Just on the outskirts of Pittsburgh lies Campbells Run Road, which more commonly goes by the name 13 Bends. It’s an unpaved, dead end road that contains, you guessed it, 13 bends along it. There are three main legends associated with the long stretch of road.
The Orphanage
As long as we could go back, till around 1780, has evidence been found around the existence of the 13 bends. The actual name of the road comes from the creek that runs along side the road “Campbell Run”. Rumors state that back in the late 1800’s an orphanage existed deep in the woods halfway down the road where the creek crosses under the road. On one frightful evening, one of the teenagers in the home was playing with matches on the front porch when he accidentally lit the home ablaze. Many of the young children were stuck inside the home as the fire grew and took their life. Others caught on fire and ran into the creek to put them out, only later to fall victim to the affects of the burns. Those who travel the road at night claim to hear the voices of children screaming, bells clanging, and splashing into the creek. As urban legends state, you must go down the road until you hit the first bridge. Before crossing, put baby powder on your car. Continue driving for some time and then check the baby powder. Many claim to find small hand prints believed to be those of the young children who passed on. Some say in order to get this to work, you must park the car on the bridge with your headlights off and call out to kids in the woods.
The School
Further near the dead end of the road there was a old school, once used as a catholic school for young girls. Rumor stated that one day in the early 1900’s, a young man arrived to the school and stabbed 13 girls to death. He then went and buried each of the girls, one at each bend in the road. Rumor states that if you flash your high-beams at each corner while traveling down the road, upon return a ghostly girl will be waiting at each bend.
The Mine shaft
Somewhere along the road, deeper in the woods was said to exist a mine shaft used to obtain minerals as Pittsburgh was and is a large industrial city. In the early 1900’s a cave-in at the mine lead to the death of three of the miners. The mine was closed and never reopened. It is said that there is a trail along the road, leading to the abandoned mine. Those that travel the trail during the day will run into the three miners who upon site will disappear.
Other tall tales of the road talk about ghost cars that chase people, believed to be the spirits of teenagers who had an accident on the road. Others see orbs in the woods, moving in an out of the trees.
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Try to Scare me is NOT intended as a guide to trespassing. We present these sites, locations and stories as local unwritten history and the legends surrounding it that are told to us while traveling. Although we provide locations, and some directions, these articles are intended to be read with the knowledge that some places cannot be visited. We do not encourage trespassing onto private property and do not encourage trespassing to obtain articles, videos, pictures and other evidence to be submitted. Trespassing is illegal and those who disregard this advice will (in most cases) be arrested and charged.