Jesus Cazares

La mujer perdida.  The lost woman

“My dad is a trucker and he’s been a trucker since  he lived in Mexico. A story he told me had to do with the road. Story goes that drivers are driving down the freeway, usually late at night. When they see a beautiful woman that needs a ride. Of course they oblige and give her a ride to her house. The thing is that the beautiful woman has been dead for years.  Her ghost is the one trying to get home. This was discovered by a trucker who went back to the woman’s house to try and see her again. Her parents broke down and let him know the truth that the daughter had been dead for years, even showing them a picture from before.”

“There’s actually a Spanish song about this story. It’s a myth told amongst drivers (I’ve only heard it from Hispanic drivers,) It’s a warning for you not to pick up any hitch hikers. Some versions vary and say that the woman makes you crash.”

Analysis: Another Urban Legend, this is a cautionary tale, yet also occupation-related, as it is mainly told among truck drivers. They have a lifestyle that puts them on the road for long stretches of time, and it is a rather male-dominated job. The fact that this ‘monster’ is a woman might be a reflection of the scarcity of women in their workplace, and perhaps the mistrust that comes along with coming across an ‘outsider’ to your perceived identity group. That hitch hikers can be dangerous is an obvious lesson to be imparted, and the fact that she is a woman might be a caution that even less threatening hitchhikers can prove to be a danger. As it is a rather lonely job, out on the open road, it is more likely that they will believe stories of ghosts and supernatural events than people embroiled in city life.