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Barefoot Mysteries
Kick off your shoes, get comfortable and join us, barefoot Pat and Dave, your Barefoot Mystery Junkies, while we explore the Unsolved, the Unexplained, the Paranormal and the Weird World We Live In.
Barefoot Mysteries
A Terrifying Journey Down The Dark Road of Rehoboth's Hitchhiker Legend
Could the haunting be the result of a tragic hit-and-run accident, or is there something even more sinister at play? We discuss the various theories surrounding the phantom hitchhiker and the possible connection to deaths on that very stretch of road. So, buckle up and join us on this thrilling journey through the dark and mysterious world of the Route 44 Hitchhiker. Just remember: if you ever find yourself driving down that long, dark road - think twice before stopping for a hitchhiker.
Theme Music courtesy of Uppbeat
Artist: Alex Besss
Track Title: Threatened
Theme Music courtesy of Uppbeat
Artist: Alex Besss
Track Title: Threatened
Contact us at: barefootmysteries @gmail.com
Welcome to Barefoot Mysteries. Hi, i'm Pat And I'm Dave. You know, dave, i don't know about you, but I find the idea of driving alone down a dark, abandoned highway really eerie, especially at night when all the colors of the day, there's no color in the world, it's just been turned into not colors, i guess. Well, white is a color, black isn't right? So white and gray? So I guess they are colors, but it's just shades of black and black and gray. In today's episode, we'll talk about an urban legend known as the Route 44 Hitchhiker. As always, we invite you to join us, kick off your shoes, get comfortable and let's get on this spooky ride together. You know, i was thinking, as I was researching this urban legend, about the last time I saw someone hitchhiking. It's been a while. Do you remember the last time you saw someone hitchhiking?
Speaker 2:I'd have to think back on those memory banks, and it has been a long time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, me too. I can't even remember. Have you ever picked one up?
Speaker 2:I picked them up and I've been picked up hitchhiking many times.
Speaker 1:Oh, can you? Okay, well, you know what? No, tell me Yeah well, like you're going to stop me from telling you, Of course I'm going to tell you. You might want to think twice before picking up a hitchhiker if you're driving down Route 44 in Rehoboth Massachusetts. Why is that? I'm about to tell you.
Speaker 2:Tell me.
Speaker 1:You know this particular hitchhiker. yeah, let me tell you about what people have experienced for over three decades, or, for the non-mathematical people out there, dave.
Speaker 2:I was counting on my fingers and toes, but I couldn't get up that high. Okay, for over 30 years.
Speaker 1:Can I borrow your toes? Yeah, no.
Speaker 2:Oh damn.
Speaker 1:Keep your. grab me a little paws off my toes. There you go, all right. So over 30 years it's been not just 30 years, but over 30 years. Local residents of Rehoboth have reported seeing a redheaded man that hitchhikes, but he only hitchhikes along a dark stretch of Route 44. Those who have seen him and encountered him describe him as being oh, at least six feet tall, able-bodied, well-built, wearing dirty jeans or work pants, boots. He has long, reddish, messy hair, a big red, bushy beard and he always, always, wears a red flannel shirt.
Speaker 2:He would be an immediate pass on my book.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Yeah, That's. you know. maybe if it was like a little 10 year old boy or something, no, no, no, I'm not going to do it. Yeah, no, even if he looks just like the brawny man, i would not pick. Well, wait a minute. Yeah, well, okay, he'd be okay wouldn't he? Yeah, i'm getting off track. Okay, all right, where'd that come from? I don't know. I buy brawny paper towels, so I'm trying to, i'm trying to remember what he looks like.
Speaker 2:I thought it was the one that was always off track.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, okay, let me get back on this track. Okay, Let me get back on Route 44. Let me tell you about one woman who said, when she stopped to pick him up, that and of course you know, this is back in in probably a kind of a rural area, so they're probably a little more neighborly than big cities But when she stopped to pick him up, just as he reached for the door handle, her car engine died and she couldn't get it started again. But what she did here was a man laughing And as she looked around there was no one around to be seen.
Speaker 2:Instead of her car engine.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, her car engine had died And you know, it took her, oh, another 10 minutes or so to try to get that poor car started.
Speaker 2:I bet her heart was going pretty quick.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh, can you imagine? And after about 10 minutes it finally started. Wow, yeah, she was. she did account that you know when she was reporting everything she said. you know it took her a while to actually even get started Her she couldn't even catch her breath. She was so scared.
Speaker 2:I bet.
Speaker 1:Now this mystery Red Herdman always chooses to sit in the back seat, which, if I remember back in the day they would always get, and even in movies they always get in the front seat, right.
Speaker 2:That's true, And I think I would have my rear view mirror pointed at him in the back seat if that were the case.
Speaker 1:Well, you know, here's the thing. Do you want someone you don't know? Do you want your back to someone you don't know? I don't think so. Yeah, but anyway, he just automatically would sit in the back seat And when someone would say, hey, where, where are you headed to? Which is always the question, you know, hey, where are you going?
Speaker 2:Yeah where are you going? How far?
Speaker 1:Oh, he wouldn't say anything, he would just point a finger straight ahead.
Speaker 2:Which finger?
Speaker 1:The index, the pointy finger.
Speaker 1:The pointy finger, the index finger, yeah, yeah, so well, if you're pointing, what are you gonna point with That index finger, jesus? Okay, all right, god, all right, here let me draw it for you, okay, okay, okay, now. They would travel in silence and the hitchhiker wouldn't be saying anything until suddenly he'd start giggling, and then the giggling would turn into an uncontrollable, maniacal laughter. If the driver threatens to pull over and have him get out of the car, the hitchhiker would suddenly disappear. He might pull over and then, okay, turn around the back and go. Okay, you gotta get out. The back seat would be empty.
Speaker 2:Wow, he listened.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, without even opening the car door or waiting for the guy to stop.
Speaker 2:That's spooky.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that would. I'd be sitting there going, did this just happen.
Speaker 2:I think I might be getting out of the car.
Speaker 1:I might just be like, wait, let me get out, let me get on. Yeah, but just because you can't see him doesn't mean he's gone. One woman this happened to her He was just driving, she was just driving and he wasn't talking and suddenly he disappeared. But as soon as she noticed that he had disappeared, her car radio stopped and was replaced by his laughter Woo.
Speaker 2:Hahaha, woo, hahaha. I think he enjoys this.
Speaker 1:Yeah, oh, maybe now he's getting even with somebody.
Speaker 2:I think they're right.
Speaker 1:Then somebody else. this is different. instead of picking him up, was just driving, didn't see a hitchhiker anywhere, but the phantom suddenly appeared in his rearview mirror and when he did, his radio started scanning. It went through all the stations and then, at a volume that almost shook the car, the hitchhiker started laughing again. Well, the hitchhiker that wasn't there started laughing again. Hahaha, through the car radio.
Speaker 2:He has many talents. Oh scary.
Speaker 1:So who is this mystery man? Any guesses?
Speaker 2:Not one that I really want to get to know, by the way.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, yeah, okay, i'm telling you, i think I'll take an Uber from now on.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and he'll be the driver.
Speaker 1:Oh Lord, okay, well, scratch Uber off the list. Records show that several people have died on that stretch of road, including a man that matches the witness's description, but no one knows for sure if he's the phantom hitchhiker. No one even knows when exactly the haunting started or if it'll ever stop. So before we go, dear listeners, a word of advice If you should ever find yourself driving down that long, dark stretch of Route 44, don't stop for hitchhikers, and if there are three of you in the car, legend has it, you'll suddenly find a red-haired passenger sitting in the empty seat next to you.
Speaker 2:I'm bringing four people next time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay, just don't be driving a seven-passenger car. Oh, good point. Yeah, oh, my gosh. Well, i don't know. who do you think this guy was or is? I have you know. I think that, since they have someone that matches that description, that it must have been someone that passed away on that road. I think that maybe the haunting started and won't stop until. well, let me tell you how I think it started. I think he was a victim of a hit and run and no one ever found out who the driver was. and he is haunting, and I think that's why he's laughing, because now he's laughing and scaring drivers that are driving down that road, and it won't stop until the person that killed him has found.
Speaker 2:Unless he was the one that did the killing instead of being the one that got killed.
Speaker 1:Oh.
Speaker 2:But he is kind of stuck on this road.
Speaker 1:I think he's talking about that, for sure, or maybe he was a killer and he was in the back seat and he killed people.
Speaker 2:Mm-hmm, and now he's dead.
Speaker 1:He can't kill people anymore, but he can still scare the crap out of them. I was gonna say scare him out of the life. Yeah, by disappearing and laughing and then having the radio go crazy.
Speaker 2:Is he making any car crashes? Do we know?
Speaker 1:that, not that I don't know, i would boy. I'll tell you what. No, i think they probably come to us. You know, a rapid halt probably slam on the brakes, but he also affects the engine. So I don't know, he's got some weird tools, that's for sure. Wow, i'll tell you.
Speaker 1:You know, what I'd like to hear is if any of our listeners have ever picked up a hitchhiker that they were a little worried about, that they thought, oh, maybe this wasn't a good idea, or if it had ever turned out bad. I'd love to hear that. You know, hitchhiking could be so dangerous, not only for the person picking up but for the hitchhiker too. And on another note, you know what else I'd like to get. If our listeners, if we have listeners out there that have scary stories, or they've written a scary story, or about an urban legend or a haunted or a mystery, an unsolved mystery, i'd love for them to send that into us. So out there in listening land, listening land, listening land. If you would like to send us something that you've written or you've found, we'd love to read it online. So send it in, would ya At BarefootMysteriescom? Again, that's BarefootMysteriescom. Let us know if you want us to read it, and we would be happy to do so. We'd love to hear them. Alrighty, until then, everyone, as always, be nice to each other.
Speaker 2:Stay safe.
