Michigan's Haunted Bridge

Photo by Nathan Holth, via A Bewitching Guide to Halloween

I'm really on a haunted bridge kick this month! Today's blog post in my Haunted America series joins other bridges across the United States in Indiana and Minnesota. It is the short, and somewhat confusing tale of a haunted Crawford Road Bridge near Cass City, Michigan. 

Cass City, Michigan isn't really a city. It's actually a rather small (1.79 square miles) village in Elkland Township, Michigan. Found in the 'thumb' area of Michigan's mitten, the village was incorporated in 1883, with its first permanent settlers having been in the area since the 1850's. 

A local legend states that some time during the 1800's before a proper bridge was built, a woman was crossing the creek area alone by horse and buggy. At the time, the 'bridge' had no safety railing and when one of the wheels of the buggy left the roadway, the buggy tipped off the bridge, landing upside down. The lady was pinned underneath it, trapped in less than two feet of water. She frantically flailed her body, but she remained pinned and tragically, she drowned before help could arrive. 

Since that time, on foggy nights, legend seekers and ghost enthusiasts flock to the area to experience the ghost of the poor woman who drowned at Crawford Road Bridge. Faint cries for help have been reported, and some have even seen what appears to be a ghostly hand emerge from the side of the bridge, desperately trying to motion for help. Even more frightening, some people say that a woman wearing 1800's clothing will crawl up and over the side of the bridge, stand up, and walk towards them, soaking wet. 

As captivating as this story is, there really isn't much written about it online. The information above came from an article published on 21 January 2021 by John Robinson on the 99.1 WFMK website. Make sure to check it out for photos of and directions to get to the area! 

A Bewitching Guide to Halloween also features the Crawford Road Bridge story from an August 2020 blog post which states that the bridge in question was built in 1917 over Big Drain Creek, and that the decorative railing is all the remains today.