Gold Brook Covered Bridge

Gold Brook Covered Bridge
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Nearest city	Stowe, Vermont
Coordinates	44°26′25.04″N 72°40′49.32″W / 44.4402889°N 72.6803667°W / 44.4402889; -72.6803667Coordinates: 44°26′25.04″N 72°40′49.32″W / 44.4402889°N 72.6803667°W / 44.4402889; -72.6803667
Built	1844
Architect	Smith, John W.
NRHP Reference #	74000224 [1]
Added to NRHP	October 1, 1974

Gold Brook Covered Bridge, also known as Stowe Hollow Bridge or Emily's Bridge, is a small wooden covered bridge in the town of Stowe, Lamoille County, Vermont, running Covered Bridge Road over Gold Brook. Built in 1844, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

Haunted?

While there is supposedly a gravestone in the Stowe cemetery bearing the name "Emily" there is no record of a ghostly presence before the 1960s. The earliest and best-known written source for the legend is a high school paper written in 1968 or 1969 by a teenager named Susan. According to historian Jill Mudgett, who spoke with Susan in 2012, she "hadn't believed in the ghost herself" and "while her fellow teenagers often visited the bridge in search of thrills, most of them didn't believe the legend, either." A 1978 newspaper story on Emily's Bridge stated that by that point, ten years after Susan wrote the paper, both she and a friend admitted to consulting a Ouija board to form one version of the legend that was included in the high school paper. Other versions in the high school paper came from local residents. The legend of the ghost named Emily was already circulating in the community when Susan wrote her paper (her awareness of the story was what inspired her to pick it for her paper topic). The legend originated sometime during the late 1950s or early 1960s, and likely was the work of other local teenagers. It quickly spread throughout the county.

Several stories explain the name "Emily's Bridge." In one, Emily was to have met her lover (of whom her parents did not approve) at the bridge so they could elope. Emily waited at the bridge, but her guy never showed up. Brokenhearted, she hanged herself from a rafter.

Another says Emily, on her way to her wedding, was run down by a runaway team of horses (or her horse threw her and she plunged to the rocks below the bridge).

Or, homely Emily was pregnant by her boyfriend, who hanged himself on the bridge when her father demanded marriage. After the birth of twins, Emily did the same.^[2]

One woman said she made up the story to keep her children from crossing the bridge.

Regardless of which story is to be believed, there are various accounts of first-hand experiences with Emily's ghost, said to be quite threatening (many people refuse to cross the bridge alone or at night); there are just as many debunks of those stories. Most paranormal experts that visit the bridge do not find any compelling evidence of activity on the bridge.

Many people that have visited Emilys Bridge have experienced disturbing paranormal activity. People have reported scratch marks appearing on vehicles that were parked on the bridge, and being touched or scratched by Emily's ghost. Often strange noises are heard on the bridge, noises such as footsteps, ropes tightening, and a girl screaming. Many also have reported seeing a white apparition around the area of Emily's Bridge. People that have parked their vehicle on the haunted bridge say they tend to hear banging noses from Emily hitting the vehicle on the outside, or the sound of something dragging across the top of the car. The most paranormal events tend to take place between the hours of dusk and 9pm. Stowe police often do rounds to the bridge since there are so many noise complaints and teenagers drinking under the bridge.

Visitors to the bridge are asked to remain quiet after dark to respect the many Stowe residents who live near the bridge. Visitors are asked not to litter or defame the bridge in any way, as it is a registered National Historical Site. Keep

References

External links

• VPR Commentary on Emily's Bridge