The Legend of Buckout Road: The Movie

Like many Westchester residents, as a teenager John Pascucci and his friends would creep through the woods near the alleged haunted Westchester street, Buckout Road in West Harrison/White Plains, looking to be horrified.

Now as an adult, the former New Rochelle resident is looking to share the local urban legend with the world in his screenplay “Buckout Road,” a film to be produced by Brad Clark and Ambush Entertainment.

“When I was 16 we used to go up there and try to get scared by flesh-eating albinos,” said Pascucci, 35, who now lives in Los Angles. “Nothing ever happened, but that pure adrenaline rush always stayed with me.”

As a horror buff, the New Rochelle high school graduate was fascinated by the various stories of Buckout Road, which include: albinos who would eat your flesh if you honked your horn outside the red house; three witches who were burned at the stake; and a jealous husband who murdered his wife and her alleged lover.

Click for our story on the urban legends of Buckout Road.

After a friend suggested that he turn his memories into a movie, Pascucci began researching websites, blogs and fan pages dedicated to the Buckout Road, and finished the screenplay within three to four months.

“There’s been stuff going on there for years, even before the Buckout Legend,” said Pascucci. “I kind of told all those stories from hundreds of years and combined them into the same story, happening in the present time.”

Aaron James, a young African American West Point cadent, is the main character in Pascucci’s story—which he describes as “a model of a young Obama”—who is struggling with racism and discrimination in today's society.  

“It’s one of the first times an African American is the lead in a horror film, and is the hero,” said Pascucci.

The spooky story line brings James and his friends to Buckout Road, where his friends are ripped apart before his eyes. The film John Buckout—named after John Buckhout who died in 1915 and whose gravestone still sits on Buckout Road—as a slave owner. Buckout chops-off his wife’s head, and burns down a barn full of slaves after learning that his wife had an affair with one of the slaves. Voodoo witches place a curse on Buckout and his two sons, turning them into albinos who must eat human flesh to get back their pigmentation.

“It’s the ultimate price for being a racist,” said Pascucci.

Supporting roles in the movie are based on Pascucci’s eclectic group of friend he used to visit Buckout Road with. Actor/Producer/Director Jason Priestley, of “ Call Me Fitz,” and “Beverly Hills, 90210,” is currently attached to direct the film, while indie-film star Evan Ross, Diana Ross’ son, is slated to play the main character. Other names currently attached to appear in the film include performer Romeo Miller, formerly Lil’ Romeo, and Aaron Ashmore, who plays Jimmy Olsen in “Smallville.”

The film is currently in pre-production where filming locations and cast members are finalized. Though the movie won’t be shot on the real Buckout Road in Westchester—shooting will take place in and near Toronto, Canada—the movie premiere will take place in Westchester.

“I want to do the premiere in Westchester,” said Pascucci. “That’s where it [the film] will get the most buzz.”