Contributor: Elise
Informant: Lauren Poland
Tag: Avon, IN Bridge
Semester/Year: Fall/2005
“In Avon Indiana there is a bridge that is said to be haunted. It happened about 60 years ago on a cold dark and rainy Halloween night a mother and her infant son decided to go trick or treating. But because they were poor they were unable to drive a car into to town. The family lived in a dark alley and therefore for them to get into the neighborhood to trick or treat they would have to walk on the railroad tracks. The family decided to start their night early because it would be a long walk. The mother had not had time to feed her infant before they left. So during the walk the infant began to cry very very loud. The mother while trying to comfort her son while walking on the track got her shoelace stuck in the track. As she bent down and tried to free her shoe she was unable to have…hear the sound of the roaring train over the load screams of her baby and thunderstorm. The mother and baby were both flattened by the train. And now they say that when you go to the bridge on Halloween night you can still hear that baby crying.”
Context:
The informant’s name is Lauren Poland and she has lived in Central Indiana for most of her life. The interview was conducted in the informants’ room on a cold wintry night and was tape recorded. Lauren is a freshman at Indiana University and is originally from Avon Indiana. Lauren is 19 and female. This legend has been passed down from generation to generation and was originally told to her by her Grandfather.