HAUNTED COLUMBUS SERIES: Crybaby Bridge

COLUMBUS, GA:The Columbus area is rich in history from the National Historic District located near downtown to the rich Civil War history that dots the region. Through Columbus' history, there have been tragedies and stories of tragedies that have occurred. Some of those have turned into local ghost stories and hauntings that have gone as far as Hollywood in some cases.

One of the most popular haunting tales in the Columbus-area is that of Crybaby Bridge. A rural bridge located just north of the Columbus city limits in southern Harris County. The bridge carries several stories of the tragedy that led to the bridge being named as one of the most haunted places in Columbus and the state of Georgia, but experiences on the bridge relate to something paranormal in the area.

Crybaby Bridge is located on Whitesville Road north of Columbus. The original bridge where the tragedy was said to have happened has been torn down but there are still stories of odd occurrences happening on the bridge.

The woods near Crybaby Bridge offer a gloomy feel even in the daylight.

There are three stories that surround the history of the bridge and its haunting. One of the stories goes that a mother drowned her three children in the waters below the bridge and the wails of her infant can still be heard on nights at the bridge. A second story says that a baby accidentally drowned in the creek below the bridge and the spirit of that child still haunts the region. A third story goes that a farmer made a pact with a delivery doctor following the birth of his fifth child. The pact said that the doctor would drown the baby in the creek without the wife's knowledge because the farmer would not be able to care for the child due to financial constraints. The spirit of the baby and the mother who is searching for her missing child are said to roam the woods near the bridge to this day.

Stories vary of occurrences on or near the bridge. Stories have said that stopping on the bridge under a full moon will reveal paranormal occurrences. Occurrences have included the presence of strange mist and fog near the bridge, cold spots in the air, and the sound of a crying baby coming from the woods. Others who frequent the bridge have told stories of footsteps being heard coming towards them from the woods and the presence of ghostly figures in the woods nearby.

Rumor also has it that if you stop your vehicle on the bridge under the full moon and put it in neutral the vehicle will shut off and not start back immediately.

Crybaby bridge lies down a rural and dark gravel road in southern Harris County, Georgia.

Several paranormal investigators have been to the bridge to search for evidence of the legends that surround the bridge. Some have turned up empty-handed while some have come back and reported strange occurrences in the area of the bridge. The website Ghostvillage.com holds an EVP that was said to have been recorded on the bridge in August of 2002 that suggests a paranormal presence at the bridge.

Those in the Columbus area are very familiar with the legend of Crybaby Bridge. While some have been bold enough to test their luck on the bridge others have not. The bridge has become a popular hangout spot for teenagers over the years.

While nearly all of the states in the lower 48 have some type of story of a Crybaby Bridge the story finds its origins in Georgia, just north of Columbus. Crybaby Bridge is located along Whitesville Road in southern Harris County. The roadway turns to gravel slightly north of Columbus and has three bridges after the gravel. Crybaby Bridge is the third bridge along the gravel portion of the roadway.