Aaron Mahnke

So, my team dug a little deeper and found something pretty wild.

Because see, while it has all the markings of pure fiction, this story can actually be traced back to a real-life incident, and a real-life death.

It turns out that there was indeed a car accident in that spot on June 12th of 1934.

The driver was a man named Ian James Stephen Beaton, a 25-year-old metallurgical engineer.

But he wasn't the only driver involved.

Beaton's car collided with another, driven by a chauffeur named George Pink.

Pink was unscathed, but unfortunately, not so for poor Ian Beaton.

He died there, in the middle of the road.

Just a few days later on June 15th, an inquest followed to determine whether or not Mr. Pink was guilty of vehicular manslaughter.

Witnesses were called to the stand.

One Mr. Frank Robinson was in the middle of describing the wet, slippery roads when he was interrupted and asked a rather strange question.

What about the Phantom Bus?

And Mr. Robinson admitted that he did indeed know about the legend.

In fact, everyone did.

Contrary to most modern reports about the urban legend, rumors of the Ghost Bus didn't start with Beaton's death.

Oh no, it had been whispered about for ages.

And it seems either the defense or some sensationalizing journalists were trying to use this Phantom Bus rumor to get Mr. Pink off the hook.

After all, if there had been a ghost, well, the accident wouldn't have been George Pink's fault, now would it?

In a July 1934 newspaper article, one local resident described the legend in detail.

"'It's been going on strong for years,' she said.