U.S. Route 11 is a major historic highway that runs southwest-to-northeast across north-central Alabama for roughly 250 miles, entering from Mississippi near Cuba and exiting into Georgia near Sulphur Springs. It largely parallels the modern Interstate 59 corridor and passes through cities including Tuscaloosa and Birmingham. In north Alabama, the route and related local highways form part of the regional transportation network. The specific stretch referenced in ghost lore is described in the primary source as the northbound lanes of Highway 11, accessible via an exit off Highway 565, a limited-access route in north Alabama. The region saw significant Civil War activity and later industrial and suburban growth. No contemporary newspaper accounts independently verifying the specific 1934 incident tied to the legend appear in the sources that popularized the story.
Reported Hauntings and Folklore
The principal legend associated with this stretch of Highway 11 concerns the ghost of Lonnie Stephens. According to the account in Dennis William Hauck’s Haunted Places: The National Directory (1996 and later editions), Lonnie Stephens was falsely accused of murdering his girlfriend in September 1934. He was later exonerated when the real killer confessed, but by then it was too late: he had escaped from a chain gang and was attempting to hitch a ride when he was struck and killed by a car. His ghost is said to still appear on the northbound lanes, standing in the middle of the road with arms outstretched in an imploring gesture as if flagging down a ride. Drivers who try to avoid him reportedly strike him, only for the figure to vanish. The location is specified as the northbound lanes of Highway 11 (an exit off Highway 565 in north Alabama). This account is presented as regional folklore rather than a documented historical case with corroborating contemporary records; it fits the broader pattern of “phantom hitchhiker” legends found on many American highways. Other haunted sites in north Alabama (such as the Old State Bank and Cry Baby Hollow) are more frequently discussed in local tourism and paranormal literature, but they are separate from the Highway 11 legend.
Relevant links
- Dennis William Hauck, Haunted Places: The National Directory (1996 / later editions)
- Southern Spirit Guide – Alabama roads & bridges
- U.S. Route 11 in Alabama (AARoads / route overview)
- Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT)
One comment