In this episode of Strange Wonders, we look into a powerful story of grief and how a devastating 1938 accident in Utah traveled across the country to become one of South Texas's most beloved ghost stories.

Want to learn more about the haunted ghost tracks?

Ghost Tracks Update: https://sanantonioreport.org/union-pacific-abandons-ghost-tracks-project/

Utah Highway Patrol https://highwaypatrol.utah.gov/uhp-history/history-1923-1939-overviewthe-early-years/nations-deadliest-traffic-crash/

San Antiono Express https://news4sanantonio.com/news/local/24-killed-in-horrific-bus-train-crash-that-inspired-ghost-tracks-legend-in-san-antonio

Local News Story

https://news4sanantonio.com/news/local/24-killed-in-horrific-bus-train-crash-that-inspired-ghost-tracks-legend-in-san-antonio

Information on the South Jordan Tragedy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1938_South_Jordan_train-bus_collision

https://www.deseret.com/2009/10/21/20347488/about-utah-bus-crash-in-1938-led-to-train-laws/

https://news4sanantonio.com/news/local/24-killed-in-horrific-bus-train-crash-that-inspired-ghost-tracks-legend-in-san-antonio

-----------------------Credits---------------------------

Script / Hosting: by Jose A. Saenz

Music:

"Mourning Song" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

-----------------------Sound Effects---------------------------

Used with permission under pixabay and/or creative commons license.

• School Bus Ambience (International) by moviebuffgavin (Freesound)
• Rain (on the window) by Don Rain
• Train horn by TanwerAmane
• Inside car noise while driving by jackthemurray (Freesound)
• Gravel by Q.K. (freesound)

-----------------------Legal Stuff---------------------------

Permission is granted for others to create reaction, commentary, or review content featuring this episode (in full or in part), provided proper credit is given (visibly or verbally) to Strange Wonders, a link to the original work is included in the content description, and the original work is not reuploaded or monetized in full without transformation.

© 2025 HeyWonder, LLC

Story, script, and retelling by Jose A. Saenz

All rights reserved.

Unauthorized reproduction, distribution, or adaptation of this retelling is prohibited.

This retelling is an original adaptation of traditional folklore and is protected under U.S. and international copyright law.

Before every major storm—from Hurricane Hazel to Hugo—residents of Pawleys Island see him. He's tall, silent, and dressed in mist-colored gray, a ghost who appears not to haunt you, but to save you. This is the tragic tale of The Gray Man.

Notes:

The Pelican Inn (not sponsored) https://www.pawleyspelican.com/

General Resources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gray_Man_(ghost)

Only Pawleys Version - I read this after writing and found it wonderful: https://www.onlypawleys.com/press-release/these-3-pawleys-island-ghost-stories-may-send-a-chill-up-your-spine/

Music

"Reaching Out" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Sound FXs

Rain and Distant Thunder by JM (Freesound)

Mostly stormy howling wind by Liecio

Wind gusts and rain - sonicwars (Freesound)

Horse running HQ by TanwerAman

Man Panting Softly by u_jt2rhdzi3j

Every town has a late-nights drive tale of danger and ghostly apparitions— nowhere is that more true than on the lonely highways of South Texas. This week on Strange Wonders, we tell a classic, heartbreaking Vanishing Hitchhiker story with a Texas twist.

Want to learn more about Vanishing Hitchhiker Stories?

The Vanishing Hitchhiker Author(s): Richard K. Beardsley and Rosalie Hankey - https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/modernlanguages/applying/undergraduate/crossschool/ln305/biblio/beardsley__hankey_the_vanishing_hitchhiker.pdf

CREDITS

Script / Hosting: by Jose A. Saenz

Music

"Quinn's Song: The Dance Begins" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

"No Frills Salsa - Alternate" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

"Verano Sensual" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Sound FXs

Night Drive (AugustSandberg),

Car Door - Hammy01

Carnival Atmosphere - CapaholiczSFX

Birds in a forest pm a Sunny Day - kosmoso

Road - Ryding

Legal Stuff

Permission is granted for others to create reaction, commentary, or review content featuring this episode (in full or in part), provided proper credit is given (visibly or verbally) to Strange Wonders, a link to the original work is included in the content description, and the original work is not reuploaded or monetized in full without transformation.

© 2025 HeyWonder, LLC

Story, script, and retelling by Jose A. Saenz

All rights reserved.

Unauthorized reproduction, distribution, or adaptation of this retelling is prohibited.

This retelling is an original adaptation of traditional folklore and is protected under U.S. and international copyright law.