Aloha Tide Riders and welcome to another Shortboard Session. Buckle up for a twilight cruise down California’s loneliest highways, where not every traveler is among the living. In this episode — the first stop in our February Freakiness saga on Strange Tides — we dive headfirst into the eerie world of California roadside entities. From phantom pedestrians who appear in your headlights only to vanish into thin air, to spectral hitchhikers who slide into the passenger seat and disappear before the next mile marker, these ghostly encounters have haunted drivers for decades.

We’ll also spotlight the infamous Niles Canyon Ghost, the mysterious phantom lady said to roam the foggy curves near San Francisco, waving down passing cars like a lost soul stuck between destinations. Blending local folklore, real-life witness stories, and that classic West Coast atmosphere, this episode explores why spirits seem drawn to highways and backroads where tragedy, travel, and the unknown collide.

Are these apparitions echoes of past accidents, urban legends fueled by late-night drives, or something truly supernatural cruising between worlds? Tune in, lock your doors, and keep your eyes on the road… because on Strange Tides, even the shoulder of the highway isn’t always empty.

Sources and Links:

The Vanishing Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends and Their Meanings by Jan Harold Brunvand (1981) - https://www.amazon.com/Vanishing-Hitchhiker-American-Legends-Meanings/dp/0393951693

Atlas Obscura: "The Vanishing Hitchhiker Legend Is an Ancient Tale That Keeps Evolving" (October 10, 2024) - https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/vanishing-hitchhiker-urban-legend

Wikipedia: Vanishing Hitchhiker - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanishing_hitchhiker

Wikipedia: Niles Canyon Ghost - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niles_Canyon_ghost

Tracy Press: "Ghost Girl of Niles Canyon Rests" (February 3, 2007)  - https://www.ttownmedia.com/tracy_press/archives/ghost-girl-of-niles-canyon-rests/article_006e4945-560c-5aa4-967d-0fe4dafd4200.html

SFGate: "The Urban Legend That Won't Die on This Deadly Bay Area Highway" (March 4, 2024)  - https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/bay-area-niles-canyon-road-ghost-18684782.php

Haunted Honeymoon: "Pacheco Pass - http://www.hauntedhoneymoon.com/hauntedplaces/pachecopass.html

Los Banos Enterprise: "Ghosts of the Pass: The Haunted History of Pacheco Pass Highway" (October 31, 2025) - https://losbanosenterprise.com/local-news/2025/ghosts-of-the-pass-the-haunted-history-of-pacheco-pass-highway

Gilroy Dispatch: "Don't Get Spooked on Pacheco Pass Highway" (October 30, 2003) - https://gilroydispatch.com/dont-get-spooked-on-pacheco-pass-highway

California Highways and Public Works Periodicals (1958 issues) - https://libraryarchives.metro.net/dpgtl/californiahighways/chpw_1958_julaug.pdf

Wikipedia: List of Reportedly Haunted Highways - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_reportedly_haunted_highways

Fortean Times: "Phantom Hitchhikers & Road Ghosts" - https://forums.forteana.org/index.php?threads/phantom-hitchhikers-road-ghosts.1632/

Fortean Times: "Fortean Traveller: Going 'out there' in SoCal" - https://shura.shu.ac.uk/26407/1/074_FT388.pdf