Episode 1: The Vanishing Hitchhiker
Sibyls, the Oracle of Delphi, and an Urban Legend
“The Oracle,” Camillo Miola, 1880
Welcome to the Paranormal Pajama Party! I’m so glad you could join.
Get cosy, because we’re kicking off our first-ever party with a campfire standard — the vanishing hitchhiker. 🚘
In this classic urban legend, a male driver picks up a seemingly innocent passenger, but the journey upends life — and death — as he knows it.
This episode examines the surprising connection between this modern legend and historical or mythological female figures of old. Where did the story of the vanishing hitchhiker come from? And what’s her connection to the Oracle of Delphi, the New Testament, and even to Ancient Egypt’s snake-headed goddess Wadjet?
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Sources
Beardsley, R. K., & Hankey, R. (1943). A History of the Vanishing Hitchhiker. California Folklore Quarterly, 2(1), 13–25. https://doi.org/10.2307/1495651
Beardsley, R. K., & Hankey, R. (1942). The Vanishing Hitchhiker. California Folklore Quarterly, 1(4), 303–335. https://doi.org/10.2307/1495600