Nerds Republic

When you think about your local playground, your immediate thought is never “It’s nice, but it would be a lot nicer if it was right next to a graveyard.” To be honest, not even the people of Huntsville, Alabama, thought this when they built Drost Park, more commonly known as “The Dead Children’s Playground.”

This is no ordinary playground, as you might have already guessed from the name. It’s actually located within a cemetery.

Imgur

At the back of the Maple Hill Cemetery in Huntsville, you’ll find this wonderfully innocent playground. Sounds like a great spot to take the kids, right?

Imgur

That’s until you hear the local urban legends about the park, of course.

Imgur

According to local lore, a serial killer in the 1940s terrorized the town of Huntsville. Locals say that the killer used to dump the bodies of his victims in the empty field adjacent to the playground. Some say that the killer lived in a nearby abandoned mine shaft, since police never caught him.

Despite its creepiness, locals have a special love of Drost Park, even thought many of them choose to stay away.

Flickr / Shannon

In 2007, the old playground was torn down to make room for the cemetery to expand.

Flickr / James Reynolds

In response, the townspeople protested and the playground was replaced with all new equipment and declared a protected park.

Despite the local love for the park, many people try their best to avoid it, especially at night.

Imgur

After the sun goes down, it’s said that the ghosts come out to play. Visitors have reported the sound of feet running, children’s laughter, and the swings swinging wildly all by themselves. The picture above was taken at night before the old equipment was replaced. Those sure do look like a pair of ghostly eyes looking at the camera.

(via Reddit)

Now that is what I call a good ghost story. Whether those local legends are true or not is up for you to decide. However, in the last photo where the ghostly “eyes” appear is a solid wall of rock, so just let that sink in…

There are plenty of haunted bridges out there. They’re usually accompanied by urban legends of murders, accidents, and suicides. Bridges are symbols of crossing over, linking two places, and spanning the abyss of the unknown. That makes them perfect homes for haunted souls, but all the tales that we know and love involve humans.

The Overtoun Bridge in Scotland, however, is home to an entirely different kind of haunting. For one thing, it’s actually been recorded, and for another, it involves dogs.

The Overtoun Bridge is located near Overtoun House — a Gothic-style castle built in 1862. The bridge isn’t anything special…aside from the fact that it’s a place where dogs inexplicably leap to their deaths.

Wikimedia Commons / Allan Ogg

This bizarre occurrence has been happening since the middle of the 20th century. Built in 1895, the bridge existed without any issues until that point. But since the 1950s, dogs have been hurling themselves over the side of the bridge. Creepier still? Dogs that survived and were brought back to the site tried to jump again. So what happened in the ’50s to cause all of this?

While researching cases of canine suicide, people found that they all jumped from one side of the bridge, and only on clear days. The dogs were also all breeds with long snouts, which led people to believe that something olfactory was afoot.

The main theory is that the area below the bridge is populated with minks, and the smell of mink urine whips the dogs into a frenzy. A test showed that many dogs reacted strongly to the scent. Still, would the instinct to hunt really overcome the instinct to survive?

This is a mink. It’s probably not worth trading in your survival instincts.

Flickr / Airwolfhound

The mink theory seems possible, but longtime resident and avid hunter John Joyce maintains that “there is no mink around here. I can tell you that with absolute certainty.”

That’s why many feel that there’s something more sinister at play. Religion and philosophy teacher Paul Owens recounts his experience: “I was standing there two years ago when I felt a firm, hard prod that felt like a finger. Something or someone was trying to push me over the bridge, just like the dogs.” Others speak of a “White Lady of Overtoun” who haunts the area.

Someone else felt the bridge’s deadly draw, too. In 1994, a man threw his infant son from the bridge, believing that the baby was the Devil. He then tried to throw himself over, but was stopped. Tragically, the baby died.

Here’s the archway under the bridge. We don’t have any information about how dogs behave when they’re down here.

Geograph / Lairich Rig

(via Metro, Atlas Obscura, Wikipedia)

To this day, no one really knows what’s going on at Overton Bridge that makes dogs behave so recklessly. Whether it’s minks or supernatural forces, something is endangering dogs on this bridge. Visitors with dogs are advised to keep them on short leashes at all times, and to keep them away from the edge. If you’re visiting Scotland with your dog, consider taking it for a walk elsewhere.

For more bridges, urban legends, and general creepiness, you need to read these: