Ghosts of Wilderness Park - Lincoln, Nebraska

There are two stories that revolve around a stretch of woods west of Lincoln, Nebraska known as Wilderness Park.  One regarding rail disaster in the late 1800s and the other regarding what people claimed to be a child murdering witch.

Wilderness Park in Lincoln, Nebraska is thought to have many spirits that haunt it's woods and trails.

Ghosts of the Rock Island Train Disaster

In 1894, a train headed northward was crossing the trestle over Salt Creek.  Something went terribly wrong and the locomotive along with a few cars tumbled off of the 40 ft long bridge to the ground below.  A fire broke out and in the end, eleven people lost their lives.  The real tragedy is that it was no accident.  The bridge was sabotaged.  The saboteur was found and convicted, but that did not change the fact that people died.  Some say they still roam the area near Salt Creek in what is now Wilderness Park.

In the late 1800s a train derailment at the bridge that crosses Salt Creek near Lincoln, Nebraska left almost a dozen dead.  Many claim those lost souls still roam Wilderness Park to this day.

Some who hike through Wilderness Park at dusk, report strange whispering noises coming from the trees.  Others who have lost track of the hour and get caught by the setting sun in darkness, say they have heard the sound of heavy footsteps behind them in the area of the rail bridge.  However, when they turn and look, nobody is around.  Many feel that these noises are the spirits of those killed in the Rock Island rail disaster, perhaps seeking justice because the man who killed them only served 10 years of his sentence before being released on parole. A marker along the Jamaica North Trail marks the spot where the disaster occurred and these souls lost their lives.

Location: 40°44'38"N 96°42'45"W

The Witch of the Woods

In the early 1900s there was a short period where about half a dozen or so local children went missing in the Lincoln area.  Many believed they ran away, but some believed that they disappeared in Wilderness Park.  It wasn't until one boy went missing and his sister claimed to see him with a woman who lived in a secluded shack in the woods in what is now Wilderness Park.  Locals called this woman "Witch of the Woods".  Police searched the wooded areas and eventually the bodies of the children where found.

When you are walking the trails of Wilderness Park and you run out of daylight, beware the "Witch of the Woods".

Local police questioned the woman who lived in the shack and she only complained because the children always ran all over her property.  There was no hard evidence against her, so the authorities did not make an arrest.  However, once locals heard what the woman had said, they took matters into their own hands.

The "Witch of the Woods" was found one day, hanging by the neck from a tree with a chain.  Many say when you walk the dark woods of Wilderness Park, you can hear the moans of the "Witch of the Woods" and occasional the rattling of chains.  Some say they have actually found buried chains that have led to the tree where the woman was hanged.  Be careful what you find at the end though, because they say the "Witch of the Woods" was buried there with the chains still on her. Somewhere in the woods a shrine exists that memorializes the children that lost their lives there so long ago.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilderness_Park

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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".

Haunted Hills of the Seven Sisters (7 Sisters Road) - Otoe County Nebraska

A few miles south of Nebraska City, Nebraska there lies a group of hills that is subject of one of the most gruesome haunted legends known in the state.  As the story goes, over a century ago man who lived in the area along with his family which consisted of seven sisters.  One day for some unknown reason, whether deranged or there was some sort of family quarrel and the man went berserk, he led each of his sisters in turn to a separate hill near their home and hung each one from a tree until they were dead.

The Seven Sisters Road in Otoe County near Nebraska City, NE - photo by Dan Swanson

This area today has been the focus of many reports of paranormal phenomenon.  Accounts of cars suddenly and inexplicably stalling have been widespread.  Other electrical drain phenomenon have been reported as well.  Mostly, tales of car headlights suddenly going extremely dim when entering the area of hills of the seven sisters.  Then after leaving the area, the car lights would suddenly get bright again.

Perhaps the most chilling tales of all are the numerous accounts over the years of travelers in the area hearing the screams of young women seemingly coming from the nearby hills while traveling on this stretch of road which in modern times is technically named Road L.  This road is now known today as "7 Sisters Road" to the locals.  Perhaps if you are driving in this area, you too may hear the spirits wailing in the haunted hills of the seven sisters.