Emily's Ghost

The Ghost of Emily’s Bridge

Stowe Vermont

     Stowe, Vermont - A quaint little town that’s nestled in a broad and fertile valley between Mount Mansfield and other peaks of the Green Mountains to the west, and the Worcester Range to the east. During the winter months, Stowe attracts thousands of skiers, swelling the towns 2,000 residents to the brink, making it a winter wonderland for those looking for great runs and fresh powder. And during the summer, the town hosts numerous arts and crafts shows, a hot air balloon festival and many other special events including the weekend long British Invasion event held annually during the third week of September. The Stowe Theater Guild, along with the Hyde Park Opera House and the Waterbury Festival Players offer theatrical productions each summer as well. But it’s not the town that I wish to write about today. It’s about a very special bridge located there.

     It’s official name is the Gold Brook Bridge and it’s been un-officially known for many years now as “Emily’s Bridge,” due to the popular belief that it’s haunted by the ghost of a young lady named Emily. Now there is some debate as to how Emily died there on the bridge. One story has it that she was supposed to elope with her lover whom she was meeting there at the bridge and when he failed to show, she hung herself from the rafters. And then there’s the story of how Emily might have met a man who stole her heart and the two had planned to marry. But when the day arrived and Emily went to the church in a beautiful wedding dress of red velvet to give herself to the gentleman only to discover that he had not shown as expected, leaving her a jilted bride who took the family wagon in a frenzy of anger and sorrow. It’s said in this version that she whipped the horses without mercy until they were traveling at an incredible pace, planning perhaps to catch up with her intended groom and confront him. But as she approached the bridge she lost control at a turn in the road right before the bridge and drove the horses head long, along with the carriage wagon over the bank and into the rocky brook below, both killing herself and the horses in the accident.
     There is no historical data or evidence that Emily ever really existed however, the first mention of the bridge being haunted by someone named Emily was when a high school student wrote a paper on the subject around 1968, claiming that while they were using an Ouija Board on the bridge, an entity presented itself saying it’s name was Emily. Others too, since that time claim to have made contact with Emily using an Ouija Board with the spirit claiming to have been murdered on the bridge by her fiance’s mother. And of course the stories and variations don’t end there but continue in all sorts of different ways. And regardless of which version of the story you hear, it’s safe to say that those who live in and around Emily’s Bridge, will tell you in no uncertain terms their belief that the Bridge is haunted and some say it is even cursed...

     It has been reported that on certain late summer nights if you’re near the bridge, you can hear strange sounds emanating from the bridge, such as the shuffling of footsteps and the rustling of clothing. Many have reported hearing a mysterious weeping coming from the supposed spot where Emily is said to have hanged herself. Disembodied screams have been heard at times from the bridge as well as what people claim to be the sound of a creaking rope. There have even been sightings of a faint white apparition floating near the bridge’s entrance. But these are only a few of the reports of paranormal happenings that have been reported and the tales of Emily are so widely known and accepted as fact that there is a local car dealership that created an ad based on the terrifying tale!
     Many people who’ve visited the bridge and parked their car it claimed that scratch marks have appeared where none were before after being touched or scratched by Emily’s ghost. They’ve also reported to have heard something unseen, banging on the hood and sides of the car as well as what sounds like someone or something dragging their hand over the roof. Most of these “events” occurring after midnight and before sunrise. But these are the more recent tales of strange, paranormal activity that occur there. In fact, if one were to look back a hundred or so years, strange reports have occurred not only with automobiles, but with horses and wagons as well, along with reports of seeing strange floating orbs of light and whispy streaks darting about the bridge. Most recently however, the latest possible evidence that the ghost of Emily haunts the bridge was that of a paranormal researcher who was staking out the bridge in the hopes of capturing/recording evidence of it’s haunting. He reported that his photography equipment had repeatedly malfunctioned when taking photos inside the bridge, with one digital camera shutting itself off after each photograph was taken - something that the camera had not done previously nor were they able to repeat afterwards. Camera batteries, despite their being brand new and purchased only the day before, would mysteriously drain of power.

     If you just happen to be up in that neck of the woods in Vermont and find yourself driving through Stowe, and you’re wanting to check out the Bridge for yourself, please feel free to. But please remember that the Bridge is in a residential area and though difficult to see from the trees which line the road near the bridge, there are numerous houses and people who may or may not be home, in bed, asleep. They welcome visitors but would prefer that the visit be quietly done for they tend to like the peace and quiet.

Have a great day everyone! Be safe!

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