if I ever get back St Louis way.....

FEATURES 'Zombie Road': One of America's most haunted roads is in St. Louis County “I was not a believer before, totally a believer now.”

In the city of Wildwood, there’s a series of trails that cover a long-gone road that’s still recognized as one of the most haunted roads in America: Zombie Road. “I was not a believer before, totally a believer now,” Allex Matuszek said. On a night in 2013, after a horseback ride, she went for a late-night walk in the area that’s now the Meramec Greenway, which is home to a series of trails like the Al Foster and Rock Hollow Trails. Before that, the area was known for decades as Zombie Road. “There are stories that everyone has heard of this trail and my aunt was in town so we thought we may as well go check it out,” she said. “We were back quite a ways. The road wasn’t paved when we were walking the trail originally, so the brush was very high.” Matuszek admitted she was a supernatural skeptic at the time. On the walk, she started feeling some strange sensations. “There were pockets of colder air,” she said.

hen Matuszek said she heard a sound she’ll never forget. “We hear this high-pitched squeal almost sounding like it was from a teenage girl, young woman,” she said. “As we hear this sound, I feel this sharp pain on my leg.” Matuszek and her aunt hurried from the woods. But, when she got home, she saw a sinister surprise. “There were scratches on my leg,” she said. Matuszek said she was wearing layers and leather riding chaps. None of her layers of clothing were torn. She assumes whatever scratched her wasn't of this world. “I don’t know any physical possible way I would have gotten scratched without there being some kind of marking on my half-chap leather, markings on my pants or socks. No tears, no nothing,” she said.”

It wouldn’t be the first time something inexplicable happened in the area. A documentary called “Children of the Grave.” made by the Booth Brothers with Spooked Productions, shows a paranormal team out at night with cameras along Zombie Road and a number of local interviews with residents and St. Louis County police representatives. 5 On Your Side spoke with one of the brothers, Christopher Booth, who shared footage and photos of what he calls “a shadow nest of children” caught on camera. Booth said the still images were captured about six miles into the forest, and the shadow images appeared on the film after the photos were developed. Listed as one of the most haunted roads in America, the original Zombie Road is said to sit atop the site of one of the largest Native American burial mounds in the country. It’s rumored to be occupied by spirits of indigenous people, confederate soldiers, children, industrial workers… the list goes on.

Some local legends though, are much less intense. “I heard it was like a spooky place to bring your date and cuddle up real close if you were scared,” Matuszek said. A representative from St. Louis County Parks urges people not to go searching for anything on or around the trails at night. The trails close before sunset and wandering around in the woods is obviously dangerous. Matuszek said she’s forever changed by her experience long ago. “I’m not really into the paranormal stuff, never really believed in it until this experience,” she said.