The Woman at Mile Marker 17
There is a stretch of highway in northern Pennsylvania where drivers have learned not to stop.
It isn't particularly dangerous.
There are no sharp curves.
No notorious intersections.
No unusually high number of accidents.
There is simply Mile Marker 17.
The first reports began appearing in the late 1970s.
Drivers traveling alone at night described seeing a woman standing beside the road, usually on the passenger side.
She was dressed differently depending on who saw her.
A pale dress.
An old-fashioned coat.
A white sweater.
But every witness agreed on one thing.
She was always waiting.
And she always looked directly at the approaching vehicle.
The first account came from a truck driver named Daniel Mercer.
Mercer was driving south shortly after midnight when he noticed a woman standing beside the highway.
He assumed she had broken down, but there was no vehicle nearby.
He slowed down.
The woman raised one hand.
Mercer continued past her.
Almost immediately, he felt guilty.
He checked his mirrors.
She was gone.
He drove another half mile before seeing her again.
This time she was standing on the opposite side of the highway.
Mercer never stopped.
A few years later, a married couple reported almost exactly the same thing.
They saw a woman standing beside Mile Marker 17.
The husband slowed down.
His wife told him not to stop.
When they passed her, the wife looked backward through the rear window.
The woman was standing in the middle of the highway.
The couple contacted police.
Officers found nothing.
No pedestrian.
No accident.
No abandoned vehicle.
Nothing.
The strangest report came in 1994.
A college student named Rebecca Hall was driving home after visiting friends.
She saw the woman beside the road and assumed she needed help.
Rebecca pulled onto the shoulder.
The woman approached the passenger window.
Rebecca later said she couldn't remember exactly what the woman looked like.
She remembered only her eyes.
"They looked like she hadn't slept in years."
The woman didn't ask for a ride.
Instead, she pointed down the road.
Rebecca looked where she was pointing.
There was nothing there.
When she turned back, the woman had disappeared.
Rebecca locked the doors and drove away.
Several miles later, she noticed something lying on the passenger seat.
It was a photograph.
The photograph showed a young woman standing beside an old car.
On the back was written:
Mile 17 — October 1968.
Rebecca eventually gave the photograph to police.
No record was ever found connecting it to a missing person.
The stories continued.
Some drivers claimed the woman appeared only during heavy rain.
Others said she appeared on clear nights.
One witness claimed she saw the woman standing in the road just moments before encountering a serious accident farther ahead.
Another claimed the woman appeared beside her car after she had already passed Mile Marker 17.
But the most disturbing detail remained consistent.
The woman never appeared to be trying to cross the road.
She was always waiting.
And she always seemed to be waiting for someone in particular.
Locals eventually developed a simple rule.
If you see the woman at Mile Marker 17, keep driving.
Don't stop.
Don't look back.
And whatever you do, don't let her into the car.
Some roads carry more than traffic.
Sometimes, someone is still waiting beside the road long after everyone else has gone home.
