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Route 66: Ghosts of America’s Legendary Highway
Richard Southall on Route 66: Ghosts Of America’s Legendary Highway
How did Haunted Route 66 begin to take on a life of its own?
The more I learned about Route 66, the more that the Mother Road became alive for me. I was learning about the different people and the amazing sites that were found along Route 66. The more I learned about the towns and the history of Route 66, the more I began to respect and love the road. Each evening while writing the book, I looked first at locations that were popular features along Route 66. Honestly, the ghost stories were the icing on the cake so to speak.
How many states does Route 66 go through? Do you cover each state in the book?
Route 66 is nearly 2500 miles (2447 to be exact) and goes through eight states:
Illinois (305 miles)
Missouri (317 miles)
Kansas (13 miles)
Oklahoma (432 miles)
Texas (186 miles)
New Mexico (487 miles)
Arizona (401 miles)
California (314 miles)
Each of the eight states have a separate chapter in Haunted Route 66. Six of the states have over 300 miles of Route 66 running through them. There were several great ghost stories and legends in the towns right along Route 66 for most of these states.
The hardest part I had in writing the book pertained to Kansas and Texas. Kansas only had 13 miles and Texas only had 186 miles of Route 66 going through their borders. To make these chapters comparable to the other chapters, I decided to expand my matieral to cover towns further out form Route 66.
Why do you think Route 66 has been called “Main Street USA” or “The Mother Road”?
When Route 66 was commissioned in 1926, much of the route actually went through several towns in the eight different states. Route 66 was designed to make cross-country travel easier and more convenient for those driving long distances. Rather than build an entirely new roadway, Route 66 connected several towns along the way from Chicago to Santa Monica. In many cases, Route 66 literally was Main Street.
The term Mother Road was coined by John Steinbeck in his book, The Grapes of Wrath, which was released in 1939. The first time that the Mother Road was used was in the following quote:
“and they came into 66 from the tributary side roads, from the wagon tracks and the rutted country roads, 66 is the mother road, the road of flight”- John Steinbeck-The Grapes of Wrath
For more of this interview and haunted tales of Route 66 please visit the following link
http://www.examiner.com/article/richard-southall-on-route-66-ghosts-of-america-s-legendary-highway
