CALLAWAY COUNTY -- There’s a Callaway County road where some people say evil creatures roam at night.

The legend of Dark Hollow Road has been passed down from generation to generation.

The sign says County Road 409, those who know the stories of this doomed drive call it Dark Hollow Road. 

Danny Byler has lived near Dark Hollow Road all of his life. Danny said most of his neighbors know the story of a black panther that escaped from a traveling circus near Mokane during the 1940’s. Storytellers said the ghost of the panther stalks the woods along Dark Hollow Road at night in search of unsuspecting victims.

“A guy on a motorcycle was riding through there years ago," Byler said. "They found his motorcycle and they found one of his boots with his leg still in it.  They never found the rest of his remains or nothing like that.  The panther or the creature of dark hollow had got him and took care of him, I suppose.”

People around Callaway County are pretty familiar with the stories of the panther or what some call the creature of Dark Hollow Road, but the woods along Dark Hollow have a lot more stories to tell.

Like the story of the drunk teenage couple who crashed and died on Dark Hollow Road years ago. They say if you turn headlights on and off, a set of ghost headlights will appear in front of you. The ghost headlights then pass through your car leaving every passenger covered in blood.  Other stories tell of unexplained screams in the night.

“There’s always stories of screams and hollers and stuff down there," Byler said. "I can remember being a little kid and sitting on the porch and hearing screaming down there. I don’t know what it was. Something was definitely screaming.”

Dozens of horror stories are connected to this 7 mile stretch of dirt and gravel between Fulton and a small cemetery in Hams Prairie. Some say the graves there glow at night as restless spirits try to contact the living.

Some say the stories of Dark Hollow are just stories.  Danny Byler believes.

“Well, if you go through there on Halloween, I’d say, be careful,” Byler said.

Byler suggests that you should never travel alone on Dark Hollow Road, especially at night.

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