Ghost Hunting: The Legend of Morrow Road

WHAT ARE WE DISCOVERING THIS MONTH?

• Let’s eat cake and watch Star Wars.

• Choose your own legend.

• Vote in the poll.

November is my birthday month. I’ll be 42. It’s bittersweet because 42 was the age my brother was when he died of cancer. While I have a craft show that day as well, I invite you to have a Star Wars or Lord of the Rings marathon in his memory and eat some cake to celebrate my birthday.

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THE LEGEND OF MORROW ROAD

Morrow Road is a lonely, isolated road in southeast Michigan. It’s a rural road that began its life as a cow path in the 19th century. The south portion resides in Clay Township and the north part is in Cottrellville Township. Two creeks intersect the road at two different points that at one point sported two simple-railed bridges. Not many people live along the road, but can you blame them with a ghost lurking about?

TALES OF LOSS AND DEATH

The Legend of Morrow Road has endured for at least 125 years. And it will probably go on long after we’ve left this earthly plain. (Well, some of us. I don’t doubt there’s a few of you who plan on lurking as a ghost.) It is one of many tales of a mother searching for her lost child. Will she ever find him? Our empathy wants to say yes.

Photo by Ksenia Yakovleva on Unsplash

Our tale begins in the late 1800s when a woman died in search of her missing child. A mother went to check on her son and found his bed empty. He had been snatched by kidnappers. Wearing only her nightgown, she ran outside to search, only to succumb to the elements.

Another legend claims she had an illegitimate child. Given that was a huge no-no at the time, she placed the child in a basket and left him under a bridge. But guilt over her actions drew her back to the bridge. When she arrived, the basket was empty. She died searching for him.

Then there is the monster theory. This tells of a child-eating monster and theorizes that the woman’s son and others were eaten by the so-called monster. Their souls turned to orbs, which many people have claimed to see in the area.

There are more theories and tales that explain the haunting on Morrow Road. It’s hard to say if any hold water, but that doesn’t discount the fact that people have seen something strange on that lonely stretch.

AS MANY SIGHTINGS AS THERE ARE TALES

Witnesses have seen a woman in a light blue nightgown who seemed to be searching for something. A child’s cry has been heard as well as the woman screaming, “Where’s my baby?”

One man driving down the road one night saw a woman on the side of the road. She appeared to be crying and in distress, so he stopped to offer aid. When she looked at him, she had no eyes and there was blood covering her. She screamed at him and demanded to know where her child was. The man took off, terrified, as she chased him.

There are many claims of vehicle trouble driving down the road as well.

IS THERE ANY PROOF TO THE LEGEND?

The definition of a legend is: An unverified story handed down from earlier times, especially one popularly believed to be historical.

So, while the Legend of Morrow Road is a fascinating one, and you have your pick in which version you like, whether or not a woman died in search of her son is a mystery we may never solve. There were no reports of infant deaths at that time. But one tale is about a child out of wedlock. A taboo. Would that have been reported? Those are details that have been lost to time. Unless someone has a Tardis.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE LEGEND OF MORROW ROAD?

Are the many variations of the tale a sign it’s made up? Is there truth to the legend? Will we ever uncover who the ghost is that people have seen?

My next email will drop into your inbox on December 28th. Keep your eyes peeled because I’m sharing how to become a child of the night!

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Thank you for reading.

Until next time, stay spooked!

~Patricia J.L.