Procter Valley Road

My friend Linda often sends me suggestions for Freaky Friday. This week, she sent me a note that I should check out Procter Valley Road. I did, and I was not disappointed. Thanks, Linda!

What is it about roads and ghosts?

In Wisconsin, there is the Beast of Bray Road—a bipedal cryptid that has terrorized the people of that community since at least the 1950s. In Chicago, on Archer Avenue, you can encounter Resurrection Mary’s ghost. The Devil’s Washbowl Road in Moretown, Vermont, is connected to a tale of the pig-human hybrid entity known as the “Pigman.”

There’s actually a Wikipedia entry about all of the haunted highways in the world.

So, let’s chat a little about Procter Valley Road in San Diego.

The first entry I found was from a website called “Weird California.” (Yeah, I am not going to add any editorial comments about the site’s name.) This is some of what they had to say about the road. “You’ve all heard the urban legend about the teenage couple parked somewhere remote like the woods, a lake, or some isolated road. Well, in California, that spot is Proctor Valley Road. The teenage couple goes and parks along Proctor Valley Road, but when it’s time to return to civilization, the couple’s car breaks down; either it has a flat tire or simply won’t restart. The boy gets out to either investigate or go and get help . . . but he never returns. The girl stays inside the car, all night, terrified to get out because of the strange scratching noises she hears outside the car. The next day, luckily for her, police find her still hiding in the car. But her boyfriend isn’t so lucky. He’s hanging from a nearby tree, dead, completely torn up and bloody, swaying back and forth in the wind, his hand causing the scratching noises on the car, a victim of the Proctor Valley Monster!”

Creepy!

And if that weren’t enough. The citizens that reside in the area also have to watch out for a demon car! This is also from Weird California. “It’s said that while out in the middle of nowhere, alone in the dark on the dirt portion of Proctor Valley Road, drivers will see behind them a pair of headlights . . . gaining on them. No matter how fast you go, the headlights will continue to get closer until, finally, they are right upon you, tailgating your car, chasing you mercilessly as you race through the darkness, trying to get to safety from the demon lights behind you. But that’s not the most terrifying thing. The lights appear not to be attached to anything. There’s no car behind the headlights, just darkness, pitch black darkness, no car, no body, no windows, nothing. Just headlights and a solid black mass. The headlights will chase you until the dirt road ends, and then they stop right at the edge of the pavement. If you stick around to watch, they will recede back down the dirt road, eventually disappearing back into the darkness.”

Haunted road rage – only in California.

According to Backpackerverse.com, Proctor Road has its own version of Resurrection Mary. “If you see a woman in a white or blue gown trying to get a ride or notice her figure huddled on the road, decide whether you want to die then and there or at the end of the road.

According to psychic sensitives, The Proctor Valley Hitchhiker is a malevolent spirit who died violently on the road.

Some stories say that she died in a car accident there on prom night, while others say that she seeks vengeance after she was raped and murdered there.

Regardless, she’s out for blood.

So, don’t become her next victim.”

That is good, solid advice there!

But we all know that these stories are just legends with no truth to them, right? Right?!?!?

Well, hmm, here are some testimonies that say otherwise.

The first grouping is from San Diego Haunted.com.

“I grew up in Jamul in the 70’s and early 80’s. We teens would often dare or bet people they couldn’t drive it at 3 am.

One time, two friends snuck out during a party to make out on Proctor Valley Road.
Later, they came flying up the driveway, screaming and crying that they had been chased by something on the dirt road.

These two weren’t supposed to be together. They were both cheating. So, coming back to the party like that together, everyone believed them because they had to admit they were messing around.

I know I live on the Chula Vista side of Proctor Valley Road. I told my stories to my daughter and her friends to keep them from going out there and getting into trouble.

Still, I believe the area to be haunted. Truly!”

“I was in a vehicle that was chased by a mysterious car that appeared out of nowhere. Except we only saw headlights. It WAS dark out, but we still saw no reflections off of metal or any sign of the car’s body.”

“I have, too, experienced the headlights. They chased us to the end at the Proctor Valley entrance. The girl in the car screamed when the big black car drove by slowly. She said she saw a blank face, like a man with nothing on his face. It was crazy scary about 3 years ago.”

These comments are from Hidden San Diego.com:

“I can honestly say that my five friends and I saw the lady. Back in ’87, we had heard this story about a lady walking around on Proctor Valley Road asking for help. We thought, “Ok, it’s 3 am in the morning. Let’s drive out there.” As we were coming around a bend; we saw this blue thing on the side of the road. It was this lady who was in a fetal position. We slowed down to get a better glimpse of this “blue thing.” As the headlights shined on this thing, it stood up. It turned out to be some lady in a bluish gown of some kind. She did look like she was glowing in a faint manner (or it could’ve been the high beams). She started waving her hands (like she was asking for help). I also remember her mouth moving as if she was talking, but no words were coming out. Obviously, we all freaked out and sped out of there as fast as we could. A buddy of mine looked back and said, “I don’t see her anymore.”

“On my buddy’s wedding night, my dad, my friend, and the soon-to-be husband, and I went to Proctor Valley… about 5 minutes into the valley, our truck shut down. we had our windows open, and out of nowhere, this loud scream came from a lady…. keep in mind that the lady in white is a screaming banshee…. anyway, we heard this loud scream. All of a sudden, our truck turned on. As we were hauling out of there, we saw something following us… something huge…. when we got out and stopped at the entrance of the valley, something was looking at us, and then this huge thing just started to go back into the valley.”

So, if you decide to drive on Proctor Valley Road – just keep your seatbelts on, your doors locked, and your pedal to the metal.

Happy Friday!!!