By Odin Rasco

Driving slowly along Dyer Lane at night, October clouds snuffing out most of the stars in the sky, it is easy to understand why the isolated stretch of asphalt that’s surrounded on all sides by fields has accumulated its fair share of spooky stories over the years.

Far-flung enough from the more populated sections of Roseville, the nearby city is only hinted at by a line of lights in the distance. Tall, gnarled trees reach over the pitted and skidmarked road while both sides of the lane are lined by years of detritus ranging in size from loose chip bags to destroyed furniture. This area has long served as an unofficial dumping ground. 

Stories of ghosts, murder, violence and other inexplicable happenings have surrounded the short road, situated just north of Gibson Ranch, for decades, making it a mainstay in local rumor and hearsay. The pervasive tales have secured Dyer Lane a spot on a litany of most-haunted lists, including one put out by Windermere Signature Properties, a real estate brokerage that operates in the greater Sacramento area. 

Many of the stories about Dyer Lane involve hinted-at or supposed happenings in the past, with a rouges’ gallery of horror-story mainstays including ghosts, witches and cultists said to have existed in proximity to the area as far back as the 1930s, according to a timeline available on Timetoast. 

A coven of six witches is rumored to have practiced rituals in a field near Dyer Lane under the dark of night between 1932 to 1934, according to stories from locals compiled by Paul Dale Roberts, a long-time paranormal investigator in the area. One night, the women were stalked to the field by a group of local boys. The story claims the boys fell upon two of the girls, raping and killing them; within months, all of the boys involved in the attack were said to have died as a result of a curse cast upon them by their victims. 

Long after the witches had apparently left the fields around Dyer Lane for greener pastures, Roberts claims another group of individuals involved with supernatural forces took to the area: a cult called The Satanic Order of Amdusias. The group is reputed to have worshipped a demon named Amdusias, taking to the fields near Dyer Lane to worship it and attempt to summon it. The story recounted to Roberts claims the cult went as far as committing human sacrifice in pursuit of their goal. 

Multiple tales of ghosts also cling to Dyer Lane’s mythos. One ghost is said to be a policeman who died when a suspect he was pursuing along Dyer Lane exited his vehicle and shot him dead, fleeing into the night. Another claimed ghost is that of a farmer who was run over and crushed to death by his own tractor.

Though these tales of the supernatural goings-on around Dyer Lane have thrilled locals for generations, the facts available imply they are just that; stories created to scare. Author and historian J’aime Rubio, interested in the stories about Roseville’s haunted road, attempted to track down any documentation that supported the claims the stories were based on. Speaking with the Roseville Police Department and the Placer County Sheriff’s Office, Rubio discovered both law enforcement agencies had no record of any cases of murdered witches or policemen, demon sacrifices or tractor-induced death near Dyer Lane.

“99% of the stories circulated are false,” Rubio wrote in a 2018 blog post about Dyer Lane. 

Though many of the stories that live on in folklore about the region don’t hold up under scrutiny, that does not mean Dyer Lane has not been home to genuinely terrifying acts. In 2001, Ukrainian fugitive Nikolay Soltys, a shoemaker described as violent and unpredictable, was placed on the Federal Bureau of Investigations’ Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List after killing his pregnant wife, his aunt and uncle, two of his cousins and his 3-year-old son. His son’s body, dumped near Dyer Lane, was discovered by law enforcement on August 21, 2001.

Soltys’ son was not the only murder victim discovered on Dyer Lane. In April 2017, 28-year-old Sacramento State graduate Janet Mejia’s body was discovered off the roadway after being reported missing days prior. An autopsy determined Mejia had died after sustaining a gunshot. Mejia’s roommate, Teris Vinson, was convicted in December 2018 for her murder and two counts of firearm possession by a convicted felon. Vinson was sentenced in 2019 to 85 years and 4 months in prison.

In July 2019, Heather Chesser documented a chilling and seemingly random attack on Dyer Lane. After swimming, Chesser, along with her mother-, brother- and sister-in-law, were driving along the road when they were suddenly beset by three cars that swerved around them, and played a speaker that told them to turn around. The three cars surrounded their vehicle, forcing them to come to a stop, and one man, his face covered, proceeded to kick out one of the car’s taillights before the cars dispersed after another vehicle passed by, Chesser told reporters.

The most recently reported questionable situation in the area took place on July 4, 2023, when a local resident — who chose to remain anonymous while speaking to Gold Country Media — discovered the mutilated remains of multiple animals which had been discarded alongside Dyer Lane. The remains were said to have been rendered “unrecognizable,” while later investigation determined the remains were livestock which had been processed for butchering, according to a statement provided to Gold Country Media by Placer County Health and Human Services Public Information Officer Katie Combs-Prichard.

“I have my own opinions about what I saw,” the unnamed witness told Gold Country Media. “I don’t believe a butcher would behead a black goat and dump it on Dyer.”