrapped in a green trash bag.

The evidence that got pulled led cops to catch Richard “The Iceman” Kuklinski, a mob hitman named Daniel Deppner, who had links in New York.

Docs found ice in the dead man’s blood, as Kuklinski liked to freeze his kills to hide when they died. Kuklinski himself died in jail in 2005.

It took three years to solve this real crime, with the mob man caught at last in 1986. Now people use this case as proof of the road’s bad luck.

Toss a Coin to the Ghost Boy Who Returns It

At “Dead Man’s Curve”, if you drop coins into the water at midnight, rumors suggest a ghost boy will throw them back up to you.

The story goes that the boy died when his friends dared him to wait on the bridge while they drove to Route 23 and back.

Two bridges claim the spot, one near the curve and another by the old ironworks. Look down and you’ll see tons of coins in the creek bed.

The story goes that the boy died when his friends dared him to wait on the bridge while they drove to Route 23 and back.

The Girl Who Fades Away When You Stop

Drivers on this stretch often report seeing a young girl hitchhiking, thumb out, eyes wide, only for her to vanish into thin air as they approach.

This ghost girl is said to be more active in bad weather. Her old-style clothes hint she might have died many years ago.

One driver tells of pulling over to help her around 2 AM, but when he stopped and looked back, she had disappeared from sight.

A Black Pickup Chases Cars At Night

The ghost truck story has been told for at least 30 years around West Milford. Most folks say they see a black pickup, but some just see the lights.

A man named Jiles Jones once lived on a farm off Clinton Road and now his black truck drives the road at night chasing cars that honk horns.

A man named Jim Ford who lives on Clinton Road once woke up to hear gunshots and found a badly wrecked car nearby.

The Blue Chevy Camaro Races Past You

Back in 1988, a girl died when her blue Chevy Camaro crashed into the wall at the sharpest turn on Clinton Road.

Now, if you tell her story while driving there, her ghost car might rumble first, then feel a rush of air as it speeds by.

The curve causes more than one crash each year thanks to its tight bend and spots with no guard rails. Her car is said to race by with no one behind the wheel.

One group of teens spotted the Camaro’s lights in the distance. People sometimes leave small gifts at the crash spot.

Two White Shapes Started an Albino Town

The deep woods off Clinton Road have their own set of odd tales. One traveling group saw “two white shapes” about 100 yards from their friends.

According to them, these forms came close, then slipped into the trees. This led to talk of an “albino town” hidden in the thick woods.

People who’ve seen these shapes are clueless. A hiker once found weird white cloth strips tied to trees deep in the woods, with no clue who put them there.

The Stones Where Cross Castle Once Loomed

Not far from the main road sit the remains of Cross Castle, a grand three-story stone castle with 40 rooms, built by Richard Cross in 1905.

After Cross died in 1917, his family sold the place to Newark City for $150,000 in 1919. Soon after, fire claimed all but the stone walls.

Today, visitors claim to hear odd chants near what’s left. You won’t find the castle on maps, but there’s a trail off Clinton Road that leads to it.

Park Rangers From 1939 Patrol The Woods

Hikers say two rangers died while working in 1939 near Terrace Pond, a small lake you can reach from trails off the road.

These ghost guards check on people who camp in the woods, clad in old-style park clothes that don’t match what rangers use today.

One group met two rangers at night who told them to be safe, but when they asked at the park office the next day, they were told no rangers were out at that time.

Campers say they hear twigs snap near their tents as if someone walks past at night, but when they look, no one’s there.

Something Not Human Chases Cars But Looks Weird

A woman named Jessica once said “We went 60 down this road with this thing on our back. When we got pulled over by a cop, it just vanished.”

Back in the 1970s, a zoo called Jungle Habitat shut down near West Milford, and some folks think strange beasts in the woods might have come from there.

Some people think it’s a “hell hound” or the Jersey Devil. Hikers say they hear weird howls that don’t match any known local beasts.

The odd being is said to have glowing eyes you can see from far away. A West Milford cop once got a call about a large black dog-like beast but found no tracks.

Ghosts at The Dangerous Curve Try to Warn Drivers

A sharp bend in Clinton Road is pretty unfriendly due to a lack of signs. A cross marks the spot where a teen died in the 1990s when the road was risky enough.

This turn, known as “the Dangerous Curve,” has seen more than one deadly crash. Some think the ghosts are crash victims who now try to warn others to slow down.

People who pull over near the curve say they’ve heard screams and crash sounds with no wreck in sight. A young man once claimed to have seen three forms.

Drivers Lose Track of Time on This Lonely Road

Drivers say they start at one end in broad day, then find it’s dark night when they reach the other end (though this varies).

Others claim they drove the full road in what felt like just five or ten minutes but the road’s curves force you to drive slow at some points.

A man who drove the road with his friends says they all felt like they “lost” half an hour they can’t account for, this has often been stated.

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