For many genealogists, Halloween is a very enjoyable time of year. It just makes sense for people who love finding out about people and things from the past to savor a time of year when history is often brought to life through ghost tours and other haunted happenings that are based upon historical events. Today, I decided to see what events are happening this year around where I live. My family is not from around here, but some families that I know have lived in Vermont for many generations so some of these events and places are things that people in their families may have been aware of at the time that they were actually happening.
Vermont has many beautiful covered bridges. This time of year is a wonderful time to go out looking at covered bridges set against a spectacular backdrop of fall foliage. There is a covered bridge in the town of Stowe that is haunted. Emily’s bridge is also called the Gold Brook Bridge, and the story associated with the bridge involves a classic Romeo and Juliet type of romance. When Emily and her beau were supposed to meet in secret at the bridge, he never showed up. There are a few theories as to why, such as that he was harmed by members of her family along his way to meet her. At any rate, the young woman was enraged and began pounding at the bridge in desperation. According to local lore, Emily became so distraught that she hung herself from one of the rafters inside of the bridge. Many local people avoid going near the bridge at night, stating that they have heard screaming and pounding coming from inside the bridge when no one is on it. Others have reported scratch marks on their cars, and even more disturbingly on themselves after having gone through the bridge.
Other historical haunted happenings in Vermont include tours of the Wilson Castle in Proctor, where visitors and paranormal investigators have experienced the presence of ghosts, and the Queen City Ghostwalk in Burlington. The Ghostwalk actually has two tours, one of downtown Burlington and one at the University of Vermont, which is apparently a very haunted university.
Photo by imelenchon on morguefile.com.