Sheila's myth still haunts 'hell' highway

By Doreen Premdev

The saga of "Highway Sheila" continues to haunt residents of Chatsworth in KwaZulu-Natal, with some claiming that the horrific accident in December last year that took five lives was part of her annual "quota of lives" on Higginson Highway.

Some fear Sheila, while others have respect for her. A few claim they have encountered her, while others wish never to meet her. Whatever the case, Sheila is alleged to have haunted Higginson Highway for many decades.

Recently a letter published in local newspapers by Thygaraj Markadan of Silverglen, Chatsworth, said many believed the spate of accidents on the highway over the festive season was due to Sheila taking her "quota of lives".

Markadan was referring to five people killed in an accident in December. He said the Higginson Highway has had a bad reputation for many years.

"Numerous motorists and passengers have met an untimely death on this notorious highway. Often referred to as 'Death's Highway', it is unfortunate it has earned itself a bad name," Markadan said.

"There's even the superstitious belief in Chatsworth that 'Highway Sheila', the ghost that's said to haunt the highway, must have her yearly quota."

Markadan said he did not believe the myth, and blamed bad drivers for the accidents.

There are many stories of how Highway Sheila came to be. The Herald interviewed Chatsworth residents to find out which was the most popular.

According to one resident, Sheila was a young girl who was killed in a car accident on the highway. Due to her untimely death, Sheila took to haunting the highway in revenge of the motorist who killed her.

Described as a beautiful, young Indian woman with long hair, Sheila is said to hitchhike on the highway. Young men, often captivated by her beauty, stop to give her a lift.

One Chatsworth woman said a popular story involved a young man who had stopped to pick up a hitchhiker named Sheila. The man offered to take her home, and noticed the temperature in his car drop when the woman entered the car. He offered Sheila his coat.

"He dropped her off at a house in Chatsworth," said the woman, who did not want to be named. "Sheila wanted to return the jacket but the man insisted she keep it and said he would fetch it in the morning. When he went back to the house the following day a middle-aged woman answered the door and the man asked for Sheila.

Baffled

"The woman was baffled and replied, 'She does not live here any more'. The man told her he had dropped her off the night before and the woman said it was impossible, as Sheila had died years ago.

"She told the man to go to the cemetery where he would find proof. Shocked at what he heard, the man rushed to the cemetery and found his jacket on Sheila's tomb."

Psychic spiritual healer Shirley (she does not give her surname) said spirits or ghosts do exist.

"If a person has an untimely death their spirit lingers be-hind. Sometimes, if they have unfinished business, they could also stay behind," Shirley said.

"The spirit still relates to the life they once lived and sometimes they stay behind to watch over their loved ones until they are ready to move over to the other side.

"I do believe that some people may have seen Sheila, but I am certain she is not the cause of the accidents. Spirits don't harm people for no reason.

"There is a possibility that something bad happened to Sheila on Higginson Highway, which may be the reason why she has been spotted there.

"Usually when the funeral service is carried out, the spirit is meant to leave this world. They don't want to stay back and cause more pain and suffering to loved ones. So whether a person is cremated or buried, their body was something they used in this life and once they die it is of no use to them."

Chatsworth resident Rocky Naidoo said he had heard about Sheila but did not believe she was the cause of accidents.

"The speed limit on the highway is from 60 to 80km/h. One of the reasons for the accidents is the volume of traffic on the road, which exceeds the number it was built for," Naidoo said.

"These days an average family has three or four cars. Back in the days when the highway was built not many people used private transport. I don't think it's fair to blame the deaths on Highway Sheila - 99 percent of the time the accidents are caused due to some motorists' sheer disrespect for lives."

Chatsworth resident and Minority Front leader Amichand Rajbansi, who has lived in Arena Park for more than three decades, said he believed in ghosts, but was not certain whether Sheila was haunting the highway.

"I had heard stories about her so, many years ago at midnight, I went to the highway and waited for her. But I was disappointed because she did not show up," Rajbansi said.

"On certain roads many people die, and people believe these roads are haunted, so a prayer is carried out by various religious groups and thereafter there is a noted drop in accidents.

"However, certain parts of Higginson Highway, from lower Mobeni to the Bayview offramp, need to be widened to accommodate the traffic flow."