Lucy the Phantom Hitchhiker

According to local legend, there is a phantom hitchhiker named Lucy along the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail just outside of Gatlinburg, Tennessee. This trail is a six-mile, one-way drive that cuts through a dense tree canopy. Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail is easily accessible from downtown Gatlinburg and lands you a world away from the busy streets in mere minutes.

The trail follows Roaring Fork, a beautiful cold-water stream typical of those found in the Great Smoky Mountains. The white-water crashes against large boulders and there are small waterfalls and deep pools of frigid mountain water along the way. Mills, old structures, and historic homesites are scattered along the trail—a reminder that people used to live and work here.

One of those old mountain folks that lived along the trail in the early 1900s was Lucy. As the story goes, Lucy was a young lady who died tragically when her family’s cabin burned down. Sometime after her death, a man named Foster (I don’t know if this was his first or last name) saw her walking barefoot on a cold winter night and gave her a ride home on his horse. Foster was quite taken with the attractive young lady and couldn’t get her off his mind. He ended up stopping by her home sometime later and asked her parents if he could have her hand in marriage. But that wasn’t possible. In something reminiscent of an old Twilight Zone episode, Lucy’s folks told Foster that she had died in a fire long ago. Imagine his shock!

Supposedly motorists driving along the trail occasionally spot Lucy walking barefooted beside the road looking for a ride. During my visits to Gatlinburg, I have never seen her, but I’m always on the lookout for her when I drive on the trail.

What is it about hitchhikers? Why are there so many in our urban legends and ghost stories? I have never seen one, though I did see a spectral man in Virginia in the early 2000s. He was crossing Route 29 near the Culpeper and Fauquier County line. He looked a bit over six-feet tall, and wore faded blue jeans and a gray pocket T-shirt that was tucked into his pants. It looked like he had a pack of cigarettes in his shirt pocket. His hair was sandy-colored and hung below his shoulders; his hairstyle was the 1990s mullet, extremely popular among rural Virginians during its heyday (and far too long afterward!). The guy looked straight out of 1992; the sleeves of his t-shirt were even rolled up midway to his shoulder. I have to wonder who these specters are that haunt our roads. And why?

In the third book of my Detours Into the Paranormal series, I go into the story of Lucy as well as many other great tales from the Smoky Mountains.

Further Reading:

“The Ghost of Lucy on the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail.” Great Smoky National Park Trips, October 26, 2016. Accessed May 15, 2021. https://www.mysmokymountainpark.com/.

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