The B3212 Dartmoor - Hairy Hands Phenomenon

The B3212 road crosses the bleak expanse of Dartmoor between Two Bridges and Postbridge in Devon, passing through some of England’s most isolated and atmospheric moorland. Beginning in 1910, travelers on this stretch reported a disturbing phenomenon: large, disembodied hairy hands that appear on steering wheels, handlebars, or grips, physically wrestling control away from drivers and cyclists. The encounters typically occur on a specific mile-long section near Postbridge, known locally as “the haunted stretch.” The phenomenon gained widespread attention in 1921 when Dr. E.H. Helby, medical officer for Dartmoor Prison, crashed his motorcycle-sidecar combination on the road, dying from his injuries. Before his death, he reported that hairy hands had grabbed his handlebars and forced him off the road.

Subsequent incidents follow a consistent pattern. Drivers feel large, muscular hands covered in dark hair materialize over their own hands, gripping the steering wheel or handlebars with superhuman strength and pulling violently toward the verge or ditches. Witnesses describe the hands as masculine, powerful, and malevolent in intent—clearly attempting to cause crashes rather than random interference. In some cases, drivers manage to resist and regain control, watching the hands fade away. Others are forced off the road, resulting in crashes that have claimed multiple lives over the decades. Cyclists experience similar attacks, with the hairy hands yanking handlebars and causing riders to tumble onto the moor.

The origin of the hairy hands remains unexplained. Some theories point to the spirit of a worker killed during road construction or improvement work in the early 1900s. Others suggest residual energy from prehistoric peoples who inhabited Dartmoor, particularly near the numerous Bronze Age settlements and stone circles in the area. A 1924 incident involved a couple camping in a caravan near the haunted stretch who awoke to see a large, hairy hand crawling up the outside of their window; the wife made the sign of the cross, and the hand vanished. Modern travelers still report the phenomenon, though with less frequency since road improvements in the 1960s-70s. The B3212 remains a place where moorland isolation, ancient history, and inexplicable supernatural forces converge to create one of Britain’s most unique and terrifying hauntings.