Hey, y’all, it’s Weird Wednesday! Where on some Wednesdays, I blog about weird stuff and give writing prompts.

Today: Ghost on the Road: The Vanishing Hitchhiker

Welcome on this Weird Wednesday! Today we’re taking a road trip with an unexpected passenger—at least, for a while.

Or maybe they’re not so unexpected. The Vanishing Hitchhiker is one of the most famous urban legends out there. The story goes like this: a driver of a car (or in older versions, a horse-drawn vehicle) stops to pick up a hitchhiker on a lonely road. The hitchhiker asks to be driven to a particular destination, but once they arrive, the driver finds the hitchhiker has somehow disappeared, even though the car never stopped moving.

The story ends with the driver realizing they picked up a ghost. There are a couple of ways to do this: if the destination was a house, the driver can question its occupants and find the hitchhiker has been dead for years, either because the driver recognizes their photo, or because it’s not the first time the hitchhiker has tried to get home, and the family is used to it. The ghost may have left an item in the car (book, scarf, lighter, or even bicycle) that the family recognizes, or they might have borrowed a jacket or other item from the driver, who later finds their item resting on the hitchhiker’s gravestone.

Check out the blog post for the whole story and some writing prompts, such as:

We meet again. Say the family of a woman killed in a road accident is used to drivers coming confused to their doors, holding the dead woman’s scarf. It’s such a regular occurrence that the family starts to wonder if they themselves might be able to pick up their lost loved one on the road. Would the phantom hitchhiker appear to her own family? What would they think on seeing her—especially if she looks injured or doesn’t seem to recognize them? Most importantly, would they finally be able to complete the journey, and bring the spirit of their loved one home? (And if they do make it work, do they come to wish they hadn’t?)

DannyeChase.com ~ AO3 ~ Linktree ~ Weird Wednesday writing prompts blog ~ Resources for Writers

On this day in 1822, the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley died. A few weeks earlier, he reported he’d seen an omen of his own death: his doppelganger, or double. Strangely enough, the double was seen by someone else as well.

People like to know what’s coming, even (especially) if it’s bad. It’s said no one wants to know the hour of their death, but if that were true, we wouldn’t have a whole list of death omens. Traditionally, signs of impending doom are found in two places: the natural and the supernatural. So come have a seat by the fire, and let’s hope we don’t cast headless shadows. (No, really.) 

Check out the blog post for the whole story and some ominous writing prompts, such as:

When you believe it, then you will see it. Most people don’t believe in death omens, or at least, they say they don’t. But that doesn’t mean death omens can’t be dangerous. If you’ve got a character who really believes in this stuff, then they’re at risk of a self-fulfilling prophecy. In other words, if they’re convinced they’re going to die, they might take foolish risks, stop eating, or refuse treatment for an illness. But what if the signs pointed to someone else? Say you’ve got a character who truly believes Aunt Grizelda has been marked for death—and they stand to inherit her fortune. What might they do then when she stubbornly remains healthy?

DannyeChase.com ~ AO3 ~ Linktree ~ Weird Wednesday writing prompts blog ~ Resources for Writers

 

Writers: looking to do the ethical thing and avoid AI images in illustrating, promoting, and selling your work?

There are many places to find public domain and free to use images. Always double-check the license before you use an image and remember to credit your source with a citation and/or link.

Pexels: photographs uploaded by contributors – does not allow AI. I found the photo for this post on Pexels. My blog post citations are usually a link on the photo itself or at the bottom of the page/post.

Unsplash: photographs and art uploaded by contributors – does not allow AI. Make sure you select the “free” license.

Public Domain Image Archive: out-of-copyright historical images.

Artvee: public domain paintings, posters and illustrations.

Smithsonian Open Access: images and data from across the Smithsonian’s 21 museums, nine research centers, libraries, archives, and the National Zoo.

Getty Research Institute: images of Getty-owned artworks in the public domain.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: public-domain artworks in the Met collections. Be sure you select “open access.”

New York Public Library Digital Collections. Be sure you select “search only public domain.”

Wikimedia Commons: lots of free-to-use and public domain images.  This is my other go-to for blog posts.

Remember, if you want custom artwork and book covers, there are tons of real, live artists you can commission to create for you! And as a fellow creator, you should not have a problem paying artists for their work. 

PS: please don’t use AI to write, either…nurture your own voice! We want to hear it.

This article was first published on my writing blog

DannyeChase.com ~ AO3 ~ Linktree ~ Weird Wednesday writing prompts blog ~ Resources for Writers

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