Juarez legends-Kilometro 20

By Aaron Perez

Story by Arnulfo Andrade, his original Youtube post can be accessed here.

Published 3/11/2025

In a first, I will transcribe and translate an urban legend from Ciudad Juarez, which was originally posted by a youtuber and podcaster named Arnulfo Andrade. His content is filled with urban legends and myths inside Ciudad Juarez and its surrounding areas and I will leave a link to his channel here. The urban legend that Andrade relates to on this road involves a hitchhiker ghost that boards buses at random moments of the night. She then disappears once the car reaches a certain point along its route, right where she met her demise. The legend goes as follows:

    Welcome to another story from the bordertown city of Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua. The route of Kilometer 20 is witness to hundreds of stories and paranormal phenomena that surprise wanderers and those who are listening. The following story is as follows: "Hello, my name is Tania and this is the story that happened to me fifteen years ago. My grandparents lived in Canutillo, Texas and my grandmother was very sick. By that time I worked at the Juarez airport and my father called me to say that my grandmother was very ill and was already intubated. Her illness had worsened so I asked my boss to take an early leave. I told my parents that they should head to her first since the person who would cover my shift would not arrive until two hours later, which was precious time that could not be wasted. I was finally released at 7 P.M. After my shift was covered and with desperation I had the idea to cross through the Santa Teresa port of entry. My parents forbid me from taking that route even though it is faster to cross this port than the others but the area is extremely dangerous. Since it was an emergency, I took that route and stopped at a gas station to get myself a coffee to stay alert and to keep warm since it was cold that night. It was in the middle of January and my car's heater was busted so I always had a light blanket. When I walked out with my coffee, I spotted a woman with a long white blouse and my first thoughts were that she was just a crazy woman. I got into my car and proceeded to take the road to Santa Teresa when I spotted the girl signaling to lower my window. She proceeded to ask me if I could give her a ride and I initially distrusted her but felt guilt in leaving her there. It was night and she looked worried and the only thing that she was carrying was a box, which I put in my trunk. I asked her where she was headed and she responded that she was going to Janos but was going to be picked up at Santa Teresa. Once we got into the car, I then asked her why she was dressed in such light clothes in the middle of Winter, to which she responded that she always felt cold. I was honestly left speechless and shamed for my question so I offered her my coffee and cookies that I bought. I also covered her legs with my blanket so that she wouldn't feel as cold. Her skin was very light and her hair was long brown and went down to her shoulders. We started chatting once we were on the road, where she told me that she was heading to her step-father's house to take care of her brothers. She told me that her step-father worked in Cananea and her mother passed away, to which I gave my condolences. She then responded that her mother is now very well, just like my grandmother which brought me a lot of confusion. She looked like she as 15 or 16, very well in her teens and she sounded very young so we talked about casual things along the way. When we were about to arrive, she directed me to stop to get out, which surprised me since we were just a kilometer away from the port of entry. I warned her that she would risk being run over and offered to give her my jacket since the cold was chilling to the bone. She then responded that when she sees my grandmother, she will tell her how good of a person I am and thanked me for the ride. I then responded that one day I looked forward to hanging out with her. She seemed innocent but the one who would be left surprised would be me once I remembered about the box and checked my trunk. I then noticed that the box was nowhere to be found and that she was gone, so I turned around to see no one. it was like she disappeared into thin air, which almost caused me to faint looking for her. I felt my knees turn to jelly and my heart beating so fast I feared it would jump out of my chest. I was sweating profusely and my hands were shaking so I jumped into the car and drove out of there until I saw some trucks and decided to stop there. I told the drivers that I felt sick and I was about to pass out. One of the drivers gave me something to drink and told me to leave, since the area was dangerous and full of muggers. I then drove to Santa Teresa and called my father, waiting to pick up a signal until he answered the phone. I could then hear my sisters crying and mourning the death of my grandmother, which caused me to remember the girl and felt sick again, not wanting to drive any further. I asked my father to pick me up and he scolded me for going through Santa Teresa, but went to pick me up. Once I was surrounded by more people and felt safe, I remembered vivid details about the girl and when I offered her a cookie. She never ate it and had dirty nails, as if she used her hands to dig at the desert sand. Her hair was opaque and messy and her dress was old and torn. She also didn't open her mouth much when she spoke and she rarely blinked. I never saw her cold mist leave her mouth like any normal person who is out in the cold. Before this experience, I was 1000 percent sceptical of the paranormal but after my experience, a cousin and I returned to that area looking for answers. Just meters from where I left the girl, I found an old cross which had its paint falling off and no name. We asked locals about it and they mentioned that the area always had runovers. I then described the girl, which coincided with a victim from Janos that was run over by a car after walking out of a truck. There are times that I dream about her, but she stays silent, which gives me shivers." I hope that you liked this story, if you have a story for us like this one, don't forget to share, like, and subscribe. We'll see you until then.

    The ghost girl is not the only specter that haunts that road and I will look deeper to see if there are any other urban legends surrounding that road.

Sources Cited: 

    Andrade, Arnulfo. “El espiritu del km 20 ( Historia de Terror de Cd. Juárez, Chihuahua.).” Arnulfo Andrade - Relatos, Youtube, 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsDtP6JS4U4&t=21s. Accessed 3 11 2025. Transcribed 3 11 2025