Toll Booth

The Toll Booth is a scary urban myth about a man who has a terrifying experience when he encounters a gang of youths one night.

An old man got a job working at a toll booth on a motorway. He had to work nights and often sat alone in the booth, waiting for a car to pull up. It was very boring because there were not many cars travelling on that particular motorway.

One night, the old man was so bored that he was almost falling asleep in his chair. Just then, he saw some headlights approaching. When the car pulled up at his toll booth, he could hear loud music blaring from inside. The window rolled down and he saw a gang of four youths sitting in the car.

The driver grinned up at him and said, “Hey Grandpa, how much is the toll?”

“Two dollars,” replied the old man.

“Are you kidding me?” complained the driver. “Every day it’s more expensive.”

“Maybe,” said the old man, “but don’t blame me. I just work here.”

The driver reached out and handed him a five dollar note to pay the toll. The old man took the money and put it in his till.

“Here’s your change sir,” he said, trying not to eye contact with him.

“What a ripoff!” said the driver angrily. “And speaking of ripoffs…”

Suddenly, the old man felt a strong hand grab his wrist and a chill ran down his spine. He looked up just in time to see the driver snapping a handcuff on his wrist. Without another word, the driver floored the accelerator and took off at high speed.

As the car sped off the old man saw that the handcuff was tied to a rope that was being pulled out of the window of the car.

The old man was paralyzed by fear. He tried desperately to pull off the handcuff, but it was no use. He attempted to undo the knot, but it was too tight. He did not know how much rope was inside the car and at any time, he expected to be yanked out of the toll booth window and dragged down the motorway or have his arm suddenly torn off.

When all seemed lost, the other end of the rope fell harmlessly out the window of the car.

The youths had been playing a prank on him. The rope had really never really been tied to the car. It was just a bad joke in poor taste and the thugs wanted to give old man the shock of his life.