Why do motorists passing over a quaint, quiet covered bridge often report that their cars were shaken or scratched by unseen forces during their travels over it? Why do residents of Stowe, Vermont avoid traveling this bridge after nightfall at all costs? Why does the ghost of a young woman haunt this bridge 150 years after her death?
According to legend, the answer to all these questions lies in the fact that Emily’s Bridge is the site of an infamous case of heartbreak, anger, and death. Even a century and a half later, the woman who suffered here still haunts the spot of her ultimate demise.
The Gold Brook Bridge was erected in 1844 by John W. Smith as a service to the three villages of Stowe, Vermont. Early in its history, the bridge was used only for safe passage for horse drawn carriages traveling the country roads of the area. This all changed when one night the bridge was used not as passage, but as a meeting place between two forbidden lovers.
Emily was one of these young lovers. A young resident of Stowe, she planned on meeting her beau and running away with him into the night. Her parents disapproved of him and ordered her never to see him again. This led to a major falling out between Emily and her parents. After a vicious argument, she decided to elope with her man and run away forever.
When Emily got to the bridge, she waited patiently for her lover to whisk her away from her overbearing family. Unfortunately, he suffered from a case of the cold feet and never arrived at their meeting spot. Emily truly reached a state of despair. She had severed ties with her family and left, only to be jilted by the man she left for.
Emily couldn’t face her family again, and couldn’t handle the idea of not being with her lover. She tied a rope to the beam running down the middle of the covered bridge and hung herself from it.
Since that day, locals have said that strange supernatural occurrences take place at what is known unofficially as Emily’s Bridge. A woman’s voice is often heard, cars are shaken and scratched, and strange shadows, figures, and lights are often seen in the area.
Is the story of Emily’s Bridge just a tall tale told amongst the locals of Stowe? Or does Emily’s sad, lonely spirit still wait upon the bridge for the lover that’s never going to arrive?
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