WHATCHATHINKIN'

Witches Hollow Road, Demoncherveaux Boulevard, Ghost Face Drive, Banshee Street, Demon Pond Road, Goblintown Creek Road and Purgatory Road. Across these United States you will finds streets, roads, lanes and other byways that conjure up the spookiest of thoughts. They could be the most benign, attractive and peaceful place, but having been dubbed with these demonic names, the residents are doomed to always be looking over their shoulders for the likes of Sam and Dean, or worse, Rufus and Bobby.

Before we moved to this idyllic address in Sussex County, when we had to travel from Bergen County to get to the ‘good roads’ for a day of motorcycling, we wandered upon some questionably named places. For those who have explored this area, you will be familiar with Shades of Death Road and for those who haven’t, here’s a little detail. This two-lane, 7 mile road, which is really very pleasant and enjoyable to ride, sits along a portion of Jenny Jump State Forest and abuts Ghost Lake. While the name of the road is very real, the explanation for its name is a bit shrouded. A few theories in circulation are that it was named for a malaria-infested swamp (perhaps Ghost Lake?) that caused illness and death, or that its attributed to the murders that allegedly took place here in the 1920s, although there’s no real proof to support this one.

There is even more folklore regarding the level of hauntedness along Shades of Death Road. Some say it is one of the top haunted roads in the world. Legend has it that many years ago, a car of teenagers was driving down Shades of Death Road after the prom. The road was slippery that night and curved sharply to the left and right (which it does), winding into the dark. The driver lost control and the car crashed into a ditch, killing one of the passengers. To this day, one dark and slippery nights, you can still see the girl who died wandering that murderous curve wearing her prom dress. (Undaunted, our hero carries on…)

While Clinton Road’s name is not all that scary (unless your name is Lewinsky), it, too, has been tagged as one of the most haunted and spooky road in United States and is, as well, much fun to ride. This 10-mile piece of tarmac travels between Route 23 in Newfoundland to Warwick Turnpike by Upper Greenwood Lake and is pretty desolate with an eerie ambiance. It has been described as ‘a place where the supernatural blends with the mundane, giving rise to spine-tingling tales and eerie encounters.’

One tight curve, which hugs Clinton Reservoir, has been nicknamed Dead Man’s Curve and along with its name comes the Legend of the Ghost Boy, a young boy who drowned in the waters beneath the bridge and still lingers, The legend continues that if you dare to toss a coin into the dark waters, the boy’s ghost will toss it back to you, before giving chase. Along with Ghost Boy, there are tales of phantom headlights which tailgate vehicles, only to vanish without a trace.

Surely, no one would want to actually live on either of these roads, as having the address 666 Shades of Death Road or 13 Clinton Road might seem cool but would certainly give one pause to visit. But not all unwanted addresses are due to spookiness. A couple that would bring worry to a motorcyclist would be Breakneck or Double Trouble Road, even Good Luck Drive might go the wrong way, as in ‘Good Luck with that…’ But there are those names which might just bring a chuckle or raise an eyebrow such as Mercedes Bend in Tom’s River, Goa Way in Lavallette, Manlove Ave in Hightstown (what’s up with this one?), Gayboy, Ataboy, Highboy and Orphanboy in Middletown (who was drinking what when they came up with these) and No Name St in Washington Twp.

New Jersey doesn’t have a lock on the weirdness in street names and, while William Shakespeare may not have placed much emphasis on the significance of a name, those responsible for the creation of some of America’s quirkier street names seem to have realized just how impactful a moniker can be. Arkansas’ Farfrompoopen Road might sound German, but is really a made-up word which some say relates to the lack of bathrooms on this street. Haviture Way appears in Utah, Texas, North Carolina and California. There are Psycho Paths in MI, OK, MS, CO and FL. If you want a long, happy marriage perhaps you’d stay away from Divorce Court and choose a home on Uptha Road instead.

And to bring this to an end, Zzyzx Road in Zzyzx, CA, located on I-15 between Las Vegas and Southern California, just north of Baker. It's a fabricated name, conceived by Curtis Howe Springer, who proclaimed it the last word alphabetically in the English language. In 1944, he christened the road and the entire area with the Z-lific name and established the Zzyzx Mineral springs and Health Spa on the remote spot.