Salem's Crybaby Bridge spooks year-round
It's Halloween, but there are some spooky places in the Valley that can bring out the scares scares virtually any night of the year.
It's Halloween, but there are some spooky places in the Valley that can bring out the scares virtually any night of the year.
Columbiana County has one well-known bridge, where people swear they can hear the cries of a baby said to have perished decades ago.
On an old abandoned road located outside Salem, now taken over by dirt and time, stands the skeleton of a rusted bridge.
It's here where people claim to hear the eerie cries of a child late at night. People know this as Crybaby Bridge.
The legend began in the 1930s. As one story goes, a couple picnicking near the bridge had a heated argument. It was so heated, they didn't notice their toddler walking to the bridge.
As the child fell into the chilly waters, they were too into their fight to hear the cries of their baby.
Kimberly Mitchell, a local paranormal historian, described another legend where a woman has a child out of wedlock and is disowned by her family and end her child's life here.
“By the time she has her baby she's starving,” Mitchell said. “After she has the baby, the baby is starving. So, she decides to end the baby's suffering by taking it to Crybaby Bridge and throwing it over the side.”
Even with different versions of the story, the legend always leads to a baby crying under the bridge at around midnight, crying for all eternity to be rescued from this watery grave.
People come here and claim to hear things they can't unhear.
“We did get some EVPs, electronic voice phenomenon, there, and all they would ever say was 'Get out!'” Mitchell said.
It's not just the bridge that's said to be haunted in that area. In fact, people who live in the area say all of Egypt Road is haunted.
“People start seeing a large, dark figure that either crosses the road on Pine Lake or they see it on Egypt Road,” Mitchell said. “Many people believe this is the ghost of the father who lost the child. He's referred to as the Dark Man of the Woods.”Whether it's the cries of a ghost child or the visions of a dark figure forever haunting the woods, people swear this area is full of paranormal activity, even though there isn't any proof that a child was killed here.
“People want to believe. They want to have an adventure,” Mitchell said. “I think they want to believe things you can't explain.”
So some night if you find yourself in a dark place and see or hear something you can't explain, maybe it's best if you leave quickly to ensure you don't become a legend yourself.