Vermont: Emily’s Bridge

The Gold Brook Bridge located near Stowe, Vermont is a traditional New England covered bridge. It is said a female ghost by the name of Emily haunts it. This haunting is so well known that this bridge is sometimes called “Emily’s Bridge.”

Several locals claim the story of Emily is a legend created by a high school student who wrote about Emily for a class assignment. This student and friends had used a Ouija board on the bridge in 1968. The student claimed that the ghost of a girl named Emily had contacted them through the board. 

Others though state they actually heard stories about a female ghost that haunts the bridge years before the late 1960s. Regardless, the stories of why Emily haunts the Gold Brook Bridge are told with relish.

There are several versions as to why Emily’s ghost lingers at this bridge. 

Most of these stories mention a love won and then lost. A simplified version says that Emily came from an abusive family who did not like the man she was dating. The two decided to elope. They arranged to meet on the Gold Brook Bridge and then leave the area. 

Emily arrived at the bridge and waited patiently for hours, but her lover did not show up. Distraught and knowing she dare not return to her family, Emily took the rope she had used to tie all of her belonging together and tied it to one of the bridge’s rafters. She then hung herself.

Another version has Emily being jilted at a church altar on her wedding day. 

She then took her families’ wagon and horses and whipped them into a frenzy to confront her faithless groom. As she approached the bridge, she lost control of the team at a steep curve. The horses and the wagon then plunged off the bank falling to the jagged rocks near the brook below. Both Emily and the horses perished. 

Yet another version states that her fiancé’s mother killed Emily on the bridge.

Many people who have visited this bridge have experienced unusual activity. 

Disembodied voices are heard often. People have also heard footsteps, a rope tightening, and a women's screams. 

Others report that they have been touched or scratched by Emily’s ghost. Some even indicate their cars, while parked on the bridge have been marked with scratches.

Several witnesses to this haunting state that as they drove across the bridge, they heard something drag across the top of their cars. 

Other witnesses state something banged or hit their vehicle as they crossed the bridge. Both of these events are attributed to Emily’s ghost. 

It is believed she does this because she is still angry. After all, she lost her love.

There are many reports of people seeing Emily’s apparition. She is described as a White Ghost because her form is seen within a white fog or mist. 

A few witnesses have managed to capture this anomaly in photographs. 

The stories about Emily and her haunting have become so prevalent over the years that several amateur films have been made about the activity that occurs on this covered bridge.

A couple of photos taken of this anomaly.