I Traveled Down Weird NJ’s ‘Pig Lady Road’ and Here’s What Happened

If you grew up in New Jersey, you’ve likely heard of Weird NJ. This magazine shares strange and even paranormal occurrences and locations throughout the state. Many people have even embarked on Weird NJ adventures to explore some of the most haunted and historical areas of the Garden State. One location in particular is called Pig Lady Road. Located in Hillsborough, NJ, Pig Lady Road is thought to be haunted by — you guessed it — a woman with a pig for a head. 

Back in high school, when I was first intrigued by these eerie stories and legends, I decided to gather my friends and see what all the hype was about. Here’s what happened when a group of teenagers loaded into two small cars and embarked down Pig Lady Road — one of Weird NJ’s most famous legends. 

History of ‘Pig Lady Road’

There are many different legends of Pig Lady Road, some conflicting with others. For instance, one legend recalls a woman who was said to be born with grotesque features that drove her father to decapitate a pig and place its head on her body. Another story claims a husband once came home to his wife and decapitated her. When police arrived, apparently they never found her head. Other stories simply claim the road itself was the site of mass murders back in the early 1900s, making it extremely haunted today. There are countless other stories that paint a similar tail.

Nevertheless, if you travel down this road at night, you might encounter “Pig Lady.” Legend has it that if you flash your lights, honk your horn, and yell “pig lady!” while traveling down the road, you might just encounter this disturbing and angry creature. Not only that but to get the full experience, many claim you must leave at least one person from your group on the road, almost as an offering. You then drive away from them — to the end of the road — then return to pick them up later. This is exactly what my friends and I did.

My Experience on ‘Pig Lady Road’

As I recall this story, keep in mind that I am an easily frightened person. Still, to this day, I love exploring creepy and paranormal legends. Despite my excitement for this quest, I was also shaking in my boots —especially since the person we were leaving on the road was my beloved boyfriend at the time.

My friends and I dropped him off before heading down the road as instructed. At first, I didn’t think much of the situation. I figured it was simply an urban legend we would quickly disprove. But was I wrong?

Since we had such a large group of friends with us, we took two cars. My car held me, my boyfriend (who was no longer in the vehicle with us), and my friend Alex (who was driving). As we traveled further down the road and away from my boyfriend, I noticed the rest of our friends were no longer behind us. Immediately, my stomach dropped.

“Where did they go?” I asked Alex.

“No idea…” she said as she glanced at the dark road in the rearview mirror. “Call them.”

I panic-dialed my friend Mia.

“Hey, where did you guys go?” she asked calmly as she answered my call.

“Where did you guys go?” I asked her. “You were right behind us, and then suddenly you weren’t.”

“What?” Her voice came out scratchy. “I can’t hear you.”

“You guys aren’t behind us anymore!” I repeated a bit more frantically.

“Hello?” Mia continued. “I can’t hear you!”

I looked down at my phone and noticed I no longer had any service. The call dropped.

“Alex…” I started.

Seemingly out of nowhere, two bright headlights shone into the back of Alex’s car. But it wasn’t my friends behind us. In fact, it was a large pickup truck tailing us as we made our way down the road. 

Alex sped up, both of us completely silent in terror as the truck picked up its pace to match ours. 

“Pull over,” I recommended. “Let them pass.”

Alex yanked the car to the side of the road, and the truck pulled over with us. Immediately, Alex recovered, ripping the car back onto the road and speeding toward the highway and civilization. Shaking, I tried to call Mia again, and then my boyfriend, but neither call would go through.

“Okay, I’m seriously freaking out,” I told Alex, who mirrored my panic but somehow stayed calm enough to drive us safely back onto a main road.

As soon as we saw other cars in sight, their headlights appearing as lights at the end of a long, terrifying tunnel, my service came back — and there was no truck behind us.

I called Mia to fill her in, and she calmly told me they picked up my boyfriend. I overheard everyone in their car laughing and joking. No one experienced anything weird or out of the ordinary. Even my boyfriend, who waited on the side of the road for 10 full minutes alone, had nothing unusual to report.

When we all gathered to share our stories, Alex and I swore to them that what we encountered was paranormal and sinister, but nobody believed us. They joked that someone was probably trying to mess with us, or that we were imagining things. Maybe they were right. I mean, it’s not like we saw anything even related to a pig lady.

But I will never forget how terrified I was that day — even if no one else believed us.