The area around Love Ford Bridge is home to several notorious places, not the least of which is Happy Holler, a bar and sound stage popular with bikers, truckers, and hunters. Just across the road, at the top of a hill derogatorily named after the African Americans thought to be buried there, sits Higgins (Coburn) Cemetery. Strange lights and sounds have been encountered near the cemetery, and it is rumoured to be the site of animal sacrifice and Devil worship. Love Ford Bridge is believed to be haunted by the ghost of an inebriated young man who jumped into the Embarras River and drowned. One eyewitness who spoke to authors Chad Lewis and Terry Fisk claimed that he heard the sound of splashing and laughing coming from the river near the bridge. Thinking that was strange because of the cold weather, he went to investigate and saw “several ghostly figures floating in the water.”
Lakey’s Creek Bridge - McLeansboro, IL
The headless horseman of Lakey’s Creek is quite possibly one of the oldest ghost stories in Illinois. Long before a concrete bridge spanned the shallow creek 1.5 miles east of McLeansboro, a frontiersman named Lakey attempted to erect his log cabin near a ford along the wagon trail to Mt. Vernon. One morning, a lone traveler stumbled upon Lakey’s body. Lakey’s head had been severed by his own axe, which was left at the scene. According to legend, his murderer was never found. For decades after the murder, travellers reported being chased by a headless horseman that rode out of the woods along Lakey’s Creek. “Always the rider, on a large black horse, joined travellers approaching the stream from the east, and always on the downstream side,” John Allen wrote. “Each time and just before reaching the centre of the creek, the mist-like figure would turn downstream and disappear.” The headless horseman has been seen much less frequently in recent years.
Crybaby Bridge - Monmouth, IL
The “Crybaby Bridge” is a common folklore motif in the Midwest, and although the bridges may be different, their stories are very similar. One concerns a young mother who drowned her unwanted child in the river under the bridge, and the infant’s cries can still be heard. Another common story is that a bus or van full of children drove off the bridge, killing everyone inside. Now, if you put your car in neutral while on the bridge, invisible hands will push you safely to the other side. Both of these legends are associated with a steel, graffiti-covered bridge in rural Warren County. One tale particular to this location involves a speeding car full of impetuous youths who struck and killed a fisherman as he cast a line into the creek. Additionally, several people have claimed to hear a baby crying near this bridge.
The Bridges of Blood’s Point - Cherry Valley, IL
A cornucopia of urban legends have attached themselves to this hair-raising-named rural avenue, its neighbouring bridges, and the cemetery of the same name. Along the road, visitors have reported seeing phantom vehicles and a dog with glowing red eyes. According to legend, the railroad bridge was the scene of a deadly school bus accident, as well as more than one hanging. These hangings have also been attributed to an older wooden bridge along nearby Sweeny Road. In one gruesome story, a van full of children coming back from a birthday party spun out of control and plummeted off the side of the bridge. The driver, who was wearing a clown suit, can still sometimes be seen clawing his way back onto the road. The cemetery at the end of the road is said to be visited by a wide variety of phenomenon—from orbs, to a phantom dog, to a vanishing barn, to the disembodied laughter of children and electrical malfunctions. Blood’s Point was named after Arthur Blood, the first white settler of Flora Township. Some locals maintain that he brought a curse with him that remains to this day.
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