The vanishing hitchhiker is an urban legend that has a ghost who appears as a hitchhiker. In fact, the vanishing hitchhiker is the archetypal urban legend. It combines history (somewhat recent), with modern devices (automobiles), the supernatural (a ghost), often horror, and fiction.The essence of the story may be traced back several centuries to European folklore where it involved horses and carriages. The legend in its modern form began to emerge with the rise and dominance of the car in American culture. In the 1930s newspapers began carrying accounts of these ghosts of the highways.
This tale is the classic American legend of the road and there are many different versions. The haunting usually involves a particular stretch of road but in some cases the geographic area where the hitchhiker appears may be quite large. Some of the common themes and scenarios involve a tragic death or even murder, often connected in some manner to the road itself. The specter is usually seen hitchhiking along this area. The motorist in these tales may or may not stop to pick up the hitchhiker. Regardless, the spirit often ends up in the car of the driver, usually in the back seat if they were not picked up voluntarily. Sometimes death or harm befalls the motorist, but not always. There is also usually a garment or other object left behind. Oftentimes a member of the deceased's family or a close friend will appear in the tale and identify the object as belonging to their dead family member or friend. After riding for awhile, the hitchhiker will usually vanish, although sometimes they are just dropped off. Either way, the driver ultimately learns through some means that the hitchhiker as described has been dead for some time, usually for years. In a variation, sometimes the hitchhiker will prophesy future events for the driver.