Haunted Indiana - Crybaby Bridge in Anderson, Indiana

 Anderson's Crybaby Bridge - Photo from Amanda Malone, Pinterest

I'm a big fan of the old Crybaby Bridge legend, mainly because they seem to pop up so often in the Midwest. While you'll also find them in other regions, it seems like the Midwest has a lock on them. Given what's happened in the last few years to women's rights, it looks like our women were always oppressed. Anderson, Indiana has a Crybaby Bridge that isn't quite as well known as some of the others I heard about, but it has a familiar story.

Located on County Road 675 in Madison County, this bridge is hard to find a lot of information about. It doesn't help that Anderson, South Carolina is home to a Crybaby Bridge of its own. I didn't even have any luck finding its official name or when it was built.

Legend says that a young family was driving late at night when they reached the bridge. County Road 675 is quite rural without many people around. The couple were in the middle of an argument when the man lost control of the car. They crashed into the middle of the metal bridge. Riding in the backseat without a car seat or any protective measures was their young child. The crash sent him straight through the windshield and across the metal spans to the water below.

The rural location of the bridge made the incident even worse. It took hours before anyone came across the crash and found the two dead parents still in the car. When the police arrived, they did a quick search and then called a tow truck to take the vehicle to nearby Anderson. No one knew the baby was still alive, leaving him to die alone in the cold water.

A story from Indiana Memory's Digital Library comes from an Indiana State University student who grew up near the bridge. He claims the local story was quite different. It wasn't a man and woman driving that night but just a young woman with her baby in tow. She somehow crashed into the bridge and died at the scene, not knowing the fate of her young son who wound up in the water. As with the other story, police arrived, quickly cleared the scene, and didn't know of the child left behind.

He goes on to say that his stepfather took both him and his sister to the Crybaby Bridge one night and told them the story. After shutting off the car, they could hear the clear sounds of a baby crying. When his sister begged him to go home, the stepfather realized the car would not start. Suddenly and without warning, a large black dog came out of nowhere and began growling at them. It took some time for the man to get rid of the dog and get the vehicle started again.

One of the worst versions of the story concerns a teenage girl. When she learned she was pregnant and told her boyfriend, he laughed at her and claimed the baby wasn't his. Left alone and worrying about what the future held, she kept her pregnancy a secret. On the night she went into labor, she called some friends who tried to rush her to the hospital.

They made it just to the bridge before she gave birth. Worried about what her parents would say, she threw the baby over the side of the bridge in a panic. Hearing the baby cry, she and her friends bolted for the safety of home. As the guilt washed over her, she decided to return – only to find her baby landed on a hard rock where he likely screamed and cried for hours in pain before his death. Quietly, she walked back to the bridge and then hurled herself over the side.

Visitors now hear the sounds of a baby crying late at night when no children are nearby. Some, like the man above, found their cars would no longer start when they turned them off. A few visitors even had to call for a jump start.

You can visit the Crybaby Bridge on County Road 657 in Madison County, Indiana, close to Anderson. Please use caution though as people who live nearby often call the police on visitors, especially those spotted at night.