Post by @david_castleton@universeodon.com

2026-03-30 17:31 UTC

Route 666 (now mostly renumbered 491) was an American highway that wound through Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. Due to the associations of 666 with the Antichrist, the route was rumoured to be cursed. The road was said to be haunted by a phantom 1930s car that forced drivers off the road, a demonic smoke-and-fire-belching truck, and skin walkers, dangerous creatures from Navajo myth. There were also accounts of a ghostly female hitchhiker and UFOS, which allegedly created timeslips - meaning drivers could disappear then reappear miles down the road not knowing what had happened to them. Much of the road&#39;s mythology might have come about thanks to its high accident rate - its renumbering in 2003 coincided with safety improvements. #mythologymonday #folklore #gothic #mythology #paranormal #ghosts #weird #history

Replies (6)

@croyle@wandering.shop 2026-03-30 17:37

@david_castleton 666 and those alleged events made it a lot more interesting! :)

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@Jesticulated@mastodon.social 2026-03-30 17:46

@david_castleton Strange that it went from an even number to a odd number presuming it still goes in the same direcrion

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@murdoc@autistics.life 2026-03-30 17:58

@david_castleton Just like numbering the 13th floor of a building to 14. Anyway, cool stuff. 👻 Anyone else getting "Highway to Hell" in their head?

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@Jason844@mastodon.social 2026-03-30 18:17

@david_castleton I've driven this road when it was still US 666. Alas, I didn't see any phantom cars, demonic trucks, ghostly hitchhikers, UFOs, or skinwalkers.

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@Alleycats@mindly.social 2026-03-31 07:53

@david_castleton They can call it Route 491 all they want, but I’ll always know the truth. 😈

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@adamantichrist@mastodon.social 2026-03-31 10:56

@david_castleton does that count as a nocebo? Or is there some other term to explain negative outcomes of irrational beliefs?

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