Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Zombie Road


Haunted History
What's your opinion ?
The True Story of One of Missouri’s Most Haunted Places
Shadow People ~~~ Submitted by Scott McMan Pt 1
"Javier touched on Zombie Road back in 2009 when he did a story on the Paranormal Task Force."
What caught my attention today was a photo of what appears to show several Shadow People standing along a tree line near what is deemed the most haunted road in America.
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What's your opinion ? The True Story of One of Missouri’s Most Haunted Places Shadow People ~~~ Submitted by Scott McMan Pt 1 "Javier touched on Zombie Road back in 2009 when he did a story on the Paranormal Task Force." What caught my attention today was a photo of what appears to show several Shadow People standing along a tree line near what is deemed the most haunted road in America. The city of St. Louis is unlike many other major American cities. It is a large sprawling region of suburbs and interconnected towns that make up the metropolitan city as a whole, making it an impossible place to live if you do not own an automobile. With the Mississippi River as the eastern border of St. Louis, the settlers who came here originally had nowhere to go but to the west and the city expanded in that direction. After all of these years, though, and despite the amount of construction and development that has occurred, once you leave the western suburbs of St. Louis, you enter a rugged, wild region that is marked with rivers, forests and caves. Traveling west on Interstate 44, and especially along the smaller highways, you soon leave the buildings and houses behind. It is here, you will discover, that mysteries lie… There are many tales of strange events in the area, from mysterious creatures to vanished towns, but few of them contain any supernatural elements. The same cannot be said for another area that is located nearby. If the stories that are told about this forgotten stretch of roadway are even partially true, then a place called “Zombie Road” just may be one of the weirdest spots in the region. The old roadway that has been dubbed “Zombie Road” (a name by which it was known at least as far back as the 1950s) was once listed on maps as Lawler Ford Road and was constructed at some point in the late 1860s. The road, which was once merely gravel and dirt, was paved at some point years ago, but it is now largely impassable by automobile. It was originally built to provide access to the Meramec and the railroad tracks located along the river. In 1868, the Glencoe Marble Company was formed to work the limestone deposits in what is now the Rockwoods Reservation, located nearby. A sidetrack was laid from the deposits to the town of Glencoe and on to the road, crossing the property of James E. Yeatman. The side track from the Pacific Railroad switched off the main line at Yeatman Junction and at this same location, the Lawler Ford Road ended at the river. There is no record as to where the Lawler name came from, but a ford did cross the river at this point into the land belonging to the Lewis family. At times, a boat was used to ferry people across the river here, which is undoubtedly why the road was placed at this location. As time passed, the narrow road began to be used by trucks that hauled quarry stone from railcars and then later fell into disuse. Those who recall the road when it was more widely in use have told me that the narrow, winding lane, which runs through roughly two miles of dense woods, was always enveloped in a strange silence and a half-light. Shadows were always long here, even on the brightest day, and it was always impossible to see past the trees and brush to what was coming around the next curve. I was told that if you were driving and met another car, one of you would have to back up to one of the few wide places, or even the beginning of the road, in order for the other one to pass. Strangely, even those that I talked to with no interest in ghosts or the unusual all mentioned that Zombie Road was a spooky place. I was told that one of the strangest things about it was that it never looked the same or seemed the same length twice, even on the return trip from the dead end point where the stone company’s property started. “At times”, one person told me, “we had the claustrophobic feeling that it would never end and that we would drive on forever into deeper darkness and silence.” Thanks to its secluded location, and the fact that it fell into disrepair and was abandoned, the Lawler Ford Road gained a reputation in the 1950s as a local hangout for area teenagers to have parties, drink beer and as a lover’s lane, as well. Located in Wildwood, which was formerly Ellisville, and Glencoe, the road can be reached by taking Manchester Road out west of the city to Old State Road South. By turning down Ridge Road to the Ridge Meadows Elementary School, curiosity seekers could find the road just to the left of the school. For years, it was marked with a sign but it has since disappeared. Only a chained gate marks the entrance today. http://www.ghosttheory.com/2011/10/17/zombie-road-shadow-people-photo
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