Legend says an old man with glowing red eyes who killed his family and then himself haunts Church Road in Hillsdale, Mich. Our Jack Butler wrote about the haunting in the Hillsdale Collegian years before I started at Hillsdale College, and I was somewhat fascinated with the story:

A car moves slowly along a single-track dirt road, its wheels treading cautiously. They alone break the silence. Against cloudy skies and a night already fallen, its headlights challenge a darkness that crushes from all sides. To the left, through a thicket of trees, stands a dilapidated barn with no visible means of access. To the right, old, broken furniture is scattered at the edge of a dense forest.

This is Church Road.

I tried to verify the legend when I was a student, to no avail. But a book reminded me of the story the other day and, since the first snowfall of the season here in Washington, D.C, today calls for a spooky tale, I thought I’d share a quick recommendation.

Simone St. James’s Murder Road opens with newlyweds April and Eddie heading to a small resort on Lake Michigan for their honeymoon. Along the way, Eddie takes a wrong turn onto Atticus Lane, a dark and desolate road. In the headlights they see a lone figure slowly walking away from them on the road. When they stop, April and Eddie see that the figure is a girl — Rhonda Jean, whom they invite into their car, only to notice that she’s hiding multiple stab wounds under a closed jacket. As the couple drives in search of a hospital, a truck suddenly appears behind them. Rhonda Jean warns: “He’s coming.”

The book, released earlier this year, is an eerie murder-mystery that doubles as an entertaining ghost story. It’s a quick, fun read, perfect for the approach of winter.