Irish Ghost Story

This incident took place in Dublin a while ago and although it sounds like an Alfred Hitchcock tale, it's true according to local townspeople.

John Bradford, a Dublin University student, was hitchhiking on a dark and stormy night. The rain and fog was so severe he could only see a few feet in front of him. There were no cars in sight and John was beginning to panic.

Suddenly, he saw headlights approaching. A car was travelling very slowly and came to a stop in front of him. Desperate for shelter and without thinking about it, John got into the car and closed the door.

Only then did he realize there was nobody behind the wheel and the engine wasn't running. The car started moving forward slowly. John looked at the road ahead and knew the car was approaching a sharp curve. Scared that the car would go over the embankment, John started to pray for his life.

Just before the car hit the curve a hand appeared through the driver's side window and turned the wheel. John was paralyzed with fear and terror as he watched the hand repeatedly come through the window, though it never touched or harmed him.

Shortly thereafter, John saw the lights of a Pub ahead. Gathering all his strength, he opened the car door, jumped out, and ran towards the Pub. Soaking wet and out of breath, he rushed inside and started telling everyone about the horrible experience he just had. A silence enveloped the Pub when everyone realized he was crying and wasn't drunk.

Suddenly, the Pub door opened and two other men walked in to escape the stormy night. They, like John, were soaking wet and out of breath. Looking around, and seeing John Bradford sobbing at the bar, one said to the other,

"Look Paddy, there's that fooking idiot that got in our car while we were pushing it."