Episode Transcript
[00:00:05] Speaker A: The customer you're trying to reach is not available.
[00:00:08] Speaker B: Please call back.
[00:00:10] Speaker A: Hey Ben, I hope you're doing well. I have a story for you. There's a store that's been passed down for a long while around here. The road was seven hills with a family that went missing. The family had seven daughters, the family where each daughter was found dead on each of the seven hills.
But you know kids, they are drawn to these sort of things. And I was no better when I was younger. But I tell you what, I ain't driving down that road at night ever again. No way. It all started a long time ago.
[00:00:44] Speaker B: Good evening. I'm Ben and welcome to the show where you and I gather around this campfire to hear some of our fellow campers scariest experiences. Whether you're a new or returning camper, I am happy to have you tonight. Well, tonight youve already been introduced to the story. Were headed to Nebraska to hear dannys story about the night he drove down the Seven Sisters road. Stick around after the episode this week for what im calling a shallow dive into the legend. Its not comprehensive, but I was very intrigued by this story and have a little bit more to share than normal. As always. Before we begin the show, if you want to check out our camps October bonus episode, head over to patreon.com. do you want to hear a ghost story? Youll also gain early access to ad free episodes, get a shout out at the end of one, and much more. Now, without further ado, do you want to hear a ghost story?
I suppose this story began long before I was ever a character in it, before most of this land around here looked the way it does now. The story of the seven sisters is something we all know, something weve all heard. I will be the first to admit that this story changes quite a bit, really, depending on who it is who tells you. The version I am most familiar with is the version I heard from my grandfather who heard it from his grandfather. It all starts around the turn of the century, from the 18 hundreds to the 19 hundreds, with a wealthy farming family who lived just outside of town. The family was started by just a poor farmer and his wife. However, they gained more and more land every year. As the Missouri river became more and more utilized, they saw their profits grow. But their profits weren't the only thing that grew. After their son was born, the family moved to a larger house on their ever growing property. The road leading up to their new house had seven distinct hills. Soon after year after year, for seven years in a row, they welcomed a brand new baby girl. One daughter for each of the one hills on their road. And the family was happy for a long time. But as the kids grew, the son noticed that everyone in town was jawing at his sisters, scheming, vying for a piece of his familys fortune. He thought now, back in the day, this usually wouldnt have been a problem. But the father was, for the time, a progressive man. He enshrined his will evenly to all eight of his kids.
The son would plead with his father, night after night, year after year, to change his mind.
He'll marry off, have all their money and land just absconded by whomever they marry. We'll no longer control it, dad, please.
The son would plead. But the father never dodged.
It was when the eldest daughter became betrothed that the son snapped over dinner. His anger came to a head, and blinded by his outrage, he just got up and walked. It's said that he walked over each of the hills away from his house, becoming more and more deranged as he walked over each hill.
The farmer and his wife, unnerved by their son's behavior, went out looking for him as they bid their daughters good night. They would never be seen again as they were slain at the hands of their son. As they crossed over the crest of that 7th hill, the son returned home again, losing more of his mind as he passed over each hill and kidnapped his sisters one by one, dragging them from their bedrooms down the road over the hills. Starting with the farthest hill from the road, he hung his sisters atop each hill, growing crazier as he walked back and forth over all of the hills, eventually walking back to the house from the closest hill one last time. When he finally returned home, just to set himself in the house on fire.
I know this sounds like what you would call an urban legend, but I promise you, there is nothing urban about these parts. And there is something unforgiving about that road. And it's become almost a rite of passage around here to drive down it at night and test your metal, as my friends would put it. I tested my mettle over 40 years ago, and to this day, I refuse to drive down that road at night.
It was around Halloween. The story of the seven Sisters road was always passed around more this time of year. And many of my friends told stories of encountering the decaying bodies of the sisters when they went down the road alone at night. Most of their stories seemed too good to be true. But every so often, someone would make a big show of going to the road and then they would refuse to talk about it. As teenagers, we sort of developed a set of rules. Almost like it was a big game. You must go alone to the end of the road and wait till midnight. When the clock strikes, you have to floor your car to 77. When you hit the top of the first hill, you have to throw your car in neutral. The point of it was to see how many hills you could go over before the sisters stopped you. Or you just saw their rotting corpses crawling out from the side of the road. Eventually, after hearing everyones stories, I decided I would go out there and see for myself. See if there really was any truth to behold.
On a Friday night, I drove out to the seven sisters row just before midnight. I had my hands tight on the steering wheel. Finding my starting point, I parked my car and looked down this long stretch of road ahead of me. The air was crisp and a mist clung to the edges of the road, swirling in my headlights. I swear I could hear the sisters screaming as I stared into the night. But I kept my composure and looked at the clock. 1150.
I went over the rules. They were simple. Go alone. Wait till midnight. Hit 77 coast, see what happens. It was stupid. Really stupid. Actually, this was incredibly dangerous. But I suppose my teenage bravado pushed me to prove myself. Still, I could feel a fear grabbing at me as my ears and eyes played tricks on me in anticipation.
My engine rumbled low as the minutes ticked by. But a silence pressed in, broken only by the occasional gust of wind through the trees. As midnight approached, I could feel my pulse quicken, my breath coming shallow as I counted down the seconds.
At the stroke of midnight, I floored the gas pedal, the engine roaring as I accelerated, my headlights carving twin beams into the darkness ahead of me. I could see the first hill rushing towards me. I couldn't help it, but my anticipation, my nervousness turned to an excitement.
Yeah, let's go. I let out.
My adrenaline was pumping as I reached the top. I shifted my car into neutral, letting gravity take over. The car crested the hill and began its descent over the first hill, picking up speed as it approached the trough and the next hill.
The headlights flickered a bit, but came back on pretty quick. The car slowed down going over the second hill and I was wondering if this is as far as I would make it. But I continued crawling over the top, almost coming to a stop at the top of the second hill. Now I was on the second descent, slowly picking up speed again, down through the trough of this second hill, into the third.
My headlights flickered again for more than a moment this time as my car ascended the third hill, plunging everything into darkness. My stomach dropped as I gripped the wheel tighter. Then the lights came back on and there, in the middle of the road were seven figures. Seven pale and skeletal figures. The sisters. My breath got caught in my throat and before I could react, the headlights flickered off again as the car stopped again, plunged into darkness. My car began to roll backwards down off the third hill towards the second hill. My headlights flickered on and off a few more times before completely dying, leaving me in total darkness. As my car rolled to a stop, my engine coughed a couple times before totally dying.
My pulse pounded in my ears and I swallowed hard, trying to steady my breathing. Okay, okay. You're okay. Okay. What happened?
I tried starting my car, but nothing. Did it. Did it stall? I had to get out. I had to fix it. Shit. I had to get out. I had to get out with what was ever on the road. I grabbed the flashlight I kept under my seat, the beam cutting a narrow path through the darkness. As I opened the door and stepped out, the cold air bit at my skin and the wind rustled the leaves on the trees. I forced myself to ignore it, moving around to the front of the car and lifting the hood with my trembling hands. I looked at everything, but I couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. All I could see was that one of the terminals on my battery was loose, but that shouldn't have caused it to stall. I didn't think. I forced myself to breathe.
Focusing on the task at hand, I tightened the terminal. My fingers were numb with the cold, but also crossed that this would fix my problem.
The moans of the sister started growing louder, like they were coming down the hill after me. I could almost feel the eyes on me, watching as I raced to fix my car. The moans were almost at me now. I had to get out of here. I slammed the hood shut, my hands shaking as I scrambled back into the car. I turned the key, my heart in my throat, but the engine roared to life, my headlights blazing back on. The sisters were nowhere to be seen on the road. I tried not to look, but with one small glance, I swear I saw them again right in front of me. I threw the car into gear and hit the gas, peeling an aggressive U turn and then speeding away over the hills, away from the road, away from whatever had been out there in the darkness with me. The mist blurred past the road unfolding in front of my headlights, and I didn't let up until I was well past the last of the seven hills only then did I slow down, my hand still trembling on the wheel, my breath coming and ragged gasps.
I glanced in the rearview mirror, half expecting to see those figures chasing behind me. But there was nothing, just an empty road fading into the night. I never went back. Whatever I saw that night, whatever I heard, I don't need any more proof. As far as I'm concerned, the stories are real. That road, those hills, well, they can keep their secrets. Ive tested my mettle and ive survived. Thats enough for me.
Thank you dany for allowing me to share your story. This is such an awesome story and its clear that the legends of the seven Sisters Road holds a powerful grip on you and everyone from your hometown who dares to confront it. I was incredibly intrigued by this legend. Something about it was just so familiar. As you told in your story, and along with every other version I can find of the seven Sisters road. It's an old path located in southeast Nebraska in Otoe County. Otoe, Otoe. I'm probably messing up that pronunciation, but in Otoe County, Nebraska, the road, as far as I can tell, is now known as L Street and it's built through and over the hills where these murders are rumored to have taken place.
A lot of the local accounts that ive found say that the area has changed significantly over the last few decades and that only four of the original seven hills still remain visible. Despite this, the stories of these seven sisters remain, and many believe their restless spirits haunt the road to this day. Some claim to hear them, the terrified women screaming on the road.
Perhaps the most unsettling stories are from those who have driven through the area at night, accounts that mostly align with your encounter Danny cars stalling for no reason, your headlights dimming and brightening, and in some cases, your windows rolling down by themselves.
It seems that you locals, whether you believe in ghosts or not, tend to avoid that road after dark.
Thank you for sharing it. I had an incredible time diving into it. I dont have any show announcements this week so I will leave you here for the night. If you want early access to ad free episodes, a shout out at the end of an episode, companion posts to episodes, and more, check out patreon.com. do you want to hear a ghost story? I am glad to have you all as campers on this journey. Please keep sharing the show with anyone you think might like these stories or someone youre just trying to scare. If you are enjoying it, please go ahead and leave a review. I would love to hear from you. Until next time.
