Drivers should travel cautiously through the long, dark stretches of road in Dartmoor, England, near Postbridge and Princetown. The legend of the hairy hands of Dartmoor says that a pair of hands grab the steering wheels of unsuspecting travelers. The hands are supernaturally strong and are adamant about steering passengers off the road into a ditch.
THE HAIRY HANDS OF DARTMOOR, ENGLAND
From accounts, the hands appear out of nowhere and take control of the vehicle. Sometimes the creepy hands show up to cars that aren’t in motion. A woman camping in the area awoke to the hands scratching at her caravan’s window.
Many accidents have been blamed on this bizarre, ghostly attack. Most of them, thankfully, have been minor enough for drivers to drive away without much more than a few scratches on the vehicle (and an excellent ghost story, I might add).
But in June of 1921, a motorcycle accident took the life of a Dartmoor Prison worker. His children were riding in the sidecar of the motorcycle when it happened. They said their father wrestled with trying to regain control of the bike and told them to jump out of the sidecar. They did, but he didn’t make it.
Interested in reading more strange, supernatural forces that try to harm the living? Check out the legend of the feu follet.
The story reemerged years later when another motorcyclist drove off the road in almost the same exact place. The passenger reported seeing the hairy hands on the handlebars and claimed they steered the bike off-road.
Despite the many reports of accidents caused by the hairy hands, locals remain skeptical of their validity.
Is the long, dark stretch of road haunted by a maleficent ghost with hairy hands hell-bent on wrecking vehicles and taking lives? Or is it simply a tale spun to explain the many accidents that occur in that area?
Are the accidents caused by paranormal activity, or are they simply the consequence of driving too fast down a narrow road?
We may never know, but the story sure is captivating.
Source: BBC
