Illustration & Visual Narrative

on


Wang Shengxiao

(0369380)

Bachelor of Design(Honours)in Creative Media

-- November 16,2023

<week 9>

Title: The Vanishing Hitchhiker



 

It's a classic example of modern folklore, usually associated with thUnited States, but there are similar stories in other parts of the world where disappearing hitchhikers are often depicte standing by the side of the road and disappearing without a trace shortly after being picked up. A classic version states that the hitchhikers were the ghosts of local residents who were killed not far from their homes, but this may have changed over the decades. "It acquired an updated automotive theme during the Great Depression and has since spawned a number of subtypes with wildly different and strange interlocking details, some of which themselves derive from earlier folklore," writes Jan Harold Brunvand in The Vanishing Hitchhiker. American Urban Legends and Their Meanings" Sometimes hitchhikers are full of prophetic power, or are on an endless quest, like the crew of the flying Dutchman. "Updated and localized treatments of the legend continue to flourish in modern folklore, suggesting that this ancient ghost story must have some significant appeal to contemporary folk," Brunvand writes.

Introduction


In Crestwood, a small town nestled between dense woods and winding roads, there's a chilling urban legend called "the Missing hitchhiker." Locals say a mysterious figure, a ghostly woman with long flowing hair and a tattered white dress, appears late at night on the outskirts of town.

According to legend, unsuspecting motorists traveling along Old Mill Road may encounter a lone hitchhiker, a beautiful woman with an ethereal presence. She looked distressed, standing on the side of the road with her thumb out, trying to get a ride to a nearby town. The good Samaritans stopped to offer help, only to be met with a soft-spoken plea to take them to the old cemetery beyond the woods.

Those who agreed to help the mysterious hitchhiker noticed that she remained silent during the journey, keeping her gaze straight ahead. As the car approached the desolate cemetery, the atmosphere grew tense. The hitchhiker finally broke his silence and asked to drop off at a weathered gravestone shaded by shadows.


After arriving at the designated spot, the driver turns to talk to the mystery woman, only to find the back seat empty. Confused and terrified. Some people claim that when they realized this, they heard soft, haunting laughter echoing in the night sky.


Legend has it that this ghost hitchhiker is the spirit of a young woman who met a tragic end decades ago. Stories vary, but many locals believe she died in a car accident on her way to meet her lover. Her soul now roams the roads, forever searching for a car to her intended destination, the ancient cemetery where her love is said to rest forever.

While skeptics dismissed the story as mere folklore, some swore they encountered vanishing hitchhikers, their voices shaking as they recounted the terrifying experience. As the legend spread, so did a cautionary tale passed down through the generations: Beware the lonely stretch of Old Mill Road, especially if you happen upon a ghost hitchhiker looking to hitch a ride to the cemetery in the dead of night.


  • After learning this story, I had a picture in my mind many times.




     
    Final work


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