Buckout Road, Buckout Road, White Plains, NY (2026)

Buckout Road in Westchester County, NY, is known as America's scariest street, haunted by a rich history of Revolutionary War skirmishes, unsolved murders, a slave rebellion, grave robbing, and urban legends. Known as America's scariest street, Buckout Road is a woodsy back road that connects the eastern part of White Plains, NY, to the western part of neighboring Harrison within Westchester County. Buckout Road's most infamous urban legends include a clan of cannibal albinos, a fiery Native American curse, and the eerie location of a witch execution site. Additionally, numerous apparitions allegedly haunt the street, including the ghost of Mary Foster that hangs out near her vandalized grave, the spooky lady in white that roams the cemetery of formerly enslaved people, and Captain Tilton, who perished during the Revolutionary war. Perhaps the most feared is that of Mary Buckhout, who is said to roam the street still searching for her missing children. Amateur and professional ghost hunters have reported photos and videos with orbs and plasmas in addition to spooky EVP recordings in several locations on the street. In addition to the plethora of urban legends and ghost sightings, Buckout Road has a rich history dating back to the Siwanoy, who originally sold the land to a group of Quakers. The Quaker settlers eventually led a rebellion by freeing slaves before abolishment, which helped the Stony Hill Community on Buckout Road become the largest population of Blacks in New York. According to rumors, the area was part of the Underground Railroad. The street itself was named after the Buckhout family. Sadly, one family member was hanged after a jury found him guilty of murdering his wife and her alleged lover. General George Washington and General Heath stayed on the street during the Revolutionary War. Around the corner, a skirmish occurred, which left a Hessian soldier beheaded after a cannonball blew his head off. Local author Washington Irving read about the incident years later, which served as the basis for his ghostly Headless Horseman. The street was also home to America's first full-length horror movie star John Barrymore (Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde), and a rumored residence of notorious serial killer Albert Fish. The country's first health club, operated by professional wrestling pioneer William Muldoon was located a few blocks away, as was the home where the iconic Christmas character Frosty the Snowman was born. Sadly several murders, suicides, and fatal accidents occurred on Buckout Road. The road has several cemeteries, including a Siwanoy burial ground, a historic cemetery of formerly enslaved people, and a family cemetery that has been heavily vandalized, including graverobbing. The area has served as a filming location for several projects, including, HBO's "Flight Attendant" starring Kaley Cuoco and Netflix's "Maniac" starring Emma Stone. For more, please visit www.BuckoutRoad.com

10/15/2026

Imagine seeing the same mysterious man walking down the road day after day. He never speaks. Never explains himself. He just keeps walking. Would you want to know more?

Back in the 1930s, a peculiar figure known as SILENT PETE captivated the residents of North Tarrytown, New York. With his shaggy hair, stubby gray beard, dirty brown hat, and worn-out shoes, he was a familiar sight walking between Yonkers and what is now Sleepy Hollow. Day after day, he wandered, moving along his familiar route without uttering a word.

Westchester residents had plenty of theories, and before long, newspapers were writing about the man nobody seemed able to figure out. Some said he was rich. Some said he lived in the cemetery.

Yet even as curiosity about SILENT PETE grew, the mystery surrounding him remained.

Who was this strange, silent wanderer? Where did he go when his daily travels ended? And why did he spend so much of his life walking between towns without ever talking to the people around him?

For more on SILENT PETE and other eccentric former residents and horrifying offbeat tales, read “Nightmarish Neighborhood #4: SLEEPY HOLLOW - Murders, Mysteries, and Myths of Sleepy Hollow, NY” by Eric Pleska, available from Amazon, BAM, Barnes & Noble, and Westchester County libraries.

09/02/2026

DID YOU KNOW?

Long before Buckout Road became famous for its ghost stories and other spooky urban legends, its woods may have been standing in for the African jungle!

In 1920, Numa Pictures Corporation produced a Tarzan movie called The Revenge of Tarzan. Parts of the film were shot in Florida and California, while indoor scenes were filmed at a studio in Yonkers and additional outdoor scenes were filmed in Harrison — rumored to have been the lush, heavily wooded landscape around Buckout Road, which was used to create the look of an exotic jungle!

The movie starred Gene Pollar as Tarzan and was one of the earliest big-screen adventures based on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ famous character.

And, like so many Buckout Road stories…

THERE’S A TWIST.

The film’s known surviving print was destroyed in the infamous 1965 MGM vault fire, and The Revenge of Tarzan became known as a “lost film.”

So the next time you drive through those seemingly ordinary woods…

Remember that Tarzan may have once been swinging through the trees of Buckout Road.

07/14/2026

August 1939. In the woods off Old Orchard Street, near today's Buckout Road, an 85-year-old berry picker made a gruesome discovery. Nearly 90 years later, investigators still don't know exactly how—or why—the man died.

John Merriman had been picking berries in the dense Quarry Heights woods near his Orchard St home when his black Labrador Retriever suddenly began barking furiously. Following the dog nearly 500 feet into the woods, Merriman came upon the decomposed body of a man draped over a rock near the edge of a 20-foot cliff.

Police estimated the body had gone undiscovered for nearly six weeks.

At first, the victim had no name.

Detectives searched clothing labels, personal effects, and every clue they could find. Eventually, they identified the man as Bruce Graham, a 50-year-old handyman from Brooklyn.

But identifying him answered only one question.

The circumstances of his death made very little sense.

Just seven feet from Graham's body, investigators found his belongings gathered together in a single pile.

Not scattered.

Not stolen.

Carefully collected.

The items themselves were just as puzzling.

Two pairs of shoes.

New England road maps.

A package of razor blades and a nearly empty jar of shaving cream.

A spoon.

A pair of shears.

An eyeglass case.

A brown felt hat.

Two packs of matches.

A half-gallon bottle of turpentine.

A bottle containing a potent alcoholic drink known as "Smoke."

And one final item that investigators specifically noted in their report...

A triangular piece of glass.

There were no bloodstains.

No weapon.

No obvious evidence of a struggle.

Medical Examiner Dr. Amos O. Squire found the remains so badly decomposed that he could not determine the precise cause of death. Whether Bruce Graham died from an accident, exposure, illness, or something else entirely could never be established.

And that's where the mystery has remained ever since.

Why was a Brooklyn handyman alone in the Quarry Heights woods?

Why was he carrying such an unusual collection of belongings?

Why were those belongings neatly gathered several feet from where he was found?

Did he come there alone?

Or did someone else leave those final clues behind?

Nearly 90 years later, the only question investigators were ever able to answer was who the man was.

The most important question of all—what happened to Bruce Graham in the woods off Old Orchard Street?—remains unanswered.

📚 Want to uncover more forgotten mysteries like this?

Read "Old Orchard Street & The Petrifying Past of North White Plains" and "The Horrifying History of Buckout Road" by Eric Pleska.

Available online from Amazon, Books-A-Million, Barnes & Noble, and Walmart, or borrow a copy from Westchester County, New York libraries.

05/04/2026

Does anyone remember Maxl’s?

Tucked along North White Plains, NY’s Route 22 at 736 North Broadway, this lively spot opened in 1931 and became a local favorite for hearty German food, flowing b**r, and even live opera singers. It remained a local go-to gathering place all the way into the 1990s - long enough for a lot of memories to pass through its doors.

After its closure, the location became home to Imperial Wok before becoming the present-day Casa Mary Cantina. But for some, it will always be Maxl’s.

Here’s a detail you might not have noticed: just beyond the restaurant, hiding in plain sight is the hill known as Mount Misery - a location where George Washington stationed members of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.

While some think the nickname derived from the harsh weather those troops endured, some historians believe the name has even darker origins. In 2022, historian Sharon Tomback told The Examiner News that “It’s not entirely clear how the slope got its name, although it has been discussed among local historians that it may refer to the massacre of local Native Americans by the New Rochelle Huguenots at the site well before the Revolutionary War era.”

While the origins of the name may remain open for debate, it’s a reminder that the places we pass every day may hold deeper stories than we realize—and that’s part of what makes this area so fascinating.

Address

Buckout Road
White Plains, NY
10604

Website

http://buckoutroad.com/

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