Discovering Ohio’s Most Infamous Crybaby Bridge: Salem’s Eerie Legend

“The Crybaby Bridge” – the name evokes an eerie sensation, a chill that crawls up the spine. In Ohio alone, there are many bridges that bear this unnerving title. Yet, the most infamous among them, the one that sends shivers down the locals’ spines, is Salem’s Crybaby Bridge.

Nestled just off the side of Egypt Road near the quaint town of Salem, Ohio, lies one of the famed Crybaby Bridges. Across the country you’ll find many of these with varying haunting stories attached to each one. 

The bridge is delicately perched on a road that was once known as West Pine Lake Roads. Today, that road no longer buzzes with the flow of traffic, but serves as a quiet, dead-end street, while the bridge remains rusting away.

A Haunting Tale: The Spine-Chilling Legends of Crybaby Bridge

Crybaby Bridge is an eerie structure surrounded by chilling folklore. It carries the legend of an innocent life lost, a story steeped in sorrow and fear. Stories tell of the eerie wails of a baby, which can be heard in the stillness of night, echoing the tragic tale of an infant who, by some cruel twist of fate, fell into the water beneath and met a watery demise. There have been numerous versions of the story passed around, but the one I always heard growing up was the story of how a woman, unwilling to accept being a mother, visited the bridge at night and threw her baby into the river. Racked with guilt after hearing the screams and cries of the dying child, she then threw herself over the edge, landing on her head and died. The story continues that if you visit the bridge at night, and put your car in neutral at the center of the bridge, the ghosts of the child and woman will push your car, and you will find their handprints on the back of your car when you get out to look. It’s also said that if you roll your windows down, you’ll hear the cries of the baby, and sometimes the woman in the silence of the night. Many people fear seeing the woman’s ghost at the end of the bridge, as they believe her spirit to be an evil one.

Another version of the story tells that in 1977, a heated argument between a couple on the bridge ended in tragedy as their three-year-old son, unnoticed, slipped away, falling off the bridge into the creek and meeting his watery demise. Another alternative version spins a tale of a mother and her baby, both losing their lives to the unforgiving waters of the creek. Overwhelmed by the heartbreaking sight, the father reportedly disappeared into the woods, seeking aid, and never returned.

The unnerving cries of the “phantom baby” aren’t restricted to the blanket of darkness that cloaks the bridge each night. They have also been reported during the daytime hours.

Adding to the bridge’s mysterious allure, it’s encased by a thick woodland. Rumors of a covert cult operating within the shadowy confines of these woods at night contribute to the aura of unease and curiosity surrounding the bridge.

The Uncertain History of Crybaby Bridge

The bridge’s historical records remain shrouded in mystery, its date of inception uncertain. However, the bridge’s existence, along with its spine-chilling tales, can be traced back to at least 1977. It was in the 1980s when the bridge, along with the road it spanned, was decommissioned. This left the road sealed off, allowing nature to reclaim its domain. The passage of time has hidden the bridge from the casual observer, with rampant trees and vegetation growing over the rusty iron structure, almost as if to protect its eerie secrets.

As if the eerie legends weren’t enough, the bridge was allegedly the site of numerous suicides in the 1970s, including the disturbing report of five teens who chose to end their lives by hanging from the bridge. By 1983, tales of a bizarre satanic cult performing rituals at the bridge began to circulate. Animal carcasses discovered in proximity to the bridge lent credibility to these unsettling stories. 

Unresolved Crime: The 2010 Murder Mystery of Crybaby Bridge

The year 2010 marked another gruesome chapter in the bridge’s history, when the body of a 60-year-old woman was found near the bridge. Murdered and then burned, the identity of her killer remains a mystery. Among the other tales, it has been said that her spirit also haunts the woods surrounding the bridge.

A Hotspot for Paranormal Activity

The bridge continues to be a site of paranormal experiences, with accounts of phantom baby cries, inexplicable noises, and unseen entities attempting to push visitors into the creek. Given the dark history and countless urban legends, the Crybaby Bridge is undeniably one of the most haunted places in Northeast Ohio.