Haunted hitchhikers have a way of turning an ordinary drive into something unforgettable. In this episode, Graeme Milne and Karen Swanston share a series of eerie roadside encounters, from phantom women and vanished passengers to stories that seem to repeat across different places and decades.

The conversation moves through classic ghost-lift folklore and regional legends, exploring why these stories persist, how they change in the retelling, and what makes them so unsettling: the wrongness of a stranger at the roadside, the cold in the car, the impossible disappearance, and the feeling that some roads never quite let go of the dead.

Along the way, they cover well-known accounts from Lincolnshire, Edinburgh, the Wirral, Peterhead, Somerset, and beyond, including a memorable story associated with Telly Savalas that blends celebrity, coincidence, and paranormal folklore into one of the most striking hitchhiker tales.

[00:01:15] - The Metheringham Lass: RAF Metheringham, the roadside apparition, and the legend’s chilling variations
[00:03:22] - The backstory of Katherine Bystock and the idea of a crisis apparition
[00:04:32] - The Edinburgh fireman’s story: a midnight pickup, strange conversation, and the childproof locks mystery
[00:08:17] - The White Lady of Dibbinsdale Bridge: nun, monk, drowning legend, and multiple ghostly forms
[00:11:20] - The alternate Dibbinsdale tale and the elderly cyclist who vanishes on the bridge
[00:12:39] - The Peterhead hitchhiker story and the jacket left at the graveside
[00:17:20] - Harry Unsworth and the A38 in Somerset: repeated encounters with the same hitchhiker
[00:21:18] - Telly Savalas and the ghost hitchhiker in New Jersey
[00:27:37] - The second encounter and the eerie connection to JFK’s assassination
[00:28:45] - Closing thoughts and sign-off

• RAF Metheringham: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Metheringham

• Dibbinsdale Nature Reserve / area context: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dibbinsdale

• Peterhead: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peterhead

• A38 road: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A38_road

• Telly Savalas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telly_Savalas

• Ghost stories and folklore archive (general reference): https://www.sacred-texts.com/fort/

• YouTube search for the Telly Savalas hitchhiking story: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Telly+Savalas+hitchhiking+ghost+story

What makes these stories endure is their familiarity: a lonely road, a stranger in distress, and a moment that turns impossible. Whether told as local legend, personal testimony, or folklore handed down over time, the haunted hitchhiker remains one of the most compelling ghost stories because it feels just close enough to be true.

If you’ve ever driven a quiet road late at night, this episode may make you look twice at the shoulder — and wonder who, exactly, might still be waiting there.