Type
Covered bridge over water
Legend
It is said that many years ago, a young woman who lived in the area simply decided she just didn’t want her baby anymore. So she walked to the middle of the bridge late one night and threw the child off the bridge into the water below. Legend has it that anyone brave enough to walk across the bridge at night will be able to hear the sounds of a baby crying.
Ritual
Apparently, you just need to make sure that the sun has completely set before you decide to walk across the bridge. Although not officially part of the ritual, it is often pointed out that this bridge has a unique attribute: A pedestrian walkway built along the outside of the bridge. This suggests that in order to hear the baby cry, you need to walk across the bridge using the pedestrian walkway as opposed to walking down the middle of the bridge. Certainly a lot safer and I can’t stress enough the dangers of attempting to walk down the middle of a vehicle bridge, even in broad daylight.
Location
The bridge is located around the 100 block of Arlington Road in Newton Falls, Ohio. It crosses over the Mahoning River.
Notes
Ghostly urban legend aside, this is a really cool bridge with some history attached to it. Originally constructed in 1831, this bridge is currently the oldest covered bridge in Ohio that’s still in service on the spot where it was originally erected. On top of that, almost 100 years after its original construction, a covered pedestrian walkway, running the entire span of the bridge, was added to the outside of the structure. Aside from the walkway, the bridge looks essentially the same as it did when it was originally built, despite having been restored and repaired several times over the years, including when it was damaged by a tornado in the 1980s:
At present time, there’s nothing to substantiate that anything similar to the event described in the legend happened here. So far, it appears that this became a crybaby bridge simply due to its unique appearance. In fact, all of the people I interviewed who either knew the location’s legend or had personally visited the bridge (or both), no one admitted to ever hearing a baby cry. So if you have, I want to hear from you!
Personal Experiences
Got a story to tell? Tell me about it!
There’s nothing out there. The bridge is pretty cool, though.
–Marvin L., Newton Falls, OH
The bridge is fun to walk across and you get this weird feeling whenever you’re walking across it and cars go past you. But I have been out there dozens of times, even at night, and I’ve never heard anything.
–Angela C., Boardman, OH
I know some people that said they would hide on the walkway at night and yell at cars as they went by to try and scare them. Nobody really believes there’s a ghost baby out there, though.
–Joan L., Youngstown, OH
Additional Information
Dead Ohio: Newton Falls
Forgotten Ohio: Newton Falls Crybaby Bridge
Newton Falls Covered Bridge
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