Urban Legends: The Hitchhiker

This is a true story: it happened to my friend's roommate in college many years ago. He had gone to party at a singles bar in a nearby city, but it was a slow night and he finally left around midnight. While driving back to campus, he spotted a young woman walking along the side of the road. He stopped and asked her where she was going; she gave an address only about a mile from campus, so of course he volunteered to take her home. She accepted and got into his car. During the short drive he attempted to make small talk, but she didn't respond to him at all. When he finally got to her house, though, she thanked him, gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and strode up the sidewalk. Surprised by the kiss, it took him a few seconds to notice that the girl had left her scarf in his car. He grabbed it and jumped out, but couldn't see her anywhere. So he walked up to the door of the house and knocked.

A middle-aged man answered the door. When the student explained his errand, the man nodded sadly and invited him into the living room, where the man's wife sat silently. The man pointed to a picture on the wall. "Is this the young lady?" he asked. The student nodded. "That's our daughter," the man told him. "She died in a car accident ten years ago, on this very night. That scarf looks like the one she was wearing."

"You mean, she's a ghost, trying to get home?" the student exclaimed.

The man and his wife looked shocked. "A ghost? No, of course not!" the man replied. "It's those dadblasted kids from the college. One of the sororities decided to make their pledges imitate our poor girl as an initiation rite. They dress up like her and try to get someone like you to bring them here. If you come to the door, they pass the test. It just makes my blood boil."

The student thought for a moment. "Well, if you don't want them to do it, just stop telling your story," he suggested. "Tell them you'll give the scarf to your daughter. The sorority is trying to get a reaction from us, and if you don't oblige them, they'll stop doing it."

"That's a good idea," the man admitted. "I wish you'd come to us sooner." He ushered the bemused student out the door and shut it quickly.

When the student got back to the dorm, he told my friend what had happened to him. When he had finished, my friend asked him where the home was located. Upon hearing the address, my friend frowned. "That can't be right," he stated. "There's nothing at that address -- it's a vacant lot. The house there burned to the ground about five years ago. Supposedly the owner tried to chase away some college girls with a flamethrower, and in the process set fire to his own house. He and his wife and the girls all perished in the fire."