Edna Collings Bridge

The Story: It is said that sometime in the early 1920's a little girl would swim in the stream, which the bridge crosses. At the end of the day her parent would drive into the covered bridge, turn off the motor, and honk three times telling the little girl it was time to leave. One day the something had happened to the little girl causing her to drown. They say that if at night you drive into the bridge, turn off the motor, and honk three times that the little girl will come and get in the car with you. 

Location: North of Clinton Falls, Indiana.

Directions: Here is a map of the location.  There are so many different ways to get to the bridge.

I've been to the Edna Collings Bridge several times between 2000-2003, so I can't give you exact dates of my visits. All visits have been between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m.

I have heard a variation of stories surrounding the haunting of this bridge. One story says that a young child died either on the bridge or in the stream that passes under the bridge. In mourning for her child, the mother hung herself. There is a church on the left-hand side before reaching the bridge and supposedly if you stop at this church, there is a noose hanging from the sign (supposedly the same noose that the mother hung herself from). Stories say that if you take a piece of this noose with you onto the bridge, you will see an apparition of the noose and the mother hanging from it.

Another story I have heard, is that a young girl used to swim in the water under the bridge. When her parents came to pick her up, they would signal their arrival by honking their horn three times.  One day the girl never came to her parents because somehow she drowned. It is said that if you stop on this bridge at night and honk three times, the girl will get in the car with you.

I have also heard different stories on how to visit the bridge to witness events that happen there. Since it is only a single lane bridge, only one car is able to occupy the bridge at a time. We have always drove over the bridge and turned around at the first driveway. Far warning though, word has it that the man living at the home in the first driveway on the left is not too keen on visitors and has been known to chase visitors off by shotgun.

I have always been told to turn the car off, lock the doors, roll up the windows, make sure the lights are off and then honk three times. There is even a story saying that you are supposed to remove your keys from the ignition, but if you do so you need to make sure you have a spare set of keys because they may not be there when you go to start your car.

When I had first heard about the bridge and the speculation of it being haunted, I admit to being a bit skeptical about it. Not being one to go off of just hearsay, I decided to join a friend on a visit to investigate this bridge to come to my own conclusion. We took no sort of equipment, just ourselves. Being someone that is able to sense different presences (those living and those not so living), I've always been a welcome addition to visits.

So this night in late 2000, we arrive at the bridge. We drive through the bridge, turn around in the first driveway and then proceed back to the bridge. Before reaching the bridge we roll all of our windows up and lock the doors (I had friend that said that she neglected to lock her door and the door was pulled open while she was on the bridge). We park on the bridge, turn the car off, lights off and honk three times.

Several minutes passed before anything happened. We all heard some noises at first, but we figured that it was just the bridge getting used to the weight of the car. Soon we heard something hit the car. Then one of us would see something out of the corner of our eye very briefly. This kept happening for a while; we would hear something hit somewhere else on the car or one of us would see something from the corner of our eye. Suddenly something we could not see began to toy with the antennae. It would bend it, then let it go, bend it, then let it go. We could see the antennae move and we could hear it making a "boing" noise, but whatever had a hold of it, we could not see. It seemed to stop almost as soon as it started -leaving us all wondering if it had just happened- and there was absolute silence.

The silence didn't last long though. The next thing we know, there is a knock at the driver's window. Next something knocks on my window (I was sitting behind the driver's seat in back). Something then knocks on the trunk. Then the window behind the passenger seat. Then the passenger window where my husband was sitting. The entire time that this was occurring, I could sense whatever it was as it was moving from each side of the car. I couldn't see it, but I could sense it.

While all of this was happening, I stared straight ahead, never looking to my sides. I was too scared to look out my window. That is until I seen something move right by my window. I took a quick glance to my left and something was standing there. Out of fright, I refused to look directly at it, but I could see a figure in the reflection of the driver's rearview mirror. I decided that I had enough of a scare, that I was a little convinced and told the driver to head home.

On the way home we stopped at a gas station so that the driver could assess the "damage" to his car. He said that he always washed his car before going to the bridge and after he visited the bridge he always stopped there to check his car out. The bridge is down a dirt road and the driver had just washed his car before taking us, but there were fingerprints and handprints all over the car. Especially where the windows had been hit. There were also dents on his car that were not previously there.

On another visit, pretty much the same happened. It would sound like something was walking across the bridge, something would hit the car and one of us would see something from the corner of our eye. This time though, we heard what sounded like a child either crying or laughing, and all of us seen a black figure occasionally dart back and forth across the mouth of the bridge.

For some reason, that night felt different than before. I began to have a feeling that something weird was going to happen. It felt as if what we were seeing was happening because we were EXPECTING it to happen. Almost like what we had seen and heard had just been a show to make a mockery of us. Apparently our driver felt the same way. The anticipation we were all feeling was thick in the air and for once, we were all completely silent. Clearing my throat, feeling uneasy, the driver starts the car because he knows that I can sense things and he knows that I feel things are different on this night for some reason. So he pulls the Camaro outside of the bridge a few feet so we can calm our racing hearts. No sooner then we started to calm down, something jumps on the back of the car and hits the rear windshield. None of us dared to look back and the driver gunned the Camaro. I still think that whatever it was was what we had been anticipating.

We get to the same gas station as always to assess the "damage" done to the car. Besides a few dusty swipes here and there, nothing was to be seen. Until we went to check the back of the car out. On the rear windshield there was a handprint. It was smeared as if something had jumped onto the car, hit the rear windshield and then slid off when we sped off.

By far the scariest thing that happened to me on the bridge happened during my last visit there. Up until that night I tried finding rational reason for the happenings during our visits, still kind of skeptical. I was very surprised that night because at first nothing happened. I was pretty psyched too, because for once I got the chance to sit up front. So I'm sitting there, waiting for SOMETHING to happen, but nothing. I'm looking straight ahead and I start to notice all of the lightning bugs that were out that night in front of the bridge. It was a pretty sight, seeing them all light up, but then it was suddenly pitch black.

All of a sudden I see something appear to my left, high up at the mouth of the bridge. What I seen I can only describe as a sheet of fog or a mist forming. I believe it was an apparition of some sort. It started at the upper left hand corner of the mouth of the bridge, glided towards the middle, paused when it was centered with the car (almost like it was looking at us), then continued gliding to the right-hand side of the bridge, traveled to the uppermost right-hand corner and just dissolved. (I cuss myself now for not bringing a camera)

Sometime during the time I was watching the "fog", completely entranced, I begin to strongly sense the presence of something in the car with us. This sense was different than the times before because before it was something on the outside. This time I could sense something really close. Then I started to feel a light, cool breeze move throughout the car, but the windows were all rolled up. Then it started to feel like something was breathing on the back of my neck and suddenly something touched me. Thinking it was Jesse (our driver) I said, "Jesse, did you just touch me?". I could tell Jesse was looking at me, even though it was dark, because I could see how wide his eyes were open. "No Alicia. My hands are on the steering wheel, ready to go whenever you are" he said. Still thinking it was Jesse I say, "Jesse, swear to me, to God, that you did not touch me". Jesse whispers "I swear Alicia. I swear to God and everything holy that I didn't touch you." My husband in the backseat says "I didn't touch you either babe, but I think we need to go". We got out of there as fast as we could, not even stopping at the gas station like always. Whatever it was that was in the car with us, it stayed in the car with us a good part of the ride home. Never before have I ever came so close to pissing myself scared.

Everyone that has visited the bridge with us has left as believers. People that were previously unbelieving all left as believers.

Our thanks to Alicia for sharing this investigation.

Another Investigation at Edna Collings Bridge

When you get to the bridge you are supposed to flash your headlights three times and honk your horn three times while outside of the bridge just before you pull in. You want to make sure your facing east.

While we were in the bridge one night my boyfriend and I were looking around the outside of the bridge when I turned to look at him. When I looked at him I saw a white figure sitting on his lap. I asked him if he was wearing a white shirt but of course he wasn't. Well we decided to leave. When we got back to his house we looked at our vehicle and noticed two little hand prints from what appeared to be a child. None of us had children at the time. I know this sounds crazy, but I can tell you I think the little girl decides who she wants to show herself to. I have many friends who have had similar experiences at this bridge.

Click Here To See The Results From The Force's Investigation At The Edna Collings Bridge.