Enigmas Along America's Byways

Since before the nation's inception, the United States has been home to a rich variety of mysteries. From early frontier folklore to enigmatic disappearances, from unexplained phenomena to unclaimed treasure, America still has many secrets in its dusty corners and deep woods. For the intrepid traveler, America's Byways can be pathways to a few of the country's most intriguing tales. Some stories are whimsical, some unnerving, and some downright weird. Pack a shovel and a flashlight, and keep a close eye on your fellow travelers. People have been known to disappear.

Take, for example, the strange happenings in the farmlands of Selma, Alabama in 1854. On a sweltering July day, a farmer named Orion Williamson vanished under the sight of a neighbor, his wife, and his child. More than 300 neighbors, geologists and hunters using bloodhounds conducted an extensive search, but found no trace. The next spring locals discovered a perfect circle of dead grass in the exact spot where Orion was last seen. His wife later admitted that she and her daughter had heard Orion's cries for three days after the occurrence, but that they could never locate their source. Did Orion stumble into a "void spot of universal ether," as one scientist claimed at the time? Discover for yourself along the Selma to Montgomery March Byway in Alabama.

Multnomah Falls (OR) [1]

Visit the Historic Columbia River Highway in Oregon for a more modern tale of an unexplained disappearance. In 1971, a tall man with a briefcase hijacked a commercial airplane en route from Portland to Seattle. After stealing $200,000 and a parachute, this man (known only by his alias of "Dan Cooper") leaped from the plane into the dense forests on the Oregon-Washington border, never to be seen again. The crime was never solved, and the money was never recovered. Did he survive the fall to enjoy his ill-gotten gains, or is he still in the woods near the Columbia River, clutching a money-filled briefcase in lifeless hands?

St. John's Cemetery (WV) [2]

Many legends along America's Byways tend towards the supernatural. For years, folks around Clendenin, West Virginia near the Midland Trail have spoken of a flying creature with glowing red eyes that terrorized their small community for several years. First seen in a nearby cemetery, this "Mothman," as the locals called it, was spotted by over 100 witnesses in one year alone. During the late fall months of 1966 and into the following year, the Mothman seemed to inhabit the labyrinthine tunnels of an abandoned TNT factory and caused mayhem throughout the community. Its mischief climaxed in the winter of 1967 when the Silver Bridge collapsed into the Ohio River, resulting in the deaths of 46 people. Independent witnesses reported strange lights around both the bridge and the TNT factory that same night. The Mothman was never seen again, though the legacy lives on in nearby Point Pleasant, where brave souls visit the Mothman Museum, look into the red eyes of a 6-foot bronze statue, and participate in the annual Mothman Festival.

Sliding Rocks at Racetrack Playa (CA) [3]

If you're skeptical of decades-old eyewitness reports and dubious science, you can still enjoy your own glimpse of the unexplained. Stand on the dry, cracked soil along California's Death Valley Scenic Byway and contemplate the moving rocks. Several teams of scientists have failed to fully explain away the phenomenon of these large stones traveling, seemingly by themselves, across vast distances of desert soil.

Sunrise over the Blue Ridge Parkway (NC) [4]

On the opposite side of the country at Wiseman's View near the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina you'll see the Brown Mountain Lights. Also the subject of much scientific debate, these lights appear to bob, flicker, or just hang in space against the dark mountain backdrop. These eerie illuminations, visible almost any night, are linked in legend to an 1850 murder. Locals say that the spirit of the murdered woman appeared after her skeleton was found many years later on the mountainside.

As you travel these roads, enjoy the scenery, history, and recreation that make them famous. Look a little closer, though, and you may uncover a secret or two lurking in the shadows. From unsolved disappearance to encounters with the unknown, these American stories can confound and amaze. Whether you're a doubter out to debunk the stories, or a wide-eyed seeker of the supernatural, unlock some of the riddles found along America's Byways. Maybe you'll find a mystery of your own.