Thursday, October 13, 2011

Phantoms of Witch's Bridge - Grand Island, Nebraska

On the outskirts of Grand Island, Nebraska there is a bridge that has become legendary over the years.  This bridge is part of the "Nine Bridges Road" and has it's torrid beginnings long ago when a it is said that a woman dwelled in a house at one end of the bridge.  It was suspected that she along with some of her neighbors were involved in witchcraft or devil worship and at the discretion of the townspeople, she was tied to a stake and her house set to go up in flames along with her.  This bridge has since become known as "Witch's Bridge" and it seems that things on and around this bridge have not been right since.  Many believe it is cursed or haunted by the spirits who died there.


"Witch's Bridge" near Grand Island, Nebraska is said to be haunted by many spirits who met their end there

In the days when the railroad maintained a bridge that ran adjacent to the current standing structure, there was a terrible freak accident that occurred there.  One winter, the railroad workers were trying to free an ice jam that had built up against the rail bridge.  Some local residents came out and stood on the adjacent road bridge to watch the explosions when the workers used dynamite to blast the ice away.  In one of the blasts, the bridge that the onlookers were standing on shook violently and a woman holding an infant stumbled and fell.  Her baby toppled over the side of the bridge and into the turbulent, freezing water.  Workers and onlookers searched for days and the infant was never found.  The mother of the infant from that point on, spent long days searching the river banks for her child to no avail.



Piers from the old rail bridge still remain next to "Witch's Bridge" in Grand Island, Nebraska


As the years have passed by, visitors to the area say that on occasion if you stop on the "Witch's Bridge", your car will shut off.  You can then hear the faint sound of a woman sobbing.  Many have claimed to visit the bridge on a whim for a quick scare at night, and their car engines really did shut off. Some believers say that if you leave your car and venture around, the ghost of the witch will try and pull you over the side.  For some reason over the years there have been an unusual number of fatal car accidents on "Witch's Bridge".


"Witch's Bridge" part of the "Nine Bridges Road" near Grand Island, Nebraska

At one end of "Witch's Bridge" where it is said that the so called witch was actually burned, there are some unusual activities that have taken place here.  Some say an abandoned house is located near by that is supposedly haunted.  Eyewitnesses have seen a rocking chair that sits on the front porch rocking back and forth on a windless night.  And many claim to have seen a phantom of sorts chasing them away.  There was one report of a couple of people who had seen some strange things after their car had stalled on the bridge.  They got out to investigate and witnessed the rocking chair starting to rock on its own, then shortly a cold breeze overwhelmed them.  Scared, they jumped back in their car and it started so they speed away, only to feel a thump like they had hit something.  They stopped and got out to see what they had hit.  Upon investigating, they found a dead dog in the middle of the bridge that they had not seen in the headlights.  They quickly jumped back in the car and sped off.  Looking back, one of them saw the dog.  Only it was standing in the middle of the road, eyes glowing red glaring at them!



If you visit "Witch's Bridge" near Grand Island, Nebraska at night, be prepared to meet something out of the ordinary

If you are in Grand Island, Nebraska and decide to take a drive on Nine Bridges Road some evening, be sure to respect the private property, but mostly watch out for the Phantoms of Witch's Bridge!

80 comments:

  1. I live in grand island and I know people talk about it all the time and just today my dad took me there and told me it was witches bridge but that was not the first time I've been there during the summer I went bow fishing down under the bridge but I did not know that was witches bridge or else I would have never went down there

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    1. Whereby Grand Island is this? Which direction?

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    2. What side of GI? Give me directions on how to get there, please and thank yu!

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  2. The crap is all fake, I've been down that bridge and back numerous times at night and even during a thunderstorm. I've also seen the house and nothing has ever happened to me. It's all bullshit and its nothing but fake.

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    1. What a closed minded moron

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    2. What a closed minded moron

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    3. Actually its not fake at all. My husband and I went down there at night with a group of friends and we had witnessed stuff on the bridge and saw things happen by the house too. Have not gone back down there since

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    4. You dont believe that's why you think it's fake

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    5. No mystery in your vocabulary pal...WOWZERS!

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    6. Wow a tad rude!

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    7. It seems to me you were not worthy of my sisters presence imbasil but if you want to become a believer I can arrange something for you why dont you send me a picture of you and your full name and ill connect you with creepy she loves to visit non believers she might even move in....templeofbroom

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  3. some people believe and some don't but I do!

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  4. Where do I find it?

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    1. Don't waste your time. I grew up in Doniphan and it was always stories. Mostly last i saw it was full of grafitti and allegedly satan worshipers gathered to sacrifice babies at night. I was over that bridge numerous times. It's just stories.

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    2. Its not fake. My daughters have seen the ghost dog. And I heard from other people strange things happening.

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  5. I had just moved to Wood River and have heard all these stories about Witches Bridge. Hearing about all these Eyewitness accounts, I am going to experience these on my own. I use to be a sceptic about ghost and demons till I had an experience of my own....Witches Bridge sounds real interesting and want to have my own experience!

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    1. Im a sceptic when it comes to ghost. But demons i believe in because they are talked about in the bible

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  6. It's actually just south of Doniphan don't know why they put Grand Island as the nearest town. Be careful driving over the bridge it's only a one lane bridge

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    1. It's just North of Doniphan

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    2. It is not south of Doniphan. It is North of Doniphan. If you are on 281 going North take the last road that goes East be for the bridges and interstate. You will go about a mile to nine bridges road. Turn and go north and you will see it. I've taken lots of photos there. It's a really cool bridge. You can actually see it from 281 as you cross the river.

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  7. It's NORTH of Doniphan and SOUTH of I-80. Head south on Highway 281 and take your first left. Head east on the gravel road and go past the farm. Keep right and you'll see the bridge in the distance. It's covered in graffiti. It used to be fun to hang out there. I wouldn't do it these days. People suck.

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  8. I have had a friend that does the paranormal research actually get a video of something crossing the bridge. He also stated that when you test the bridge like he did , he was pushed then scratched on his back while on the bridge.

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  9. There was a kid who got shot there and died just a few years ago... spirits r not fake. And if u think otherwise ur fooling ur self. Just because u dont expierence nothing doesn't mean shit. Try sitting out there all night till morning...u won't do it again!!

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    1. okay so who was this person?

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    2. He was shot over a mile away from the bridge so pretty sure he doesn't haunt it

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  10. I most definitely want to check it out sometime. If nothing else,to at least take some pictures and see what comes up.
    Also,does anyone know if the bridge down at Spring Ranch is haunted? There were four men and a woman hung from that bridge way back in the day so just wondering.

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    1. The women is said to be the first women to be hanged in Nebraska but I thought it was from a tree that is along the road there.

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    2. There is definately something going on there. Sounds of talking, strange lights, presense felt, shadow apparation. I'm a sensitive and not a novice at investigating.

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    3. I had a friend that was boarding my daughters horse at his place at Spring Ranch area. He rode her down to the cemetery area and she refused to go past the cemetery. He spurred her, got off and tried to walk her past it and she wouldn't budge. He got back on her and headed back towards home and she took off at a dead run until she saw her barn.

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    4. The people hung near spring ranch were not hung from the bridge IN spring ranch. They were actually hung from another bridge that no longer exists further east. There is a bridge there now very close to the spot just north of Manna Resort Christian Camp (west of Fairfield). People say they hear weird noises that sound like the crowds of people that hung them that night. I'm guessing what they are really hearing are the kids in the camp :)

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    5. I lived in spring ranch and never felt anything at all on the bridge near the cemetery which is the one I assume you are referring to. but Kelly is correct that is not the bridge people were hung from.

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    6. I grew up in grand island and have been there. I never get scared and nothing ever freaks me out but when i went there I felt a very dark presence. As if bad things have happened there before.. maybe not the witch but definitely bad things... later i researched the owner of the home and there's almost nothing on them. However the owners are really irritated by all the people and dumb kids showing up. But i have heard the dog and have seen an animal lurking there at night not to mention there was a murder there. A woman mudered some guy with a gun which makes it super creepy too

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    7. I know the people who murdered the guy and yes there is a big black dog looking figure and it has red flowing eyes my friend and her dad got a picture of it

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    8. I know the people who murdered the guy also, I'm family with one of them. I've witnessed some creepy things on witches bridge. Our car stopped and wouldn't start for maybe 5 mins, also saw what looked like blood in front of the car, and we saw the big black dog aso!

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  11. I've been going there since I was a kid and there have been numerous stories that relate from friends at different points in time, some from people who don't even know each other. Don't forget the old abandoned house on the southern side. That was a truly eery place and I've traveled all over the country. There is also an abandoned house on Shady Bend road that use to have newspapers in it and the articles talked about people who died from the address. One wild fourth of July, a friend lit a quarter stick of dynamite and threw it. The explosive landed on the roof and with a ear ringing bang lit the roof on fire. We ran the other direction to grab liquid of any kind, when we returned the fire was gone and there wasn't even a trace of the explosion.

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  12. There is another "witches" bridge in Spring Ranch where three women who were sisters were hung by the towns people for being cult like worshipers. Legend has it you can see them being hung on the night of there execution. Once you cross that bridge don't go back across. More vehicles have died doing that then I can tell you. Some people park before the bridge and walk across before going to the old spooky cemetery and walk back to their vehicle in fear of being stranded there with the spirits.

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    1. Ummm...NO! A woman and her brother...Elizabeth Taylor and Tom Jones were hung for being horse thieves and no one else has died. Stupid drunk kids tip over their tombstones from time to time. The original bridge isn't even there amd the hanging bridge location is actually a mile east of Spring Ranche.

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  13. Friends and I were there during a break from testing in highschool.A man shot at us from the river bed.He claimed when questioned by the police that we were messing with his car. A man was murdered there about seven years ago.

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  14. I don't know why everyone gives instructions to turn off of 281 onto the road that goes by peterbilt... If you turn onto Lowry road, and take a left at the only turn, you end up on the bridge... That, or you drive South on Locust, cross I-80, and will end up turning right onto Lowry road, and you wind up at nine bridge road....

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  15. I grew up in Doniphan and have been there a lot at night but nothing ever happened. We even tried the car thing once. There is just a weird eery feeling out there.

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    1. Al. Stay on brig. From midnight. Tell day light. For. 2000 dollars ok

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  16. I believe it must be haunted! out of all the stupid things I did growing up in Grand Island, that was the only place I got a minor in possession of alcohol ticket and got in trouble. :)

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  17. I grew up in GI and partied out there a lot as a teenager. I live in Doniphan now and I run out there alone and I have never seen anything except creepy people hanging out in their cars probably doing drugs and occasionally people fishing. the only creepy thing about it to me is that it doesn't seem stable enough to hold a car going over it anymore

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  18. There is a ton of witch's in the 3rd city area (Grand Island), but I am unsure whether this is because they might have been conceived at this bridge or their parents were.

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  19. There was also a house on south Blaine that we used to go to and there was a Satan worshipping star painted on the floor upstairs and writing on the barn about a man killing his family there also heard there were cattle on that property that were killed and bleed out but had no wounds on them! Happenened back in the 50s or 60s

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  20. this is so fake this used to be our party hangout all the time there is nothing there we have parked on that bridge been underneath the bride been in the so called haunted house and nothing ever was there except us spooking each other lmao cmon and alot of the times we were their way past 3am the witching hour

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  21. I tossed down many a beers out at the bridge back in the late 80's. Never seen any ghosts but always had a good time. GISH "87"

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    1. Me too.
      GISH 82
      I've never experienced anything there either but some people aren't "sensitive" to "them". "them" are demonic spirits. There aren't any ghosts as most people understand them, that is spirits of deceased people or animals. Demons generate apparitions that some can see.
      My wife can see some and so can my son but I can't. She saw a dark, scary shadow like figure once when we were on the bridge after we had been out there wondering around. She has seen similar things before and they don't scare her much but this time she was very afraid and it was coming our way.
      She screamed at us to get back in the car and get out of here and that freaked me out. We did just that. This thing followed us as we went home.

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  22. Never have gotten any tickets except for the parking ticket I got while visiting the bridge!! :)

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  23. We've been there at night and its very scary n I believe All the stories about witches bridge. I took my daughter n law my 2girls and one of there boyfriends one Halloween nite at midnite and the sheriff ran us off. It was a reary feeling.

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  24. Its not fake at all. My husband and I went there one night with a group of friends and we witnessed things happen. The guys went all the way up to the house while us women were trailing a little behind them. We were almost to the house when spotted a figure in the house. The guys took off running like a bat of hell back to the car and left all of us girls behind to protect ourselves....lol....I stayed by my best friend cause she was pregnant at the time and couldn't run real fast. I've never seen my husband so scared before as he was that night when we encountered what we did.

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  25. People who read these stories become eery of these kind of things.

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  26. We used to party at witches bridge allll the time in high school. One day we took a Ouija (sp?) board into the witches house and we started asking it questions,,,all of a sudden a very chilly breeze came thru the house and we all grabbed our heads in agony at the same time. We had all gotten sharp pains in the forehead. We got the hell outta there after that. Another night we pulled up in the driveway to the witches house right in front of the fence they had put up, and we seen a shadow in the headlights and then all of the sudden, a green orb came from the shadow in the window to right by the side of the car,,we all seen it!!!AGAIN,,,WE GOT THE HELL OUTTA THERE!! LOL. But those are just a couple of occurences. There are way too many to talk about. I know now,, there is no way in hell that I would go out there! Too many weirdos!

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  27. I went there once and I was with a bunch of friends and we were walking and chasing frogs and a little bit later we turned around to see where one of the girls was and she just disappeared and so we thought she was in the car so we just blew it off and then about the minutes later she screams we looked and she was in the water and there was a dangling rope so we were walking back and heard something and turned around and it was a car on the bridge and so we kept walking and out of no where there was a dish washer machine. We didnt hear it drop we didnt see it drop it just appeared. The next day my family was going outta town and we drove over it and the dish washer was gone.

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  28. I plan on going out there and setting up my game camera and staying there for 24 hours. If i see something id start recording it right away. This type of stuff intreges me and sort of entertains me.

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  29. So did you get anything on your camera or witness anything out there?

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  30. i went there at 9 if u want to goand accutally see somthing hauntinghours are 3 to 4 its creppy and she pushes u off the bridge i almost drounded

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  31. lol some chick killed herself on it

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  32. lol some chick killed herself on it

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  34. No body has talked about the 12 people that died from a two car accident on the 9 mile bridge in the early seventies. I remember this really well as I was going to go out to the river with a group of kids to party but missed the ride out.

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  35. Baby powder on the bridge as you walk across....will render babies footprints....

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  36. I have been there a lot and everytime i go somethibg happens me qnd my friends actually saw the dog and the baby looking out the window of the house but still go back there to see if we can sence anything else.I alwayd vribg a cross neckless with me just in case

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    1. My friends cross neckless broke while we were walking off the bridge

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  37. My son was just driving around one night and a policeman stopped him and his friends and said they are not allowed to even drive by the bridge!

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  38. I went to that bridge I won't go back I never seen anything but I felt the presence of something it was like a panicked weight on my chest like I said I Wong go back

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  39. The only thing to ever chase me away on that bridge was a skunk as I was trying to boink my girl. Damn skunk.

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  40. Yes, things like this is real but they are demons not ghosts of people who died. The Bible says it is appointed unto man once to die and after that the judgement it says nowhere that people have died and come back.. The Bible also says Satan can appear as an angel of light so these things are of him certainly not of God. I want nothing to do with that stuff and to entertain it by going there you are opening yourself up to dangerous stuff from satan.

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  41. Its absolutely haunted! Been out there several times with a cooler full of beer and before i knew it blacked out only to wake up beer gone, with no memory of drinking and not an empty can anywhere! Terrible headache and violent vomiting the next day too! Another time i was pissing off the west side of the bridge and a sudden gust of wind blew piss right onto my shoes.....creepy....also a slightly developmentally disabled/low iq but not quite retarded kid we used to get stoned in hs shot a refugee who was mistreating a female friend in the chest with a shotgun, killing him...

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  42. It is said a man named Brian would walk with his baby white cow in the area had a history of packing fudge near the bridge. Many men took turns packing fudge with Brian, and sometimes would pack other peoples fudge. To our knowledge there have been many deaths do to fudge packing over the years, but none near this particular bridge. It has been reported that there is sometimes a stench in the air as if fudge packing had just taken place, but know one is around. Locals sometimes blame the smell on a local meatpacking business, but the area residents know differently. If you do visit the area, you are encouraged to leave some fudge behind as an offering to appease the fudge packing packers

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  43. I heard the same story but it was not a baby white cow, it was a white calf.

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  44. Might I mention that a group of white kids (women I specifically remember) shot a Sudanese boy out here about 8 summers ago! Radiation idiots!! Nothing to do with the haunting but still a not so great thing that occurred at this bridge

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