31st October 2006 - M6 is Britain's spookiest road
You're driving alone down a dark, country lane. The mist rolls in and the shadows cast by the full moon start to play tricks with you mind. You feel the hairs on the back of your neck rise with fear and you wish you'd taken the motorway to your destination - you wouldn't be feeling so spooked then. Or would you. . .
Research by Tarmac, the country's road experts, to find the most haunted highways in Britain has yielded a very surprising ghoulish fact - the M6 could well be Britain's spookiest road.
Tony Simmons, sightings co-ordinator for Tarmac says: "We've had more sightings of clarity reported from the M6 than any other road in Britain. We originally assumed Britain's spookiest road would turn out to be a dark lane near an ancient battlefield. But, when you think about it, it makes sense. The M6 is one of Britain's longest roads and it travels through many counties - and therefore an immense amount of history.
"We compiled the top ten on the basis of the clarity of sightings rather than just the number of spooky experiences. At this time of year it's easy to mistake swirling mist for something more sinister and we wanted to make sure we were listing truly spooky sightings."
Sightings reported from the M6 include Roman Soldiers, phantom vehicles and the figure of a lone woman. Other roads to make the top ten are: The A9 and the road to Loch Bhuie in the Highlands, Platt Lane in Leigh, the High St and Suffield Rd in Great Yarmouth, Gloucester Drive in Finsbury Park, the B4293 in Wales near Devauden, the B3314 in Cornwall, the B1403 in Doncaster, and Drews Lane, Ward End, Birmingham.
Nina Ashby, teacher of psychic and spiritual development and energy healing says: "Ghosts are passed over souls who have an energetic existence rather than a physical one. Because ghosts exist at a subtle level and are nourished by electromagnetic energy, they are often associated with a place where there is a strong current or vortex. In an enclosed property the perceived effects are more obvious; severe changes in temperature, disruption of electrical items, objects moved or damaged or violent moods or influences in atmospheres where people are normally amiable etc."
"On roadways this is also taking place, but because people move relatively quickly along these routes, they are not subject to the same time to be able to experience or analyse these phenomena. Therefore they get glimpses of things, creepy feelings, coldness, a dark atmosphere or feeling of oppression for no apparent reason."
According to Tarmac's research, almost half of drivers (45%) believe they have seen something unidentifiable while at the wheel although sightings vary from the vague to the very detailed. With about 41.8 million drivers in the UK, this means that nearly as many as 20 million of us may have seen a ghost or other spooky sighting on Britain's roads.
