Sharon Brooks

The Amateur Paranormal Hunter at Lydia's Bridge

April 9, 2010 |  2 comments
Image Credit: sxc.hu If you ask most anyone in north eastern North Carolina chances are they have heard of Lydia’s bridge and the story behind it. It has persisted for more than 80 years. The most common version told is that of a young high school girl who, while she and her boyfriend are en route to their prom, he loses control of the car and slams into the bridge abutment, fatally injuring himself. Lydia, stunned and bleeding, crawls from the wreckage and tries in vain to flag down a passing motorist for help. She eventually succumbs to her injuries by the side of the road, unable to get help in time.

This story seems to be a common theme for a haunting through out most of the United States. Just to name a couple there are The Azalia Bridge in Seymour, Indiana and The Henslee Bridge in Arkansas. Each tells a similar story of a life cut down in its prime. Perhaps this is the most haunting part of all the stories, the tragedy of the young lives that are lost.

With the closeness to my home and the persistence of the haunting, I selected this location as my next amateur hunting spot. I mapped out my route and with camera and recorder in hand, headed for the bridge in Jamestown. The original road has been moved over several hundred feet to accommodate a newer bridge, so locating the original bridge is difficult, and finding a place to park off of the busy highway almost impossible. After having tried several different routes to find the closest parking spot, I finally pulled into a new development built behind the original bridge. Parking my jeep along side the curb, I gathered my nerve and tried to blend into the scenery.

As an amateur paranormal hunter I very aware that there are many things, beyond my understanding, that can attach themselves to me and follow me home. Still, I seek further proof of the paranormal realm. So, in the relative safety of the daylight, I arrived closer to dusk, as I felt I would have a better chance of capturing something on film. I wouldn't recommend trying this specific location in the dark, unless you are well prepared. I was glad once I had parked, that I had a little of the waning daylight, otherwise I would have missed the location all together. Since the road itself has been moved and a new bridge built, the old underpass is now nearly invisible due to the overgrowth of kudzu. Finding a footpath is almost impossible. First you must navigate around the houses then the power station and finally down a long treacherous incline that finally leads you to the bridge.

Entering the underpass you immediately notice a temperature drop. I’m sure it is just the coolness of the evening amplified by the dampness of the tunnel. As my eyes adjust I notice graffiti on the walls and broken bottles on the pitted road surface. There seems to be an overwhelming sense of sadness. Perhaps it is just the memory of what has happened here, or Lydia’s own despair permeating the underpass, but there is definitely a feeling to the area. Snapping off some pictures I manage to capture some of the controversial “orbs” but nothing impressive. So using my recorder I begin to ask questions. “Is anyone here with me?” “Can you tell me your name?” “How did you die” I do a quick play back and all I hear is static and the distant sound of traffic, so I take the recorder and place it on the ground while I explore a little more and snap off a few more pictures. Night was beginning to settle in and my nerve was waning with the sunlight, so after a few more minutes I picked the recorder up and headed for the street.

Once I had returned to my jeep I sat and listened to the recorder and reviewed the pictures again. Still nothing impressive on the film and only some faint sounds on the recorder which could have been me moving around the bridge. The only paranormal occurrence I noticed was the overwhelming sense of sadness that took me over once I was inside. I do feel that further investigation is warranted, and if it was done on a night that coincided with a local prom then Lydia just might be coaxed out once more and maybe this time she could find the help she so desperately sought on her own fateful prom night.[!gad]If you ask most anyone in north eastern North Carolina chances are they have heard of Lydia’s bridge and the story behind it. It has persisted for more than 80 years. The most common version told is that of a young high school girl who, while she and her boyfriend are en route to their prom, he loses control of the car and slams into the bridge abutment, fatally injuring himself. Lydia, stunned and bleeding, crawls from the wreckage and tries in vain to flag down a passing motorist for help. She eventually succumbs to her injuries by the side of the road, unable to get help in time.

This story seems to be a common theme for a haunting through out most of the United States. Just to name a couple there are The Azalia Bridge in Seymour, Indiana and The Henslee Bridge in Arkansas. Each tells a similar story of a life cut down in its prime. Perhaps this is the most haunting part of all the stories, the tragedy of the young lives that are lost.

With the closeness to my home and the persistence of the haunting, I selected this location as my next amateur hunting spot. I mapped out my route and with camera and recorder in hand, headed for the bridge in Jamestown. The original road has been moved over several hundred feet to accommodate a newer bridge, so locating the original bridge is difficult, and finding a place to park off of the busy highway almost impossible. After having tried several different routes to find the closest parking spot, I finally pulled into a new development built behind the original bridge. Parking my jeep along side the curb, I gathered my nerve and tried to blend into the scenery.

As an amateur paranormal hunter I very aware that there are many things, beyond my understanding, that can attach themselves to me and follow me home. Still, I seek further proof of the paranormal realm. So, in the relative safety of the daylight, I arrived closer to dusk, as I felt I would have a better chance of capturing something on film. I wouldn't recommend trying this specific location in the dark, unless you are well prepared. I was glad once I had parked, that I had a little of the waning daylight, otherwise I would have missed the location all together. Since the road itself has been moved and a new bridge built, the old underpass is now nearly invisible due to the overgrowth of kudzu. Finding a footpath is almost impossible. First you must navigate around the houses then the power station and finally down a long treacherous incline that finally leads you to the bridge.

Entering the underpass you immediately notice a temperature drop. I’m sure it is just the coolness of the evening amplified by the dampness of the tunnel. As my eyes adjust I notice graffiti on the walls and broken bottles on the pitted road surface. There seems to be an overwhelming sense of sadness. Perhaps it is just the memory of what has happened here, or Lydia’s own despair permeating the underpass, but there is definitely a feeling to the area. Snapping off some pictures I manage to capture some of the controversial “orbs” but nothing impressive. So using my recorder I begin to ask questions. “Is anyone here with me?” “Can you tell me your name?” “How did you die” I do a quick play back and all I hear is static and the distant sound of traffic, so I take the recorder and place it on the ground while I explore a little more and snap off a few more pictures. Night was beginning to settle in and my nerve was waning with the sunlight, so after a few more minutes I picked the recorder up and headed for the street.

Once I had returned to my jeep I sat and listened to the recorder and reviewed the pictures again. Still nothing impressive on the film and only some faint sounds on the recorder which could have been me moving around the bridge. The only paranormal occurrence I noticed was the overwhelming sense of sadness that took me over once I was inside. I do feel that further investigation is warranted, and if it was done on a night that coincided with a local prom then Lydia just might be coaxed out once more and maybe this time she could find the help she so desperately sought on her own fateful prom night. Comments (2)

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