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Reported phenomena — as catalogued
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A dark rural lane off Goodrich Road that locals call Western New York's most haunted street.
Delaware Road (off Goodrich Road), Clarence Center, NY 14032
Research updated July 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Public road; no admission fee. Respect adjacent private property and posted signs.
Access
Limited Access
Paved rural road bordered by woods and farmland; no sidewalks or street lighting.
Equipment
Photos OK
Western New York Folklore · Regional Road Legend
Delaware Road runs off Goodrich Road in Clarence Center, a hamlet in the town of Clarence, northeast of Buffalo in Erie County. It is an ordinary rural road bordered by woods, farmland, and scattered homes, and once the sun goes down it is dark, with no street lighting along much of its length.
Unlike many haunted sites, Delaware Road has no documented tragedy behind its reputation. Local news outlets that have written about the road, including The Buffalo News and Buffalo radio station WBUF, present the stories as folklore rather than confirmed events, using words like "supposedly" and "myth." No historical record connects the road to a specific death, and various rumors that circulate about its origin are undocumented.
What the road does have is staying power as a regional legend. It regularly turns up on lists of Western New York's spookiest spots and draws curious drivers and paranormal groups, particularly around Halloween. Because homes sit along the road, residents periodically deal with late-night visitors, and the site is best treated as a public roadway rather than an attraction.
Sources
The central figure in the Delaware Road legend is an old man seen walking the dark road late at night, carrying a lantern. In many tellings he is not alone; witnesses describe him walking beside the apparition of a little girl. The stories are consistent enough across retellings that the lantern-bearing figure has become the road's signature.
Other reports go further. Some visitors describe an unusual animal on or near the road, often summed up as looking like a cross between a dog and a horse, along with howling or growling from the surrounding woods. People walking the road at night have also reported being pushed, seeing orbs and shadowy figures at the tree line, and having flashlights or lanterns suddenly fail.
None of this is verified, and the outlets that cover the road are careful to frame it as local folklore. What is clear is that the legend is durable: The Buffalo News has called Delaware Road the most haunted street in Western New York, and it remains a fixture of the region's Halloween-season lore.
Notable Entities
Delaware Road is a public road that anyone can drive or walk. Most visitors come after dark, when the lack of streetlights is part of the legend's draw. Homes line parts of the road, so stay on the roadway, keep noise down, and do not trespass onto adjacent property.
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