DEATH ASKS FOR A RIDE

The origin of this legend is uncertain. It probably comes from the time of wagons and carriages. And it has different versions, depending on the time and place where it is told.

In the United States, it is said that people driving down desert roads give a girl a ride to her house, the nearest town. But stopping the car, the driver realizes that the girl disappeared, leaving a handkerchief or a scarf in the back seat. Confused, he rings the bell, tells what happened and shows the object. Parents recognize it and say that her daughter died many years ago in a car accident in the exact spot where the driver stopped to give her a ride.

In Brazil, it is told that taxi drivers take a beautiful girl in front of the cemetery. She asks for a ride around town and stops again at the door of the cemetery. At checkout, tell the driver to pick up money in her parents' house. He takes the address and go. He goes to the address and knocks the door and an old man opens it. He tells the story. The man at first suspicious, gets upset when the taxi driver describes the girl, her clothes and face. And points out a photo on the wall. "It's that girl," says the taxi driver. "It was my daughter," replies the old man. "She died many years ago."