Reeder Road – Griffith
Reeder Road, also known as Redar Road, is a well-known haunted location in Northwest Indiana. This five-mile road meanders between Griffith and Merrillville, though it isn’t listed on every area map anymore. It is located south of Oak Ridge Park off of Colfax Street in Griffith and is nestled within the confines of mysterious-looking woods.
According to accounts of teenagers in the vicinity, the main story of this “haunted” stretch of road concerns a teenage youth in the 1970s who encountered a spectre as he drove home from a date. As he was racing down the road, a beautiful young woman with long, blonde hair traversed his path. He was forced to stop his vehicle as she instantaneously entered his car. She proceeded to tell him that her car had veered off the road and that she needed a ride home. While she was giving him directions to her home, the young man drove by Ross Cemetery. To his horror, he discovered that his mysterious guest had vanished. Local lore states that this young woman was buried in this cemetery in 1955 after a car accident had sent her hurtling to her death face-down into a nearby swamp.
Another local legend claims that if you walk down Reeder Road for about an hour and a half from the direction of Griffith, as you look to the right, you may spot a white church dating back to the early 1900s. Some say that a passerby can hear the screams of the congregation that an insane pastor had killed many years ago.
Other local accounts have stated that at night, if you pass the railroad tracks that run parallel to Reeder Road, you can see a man in black clothing slowly walking toward you from the direction of the centre track.
Many people say Reeder Road used to be a heavily travelled road that teenagers would frequent, because it was so dark and desolate. There were no streetlights on the road. They say that the mob used to throw dead bodies along that area. One account tells of a body that actually fell on the car of a teenage couple who were “necking” in a lonely spot.
One local teen stated that she had visited the road with some friends. They had driven down the road until they encountered a chained-off section blocking the road. She said that the road appeared to look forgotten and was covered with wild grassland. She said that they had felt a distinct “presence” while they were there. Consequently, they left the area quickly.
Whatever you may find while visiting Reeder Road, you must come with an open mind. According to my own observations of this location, this unkempt stretch of road is indeed from another era. Since the late 1980s, the road has been closed. It is chained together by yellow barricades that imply: “Please stay away.” Whatever remains of this legendary, ghostly road is now swallowed up by the surrounding woods that embrace it.
Written by — Sharon Blumberg
REEDER ROAD
GRIFFITH, INDIANA
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SOURCE:
Encyclopedia of Haunted Places -Ghostly Locales from around the World – Compiled & Edited by Jeff Belanger – Copyright 2005 by Jeff Belanger