Urban Legends

Ghost Tracks

Origin: San Antonio

The Ghost Tracks is an urban legend from San Antonio about a railroad crossing that is said to be haunted by the ghosts of children who died there in a tragic accident when their school bus was hit by a train.

Back in the 1940s, in San Antonio, Texas, a school bus full of children was making its way down the road and towards the intersection when it stalled on the railroad tracks. A speeding train smashed into the bus, killing 10 of the children and the bus driver.

Since that dreadful accident many years ago, any car stopped near the railroads will be pushed by unseen hands across the tracks to safety. They say, that the spirits of the children push the cars across the tracks to prevent another accident and save the people from a tragic fate like theirs.

As the story goes, if you park your car directly over the tracks and shift into neutral, the ghosts of the children will push it uphill, out of the way of an oncoming train. And if you cover your bumper with baby powder or flour, you can reportedly see the children's handprints on your car.

Numerous accounts have been reported that cars do in fat inexplicably move on their own and mysterious prints are seen on vehicles.

Others allege they have heard the voices and laughter of children while at the site. 

However, there is no record of such an accident in the newspaper archives anywhere in Texas. The road is slightly inclined, which could explain the cars moving by themselves.