The Evidence for Phantom Hitch-Hikers: An Objective Survey of the Vanishing Passenger from Urban Myths to Actual Events

by Michael Goss

All over the world motorists report giving lifts to hitch-hikers who then vanish, ghostlike, en route. Phantom Hitch-Hikers, as these insubstantial passengers are called, have become classified as an urban legend and related to historical tales of supernatural traveling companions. But is there more to such stories than picturesque folklore? Are there genuine paranormal experiences behind the reports?Goss explores the meaning and causes of this phenomenon. In terms of purpose and behavior, the Phantom Hitch-Hiker of urban folklore is a thoroughly conventional ghost: one who matches popular expectations of what a ghost is, what it does, and why. He or she is the spirit of a deceased person, the victim of a tragic accident, which resulted in the premature termination of earthly existence. It would appear that these "ghosts" are motivated by, especially on the anniversaries their unfortunate accidents, a desire to complete their unfinished homeward journey. It would also appear that they do not know that they are dead.

Oringinally published in 1984, this was among the first books to address itself seriously to such questions and to examine the available evidence for these encounters critically and objectively.

Aspects covered include:
The Phantom Hitch-Hiker as folkloreThe Hitch-Hiker as prophetLiterary precedents--the Demon LoverThe role of the pressThe sexual elementThe historical backgroundEvaluating the evidence

This is a book for anyone who enjoys a good ghost story, as well for serious students of paranormal phenomena.

Genres: Urban Legends

160 pages, Paperback

First published October 25, 1984

Reviews

[Aaron Long]

I picked this little book up in the speaking tree when in Glastonbury,if I'm honest I had high expectations for this and those expectations were not met unfortunately not to say that it's bad because it's just my opinion and my opinion alone, please don't let me put you off of exploring what science obviously cannot answer. Michael Goss is really on the fence with the phenomenon and rightfully so, he does an excellent job of covering all angles of how the phenomenon could well have been countless other things which can be explained, my issue is that Goss takes his time in trying to convey a situation, in essence he takes the scenic route for something which can be covered in two pages instead of 4 if you get what I mean. Don't get me wrong the little book provides some real interesting and somewhat curious cases from France,England and South Africa to name a few. Most of the phantom hitchhiker cases presented are very old but yet remain as mind bending now as they were then, one case from Pakistan really gripped me. I think why I've given it a 3 star is simply down to Michael Goss writing style which I wasn't a huge fan of sorry to say, but if your interested in this somewhat elusive and little known about phenomena then it's most likely the best book out there on the subject.👍

[Aaron Long]

I picked this little book up in the speaking tree when in Glastonbury,if I'm honest I had high expectations for this and those expectations were not met unfortunately not to say that it's bad because it's just my opinion and my opinion alone, please don't let me put you off of exploring what science obviously cannot answer. Michael Goss is really on the fence with the phenomenon and rightfully so, he does an excellent job of covering all angles of how the phenomenon could well have been countless other things which can be explained, my issue is that Goss takes his time in trying to convey a situation, in essence he takes the scenic route for something which can be covered in two pages instead of 4 if you get what I mean. Don't get me wrong the little book provides some real interesting and somewhat curious cases from France,England and South Africa to name a few. Most of the phantom hitchhiker cases presented are very old but yet remain as mind bending now as they were then, one case from Pakistan really gripped me. I think why I've given it a 3 star is simply down to Michael Goss writing style which I wasn't a huge fan of sorry to say, but if your interested in this somewhat elusive and little known about phenomena then it's most likely the best book out there on the subject.👍

[D. R. Churner]

I was really expecting to enjoy this critical look at the phantom hitchhiker phenomenon, but already a few pages into the book, the narrative becomes really convoluted. All respect to Mr. Goss, as he has no doubt done meticulous research into the subject. The problem is, however, that the overall subject becomes bogged down focusing on mostly a looping handful of cases, with what seems like endless nitpicking, second-guessing and "what if"'s. It then keeps repeating itself for most of the book. This ruins the reading experience completely, and having read other books in the "Evidence" series, I'm not sure this was what the publishers intended. As it stands, this will probably be a good handbook for those very few that are doing research into or adjacent to the particular cases in the book and want to get all facts straightened out, but for even people with a good grasp on Fortean subjects, this becomes a tedious read.

[Carey Blankenship-Kramer]

Read this for class and for a research paper, and it did a great job giving me the information I needed.

[Gehayi]

Despite the title of this book, Goss does not attempt to prove that phantom hitchhikers are real. Rather, he approaches the phantom or vanishing hitchhiker as a real story with four variants (an address-giving ghost--which may or may not be benign-- a prophetic spirit, a ghost who borrows some article of clothing that ends up on a grave or tombstone, and some local goddess or saint, such as Pele in Hawaii) that is told all over the world. He also points out that similar stories have been told about other forms of transportation, such as coachmen who had the Devil for a passenger. In fact, such stories go back even further (I can recall a number of Scottish stories featuring a man unfortunate enough to give an otherworldly passenger a ride on his horse). But Goss was focusing on man-made forms of transportation.

Goss points out that in addition to the hitchhiking ghost being a very old story, there are other factors that have to be dealt with: highway hypnosis, which can temporarily put a person in a trance-like state and make them think that a shadow in their car is a person--and just as easily allow them to snap out of it; mob mentality; people playing cruel jokes; and people who are outright lying. It was interesting, but not as interesting as it could have been, for Goss focused on proving that cases of phantom hitchhikers which were apparently well-known in England probably had not occurred as the witnesses claimed that they had. I was willing to stipulate to that from the beginning; I wanted to hear more about the stories--and the influence fiction had had on spreading them.

But that was a matter of personal taste, no more. The book was informative, if a bit dry.

[Marsinah]

Evidence for Phantom Hitch-Hikers makes for an interesting read. As someone who enjoyed learning about cultural anthropology, I particularly enjoyed that the book kicked off explaining the folklorist construct of these happenings as cultural motifs/archetypes. It broke down the format of the phantom hitch-hiker tales into patterns of common themes and components before setting forth criteria by which to judge these occurrences. Following that, the duty of psychical researchers to examine reported sightings with their own set of criteria while also remaining mindful of the cultural motifs was presented.

Seeing examples, next, of reported phantom hitch-hiker cases being evaluated from both points of view was something I appreciated. Whereas many people would take the easy road and choose to present material that slanted in favor of their personal views, this book rose above that. Where examined cases met criteria for urban legend/cultural phenomena rather than manifested phantom, it was clearly stated as such.

(Book was read and reviewed after winning a copy of it in a drawing.)

[Salman Hyder]

One of the weirdest books I ever picked up and could not put it down back. The title is misleading in the neighborhood of pseudoscience, but I am delighted the author used the tools of empirical knowledge at hand to dissect this haunting motif in cultures. Being from Pakistan myself, I was glad to find perhaps two stories from here.

[Sandra]

This book isn't just the usual collection of encounters with phantom hitchhikers.
It's a serious study of the phenomena from different perspectives.

With the plentiful information that's presented, you can draw your own conclusion on what to believe.

[Weasel]

Interesting read