Phantom Hitchhiker - Columbia, South Carolina

On US 76, it is said that an old, ghostly hitchhiker appears at the entrance of the bridge-usually on rainy or foggy nights. The lady, who appears to be in distress, is usually offered help by most. The apparition, who is said to be extremely lifelike, gets into the back seat and tells the driver she is en route to Columbia to visit her mother. Giving them an address on Pickens Street, she continues to converse with the driver before becoming silent. By that time, the car is across the river, the woman has disappeared. It is said that in the 1940s, a woman was killed in the spot that is now the beginning of the bridge, while trying to get to Columbia to see her mother.