HAUNTED MICHIGAN: "The Hitch" Walks After Midnight

Up in the U.P. near Iron Mountain and the Wisconsin border is Pine Mountain Road. This road runs alongside the Menominee River. It is here that “The Hitch” can be spotted.

During the Great Depression in the 1930’s, there was a transient area – a “hobo town” if you will – on the spot where the Iron Mountain K-Mart once stood. One of these homeless men started walking up Pine Mountain Road in an attempt to hitch a ride up to Marquette to find a job. During his journey, a truck came along and struck him down. The driver failed to stop, leaving the man’s mutilated body alongside the road for someone else to take care of.

By the time the body was discovered, it was in such decomposition that he was never identified.

Over the decades since then, motorists have claimed to witness a man with a long gray beard and white hair, dressed like the 1930’s, trying to hitch a ride. He is only seen after midnight, and his eyes are wide with fright. If you drive by this figure, once you turn around to look again, he has disappeared.

Officials in the area have attempted to debunk this haunting by checking city, county, and state records of any such accident. They have tried to tell people it’s nothing but an urban legend or hoax, but the ones who say they’ve seen this shape are adamant that it’s for real.

All I can say is, if you’re curious, go see for yourself and make up your own mind.