The Legend of Lick Road
Posted: 11.13.2024 | Updated: 11.21.2024
On the outskirts of Cincinnati, off West Kemper Road by Banklick Creek, extends a road to nowhere. For a short drive, Lick Road passes by empty fields and regal estates set off in the distance, but as the greenery grows dense on both sides, the paved path vanishes into the brush. Beyond the edge of Lick Road sits the creek, flowing water that serves as a conduit for the spirit said to patrol the isolated roadway as if forever lost.
A product of a sudden and brutal demise, the lone apparition is aimless, a spectacle for curious teenagers, and a local favorite for a unique date night. The urban legend of Amy has been passed down for several generations, but its origin may be anything but a wive’s tale told to frighten young Cincinnations. Could the lone specter really be tied to an unsolved murder that shook Cincinnati in the 1970s?
Is the Urban Legend of Lick Road True?
Every town, big or small, has one. An urban legend that takes an iota of truth and spins it into something spooky, mysterious, and, at times, horrifying. For Cincinnati, places like Lick Road are an ominous stretch of paved street that vanishes into flourishing plant life that extends beyond a manmade gate. The spirit of a young girl named Amy remains trapped on the road, which many believe is the product of her murder many years ago.
Somewhere in the brush of this cul-de-sac, a ghostly scream echoes out, a car is pushed, and the word “Help” is scribed in condensation that built up on the window. Book a ghost tour with Cincinnati Ghosts today to learn more about Cincinnati’s haunted side.
Cincinnati, 1976
Trace many urban legends back far enough, and you’ll likely come to a point where lore converges with the real world. For Cincinnati’s legend of Lick Road, that point is believed to be sometime in 1976, when the body of 15-year-old Linda Dyer was found. Though the record of the girl’s death takes some digging to find, Linda Dyer was mentioned in a December 1976 issue of The Cincinnati Enquirer as an option for readers choosing the “1976 Top Ten Tri-State News Stories.”
Though Linda’s murder tends to be the link to Amy’s ghost on Lick Road, the remains of other girls said to have been victims of the same killer were also found. Dorothy Sullivan and Vicki Hincher also fell victim to Linda’s killer, making it entirely possible that the urban legend of Amy is the actual spirit of any of these victims.
Lick Road and Amy the Ghost
Lick Road has a creepy aura all on its own, especially under the cover of night, but it’s the apparition of Amy that lends the real thrills. There’s no account of violence enacted by Amy, but she is believed to be an intelligent haunt crying out for help. Anyone can test for the specter’s presence, though it’s never a guarantee she’ll show. Why or when Amy makes herself known is unclear, but the lucky few who have encountered the lost soul talk about hearing her footsteps in the nearby woods or spotting an ethereal figure floating nearby.
Amy’s legend parallels many heard across the United States. There’s always a spooky road and a stopped car, and if it’s not the handprints of ghost children, it’s a car moving impossibly up a slanted hill or a white aura looming in the distance.
Lick Road is a haunting site, especially when you consider what the young ghost represents. She’s a reminder of a terrible event that left at least one teenage girl dead, never to walk among the living again. She may even be a manifestation of all the murdered girls tied to the same killer, a collective force trying to reach out to the living for a reprieve from their eternal ghostly existence.
Haunted Cincinnati
Much of Cincinnati’s haunted history lingers within the city limits, tied to tragedy and lives lost over time. Lick Road sits on the outskirts, forgotten by many but remembered by the dedicated few who love a good urban legend. Even the incident that may have manifested Amy the ghost has long since been forgotten, the unsolved murder of Linda Dyer.
Get to know the ghosts of “The Queen of the West” and hear more haunted Cincinnati history on ghost tour with Cincinnati Ghosts. Be sure to keep up with our blog for even more Cincinnati haunts, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
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