Emily's Bridge

WARNING: mentions suicide and murder.

Emily’s Bridge is a covered bridge in Stowe, Vermont. It has been labeled as one of the most haunted places, but why?

I’ve heard two variations of Emily’s demise. One account says that Emily was going to elope with the boy she loved. She was going to meet him at this bridge and they would run away together. The boy never showed up, so Emily hung herself from the rafters of the bridge with something from her suitcase.

The other story says that Emily was left at the altar. Distraught and filled with anger, she leapt onto the horse drawn carriage the soon-to-be-wed couple were supposed to ride away on, and whipped the horses until they were going as fast as they could, perhaps planning to confront the man that left her embarrassed in front of her friends and family. Emily and the horses died after breaking through the wall of the bridge, and plunging to their death.

There is no historical evidence of Emily’s existence. The stories of the bridge being haunted started in 1968 after a high school student wrote a paper about the bridge, claiming that they had used a ouija board at the bridge and a spirit called “Emily” presented itself. Other people have claimed to use a ouija board at Emily’s Bridge and Emily said she was murdered by her fiance’s mother.

Many people say that they have seen a ghostly white figure of a girl on the bridge, and they’ve also seen floating orbs of light, things that appear to be floating lanterns, and very bright lights in the middle of the bridge. Some claim to have seen a full apparition of Emily!

But Emily is not a nice spirit; she is known as an avid man-hater. Almost every man that tries crossing the bridge is scratched and/or bitten. Some are smacked or screamed at. Why does she do this? Lots of people think that Emily hurts men trying to cross the bridge because she mistakes them for the boy she was left by and she’s trying to exact her revenge and get justice for the pain he caused her. Even if you’re not a man, you can experience what Emily’s has in store. She’s also known to leave scratches on cars, handprints on windows, and she’ll push people. You can hear a disembodied voice and a girl screaming, ropes tightening, and footsteps. Many people have heard banging on their car and dragging sounds on the roof when they drive or park on the bridge. Most paranormal activity happens between 12 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. if you want to catch a glimpse (or a scratch) of the ghost.

Maybe poor Emily was murdered, maybe she screamed as she had second thoughts just as she jumped to hang herself. Would you go to this eerie bridge? Or are you too scared to face the ghost of this sad girl?

Pictured above: Not the haunted bridge since I couldn't add an image from Google because I have the computer skills of the average 90-year-old, so please enjoy this autumnal scene. <3