Most folks who live in DeBary, Florida live an ordinary life.
Over the years, they have slowly forgotten the eerie tales that surround Interstate 4—a supernatural highway that crosses through town.
These days, only school children speak about the headstones that were paved over, and the ghostly figures that appear along the road after the sun goes down.
The DeBary Ghost Legend
Updated 2/10/2020 – In fact, Drake (Name changed for privacy), a local teen, heard about haunted Interstate 4 every year in school.
“Of course it was scary at first.
I was only seven or so when I was first told about it,” he recalled with some amusement.
“But every single school year I would hear about it, and the shock and the horror of it began to wear off.
Especially when my parents told me that they use I-4 every day and never experienced an issue.
By the time I turned sixteen I thought the whole thing was pretty funny and ridiculous,” Drake said, nodding at his feet.
“Anyway, I turn sixteen, right?
And when I got off the bus from school, my parents were waiting for me in the driveway.
And behind them was a gently used Chevy Cobalt.
“I couldn’t believe it, I was so happy.
After we ate dinner, I rushed to finish my homework and begged them to let me drive it to my friend Corey’s house.
I wanted to surprise him and take him for a joyride.
“I could tell they were a little concerned, but they could see how eager and I excited I was, and they finally relented.
My birthday is in January, so even though it was fairly warm out, the days were short.
It was just after sunset when I started driving to Corey’s.
“I got onto I-4, cranked up the radio and kept laughing to myself as I drove…I felt very fortunate,” he smiled then immediately turned sober.
“I couldn’t have been on the highway for more than a few minutes when this…silvery figure suddenly manifested right in front of me on the road.
My instinct was to hit the brakes and turn the wheel as quickly as I could.
Gut Reaction
“Thankfully, there were no other cars around because the cobalt rolled a few times before it came to a stop on its hood.
I unbuckled myself and fell to the ground, managing to crawl out of the car unhurt.
I looked back to what had appeared in front of me, but I couldn’t see anything on the road at all.
“Had it been some kind of fog?
Had it been my imagination?
I pulled out my cell phone, dreading the phone call I was about to make to my parents when I saw them…,” he trailed off.
“There were five of them, and they were standing on the side of the road, all silvery and translucent.
I watched in awe and fear as they shuffled in a line off the side of the road and slowly began to dissolve into nothing.
“I must have passed out after that, because the next thing I know I’m waking up at the hospital.
I told my parents and anyone else in DeBary what I saw that night, but they just think I suffered a head injury during the accident.”