The Mystery of the Oviedo Lights

 By Diamond Stevens

The image that is shown above is located between Snow Hill and Chuluota. It is a bridge that crosses the Ekonlockhatchee River. The younger people would go to this bridge at midnight to see the Oviedo lights known as “Ghost Lights.” These lights only appeared late at night. People would come from all parts of Florida just to see them. It was rumored that cars that passed by would be chased by the Ghost Lights. There had been sightings of ghost lights for at least 50 years. What witnesses said they saw were two lights that were light green. The lights would hover in the woods and reflect on cars that passed by.

There was one incident where two teen boys had gotten into a bad car crash. It was mentioned that the Oviedo lights were the cause of the accident. The names of the boys remain unknown. For a while after that terrible incident the Oviedo Lights calmed down a bit up until the 1970’s and 80’s. It has been a big topic ever since.

 

 

 

The image seen above was taken on the bridge where a young man took his own life after losing a loved one. It is claimed that the ghost of this young man has been seen in the area below the bridge that he ended his life on. There was once a smaller bridge there, which was a popular place to park at midnight. If you turned your car lights off, you would see a blue like gas with a yellow glow as described. These Oviedo Lights were seen on the bridge and sometimes over the river.

Work cited:
Jacobs, Karen. “The Oviedo Lights.,” weirdus.com.www.weirdus.com/stories/Florida/.accessed
24 october.2021

“Ghost stories and Folklore of Florida the Oviedo Lights.” quotev.com, 2015,
www.quotev.com/story/ghost-stories/

Pankowski, Mark. “Ghostly lights still a mystery Oviedo apparition never been explained.”
Orlandosentinel.com, 2021, www.Orlandosentinel.com/news/

Tilford, Julia. "The Oviedo Lights: Scientific Phenomenon or inexplicable Sighting.” Riley's
Est,1918,2021, www.ripleys.com/weird-news/the-Oviedo-light/

“Is the bridge haunted?? Oviedo lights.” YouTube, 2 July 2019,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5JkpBXQPR/

Links for Further Research:

Oviedo Lights- Chuluota Lights
https://www.hauntedplaces.org/item/oviedo-lights-chuluota-lights/
This source has an overview of a brief summary of the Oviedo lights

Haunted or Haux: Seven Spooky Places in Orlando
https://www.hauntedplaces.org/item/oviedo-lights-chuluota-lights/
This article talks about several haunted places in Florida including information about the Oviedo
Lights.

10-Most Terrifying Roads in Florida
https://backpackerverse.com/10-most-terrifying-haunted-roads-in-florida/
This web source is showing you the top 10 terrifying roads in Florida and has some basic
information on the Ghost Light hauntings.

Love Lock Bridges of Paris

by Tamara Chavarria

Photo of The Pont des Art Bridge in Paris France crossing the Seine river, filled with locks
by Janna Kahila  http://www.jkahilaphotography.com/

Most couples dream of going to the city of love wanting to have something to secure their love. In Paris the Pont des Art Bridge has become a popular place where couples and tourists have created the lock tradition. They buy locks from the local street vendors and write their names and lovers on the locks and throw the key in the river that the Pont des Art Bridge crosses, the Seine river. The bridge according from Alissa J Ruben and Aurelien Breeden article has seven arches and was built under the rule of Napoleon. In 2015 the lock tradition ended because of people believing the locks were affecting the bridge and the environment.

In Roslyn Sulcas article she gives the reasons why people thought we should stop putting locks on bridges and that is because the bridge has been closed before. Other bridges around the world have experienced the same problems such as bridges in Brussel and Berlin. This bridge also had past damage from World War 1 and 2 from two aerial bombardments. With all these things wrong with the bridge plus together with the locks that was said to weigh as much as two semitrailers. All these difficulties with the bridge really made people fear for their safety so they cut off the locks on the bridge in 2016.

Alissa J Rubin and Gala Pinanigiani in their article argued that the bridge was beautiful before the locks. It was a beautiful spot in Paris where art exhibitions were held and painters could get a unique view or even have a picnic. The steel bridge resembled a suspended garden with trees, bank of flowers, and benches and is famous for being featured in the movie Le Pont Des Arts. But what really brought this love lock tradition to an end in 2015 was people who thought that there could be an alternative to the locks. They believed it could be fixed with the help of tourists and citizens.

To accomplish this in the article from Roslyn Sulcas said that they have made petitions on change.org and even made the bridge part of the World Heritage Site. Also in the article “Moving On after Love’s Bonds are Broken.” By Roslyn Sulcus, Anne Hidalgo the mayor also believed this was a big problem for the city and bridge. Like the quote in Roden Frankie’s article says “For reason of security, we have to find an alternative to these padlocks of love”. Instead of using the locks they could find a different way to symbolize their love such as Roden Frankie states in his article. To restore the Pont des Arts Bridge back to its former glory is by removing the locks finding a solution and ending this love hate relationship.

Pont des Arts: A Bridge of Love in Paris

Works Cited:
Rodon, Frankie. Huffington Post “Love Locks: The History And Appeal.” Aug, 28, 2015, ttps://www.huffingtonpost.com/frankie-rendon/love-locks-the-history-an_1_b_8056154.html Accessed October 12, 2018

Alissa J Ruben,; Breeden, Aurelien. 4 “Showing Love For Historic Bridge, Paris Removes Tons of Padlocks.” New York Times, Vol.164, No 56885, June, 2, 2015, pp.A4-A4. Academic Search Premier https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.usca.edu/docview/2074320533?accountid=25998

Rubin, Alissa J; Pianigiani, Gala. “On Bridges in Paris, Clanking With Love.” New York Times, Vol.163, No 56485, April, 28, 2014, pp. A7-A7. 5 Academic Search Premier https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.usca.edu/docview/1941458572?accountid=25998

Sablich, Justin. “Despite Concerns, Love Locks Prevail.” New York Times, Vol.165, No 57037, Nov, 1, 2015, pp. 2-2. 5 Academic Search Premier https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.usca.edu/docview/2074617369?accountid=25998

Sulcas, Roslyn. “Moving On After Love’s Bonds are Broken.” The New York Times, New York Times edition, June, 12, 2015, pp.A4 ttps://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/12/world/europe/paris-and-lovers-look-to-move-on-after-breakup-with-bridges-locks.html

FilipinoWebChannel, “Pont des Arts: A Bridge of Love in Paris” YouTube video, 2:38, Posted by FilipinoWebChannel, Jun 26, 2014,

Kahila, Janne, Pont des Arts, Jan 29,2014, Paris, flicker https://www.flickr.com/photos/janneka/12203329724

Links for Further Research:
Come to Paris: Pont des Arts
https://www.cometoparis.com/paris-guide/paris-monuments/pont-des-arts-s959 
The above link directs you to a website giving more information on the history of the Pont des Art Bridge and includes a map of its location and a list of varies activates to do in Paris

Le pont des Arts. Film.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0410466/ 
The above link is a movie that was filmed on November, 10, 2004 Paris that features the Pont Des Arts Bridge Directed by Eugène Green Pierre and stars Adrien Michaux, Natacha Régnier, and Alexis Loret.

Come to Paris: History of the bridges to Paris
https://www.cometoparis.com/secrets-and-stories-of-paris/history-of-the-bridges-of-paris-s1066 Above is a link that gives history on all the bridges in Paris and includes pictures

Crybaby Bridge

by Jessica Craig

Crybaby Bridge located in Anderson, South Carolina that is no longer available to vehicular traffic

 Stepping out of your vehicle, and placing the keys on top of the hood begins the awakening of a mother and infants spirits. Placing baby powder around the hood, and chanting “I have your baby, I have your baby,” will result in your vehicles keys going missing, with prints of a baby’s foot showing up in the baby powder. All occurring on the famous Crybaby Bridge. Readers may view it just as a basic bridge, but the legend behind Crybaby Bridge holds more than just tread marks. Recognized as the bridge that holds a mother and an infant’s spirit.  Crybaby Bridge is distinguished as a nickname given to bridges all over the United states, including places such as: Ohio, Virginia, Oklahoma, Maryland, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah.

 Legend states that if you park on one of the existing Crybaby Bridges that you can hear a cry of a baby or scream from a women. Each Bridge in the United States has their own account behind the myth. Ohio, being the most famous bridge of them all, tells the story as a couple arguing, and the women jumping out and getting hit by a car, which explains why citizens hear the scream of a women while crossing the bridge. Oklahoma, holding the plot twist of them all, reading as not only one child but several children were thrown of the side of the railing by their mother, because they all were a result of her being molested. Texas, where you can hear the crying from a women below the waters of the bridge, whom was killed by her husband, who soon drowned the baby along with the mother. South Carolina, holding the original and most famous myth of them all, containing the mother throwing the infant over the railing then soon hanging herself. Being a citizen living in South Carolina, I have visited the local bridge located in Edgefield, SC. Driving down the spooky trail, we rolled the windows down and instantly I heard women like screams, hearing the screeching my friend had slammed on brakes, and while sitting there in silence our back windshield shattered. 

The definition of an urban legend or a myth is just that: Crybaby Bridge. Depending on one’s belief as far as hauntings or spirits, the noises could actually be from nature itself meaning old wood, old bridges, waterways, or animals in the woods, but the myths keep it intriguing and brings people in from all over the country to experience the historical momentum of the urban legend. Crybaby Bridge could also be just a memorable scare for local citizens. Feel free to visit this historical haunting for a bridge or just the beauty of the nature around it or to make the hair stand up on your neck, either way they are worth the visit. There is nowhere to run, or nowhere to hide from the spirits of Crybaby Bridge.  

Works Cited:

Summers, Ken. “Troubled Waterways: Origins of The Crybaby Bridge Legend.” Week In Weird, 2011, http://weekinweird.com/2011/09/03/troubled-waterways-origins-crybaby-bridge-legend/ 

Jarvis, Robin. “The Stories Behind These 9 Haunted Bridges In South Carolina Will Keep You Up At Night.” Only In Your State, 2016, https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/south-carolina/haunted-bridges-in-sc/ 

Willis, James. “Crybaby Bridge Project.” The Strange and Spooky World of James A. Willis. https://strangeandspookyworld.com/crybaby-bridge-project/ 

Lamkin, Virginia. “Crybaby Bridge: Monmouth, Illinois.” Seeks Ghost. 2012, https://seeksghosts.blogspot.com/2012/12/crybaby-bridge-monmouth-illinois.html 


Hudson, Marilyn. “Crybaby Bridge-Oklahoma Style.”2007, http://mystorical.blogspot.com/2010/07/cry-baby-bridge-oklahoma-style.html 

Links For Further Research:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYfxYbR6HEI 

Although this video is creepy it holds a documentary of the urban legend of “Crybaby Bridge.”

Your Love Locked Out

Nahtanoj Ecyb

The beginning of locking your love

Paris, France is an amazing place many lovers go and experience the magic of the city of love, but one of the most famous tourist traditions has been put on hold for the Pont Des Arts Bridge famous of the love locks lovers lock on the bridge is no more. For the bridge famous for love can no longer bare the weight of people’s love locks. Which has many lovers disappointed over this fact for they were not about to put their on locks on the bridge and lock in their love.

 

The Pont des Arts Bridge was built in 1801 and orders from Napoleon. The bridge is crosses over the Seine River. The bridge is not the same as it is today, for when first build it was an iron bridge which was the first one in France. The bridge was damaged from bombings during WWI, WWII, and boats colliding into it. The current Pont des Arts Bridge which was built identically from the first was made from steel. The Bridge is now a spot for art show.

Pont des Arts is not just a regular bridge for it had a mystery surrounding it which involved love locks. It seems that no one knows who started the trends or when it started, but some people have come up with a legend that states the origins of love locks and why there so popular.  “Legend states that just before World War II, in the town of Vrnjacka Banja, a couple named Nada and Relja found themselves embroiled in a passionate, amorous tryst. When war broke out, Relja enlisted in the army, and Nada pledged to faithfully await his return; however, she later discovered that Relja had fallen for another woman while away on the frontlines. As the story goes, Nada died from a broken heart, and in her memory, other village girls began attaching padlocks onto the Most Ljubavi Bridge (translated: “Bridge of Love”), where Nada and Relja once spent their time. On these padlocks, each girl wrote her name alongside her beloved’s name to ensure that special someone wouldn’t leave as Relja had”. (Rendón)

The Love lock mystery in Paris is believed to have started in 2008 when couples travel to Paris and arrive to the bridge and engraved their names onto the locks placing it anywhere on the bridge and throws the key into the river. This show of love continued on tell June of 2015 when the city had the panels where most of the locks were on the bridge remove, for the weight of the locks where destroying the panels and causing a safety problem for the bridge was not made to hold the amount of weight all the locks added up to which was about forty tons. The city is now replacing the panels with glass with artist drawing. Now the bridge is used to have art shows.

           

Love Locks are not just popular in Paris but many places in the world and the city were the love lock trends is have made the locks in to a piece of art work, for example in Moscow, Russia the locks are attached on a man-made metal tree, and Toronto, Canada there are heart shaped sculptures couples can put their padlocks, so that they want put it on the Humber Bay Arch Bridge. 

Work Citied:

“PONT DES ARTS BRIDGE” NAPOLEON.org, http://www.napoleon.org/en/magazine/places/pont-des-arts-bridge/. Accessed 11 Oct. 2016.

CBS This Morning. “Paris removes “love locks” over weight fears.” YouTube, 1 Jun. 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7xxHXioddI.

Fouquet Helene., and Mark Deen."Locked and overloaded; Parisian bridges threatened by weight of countless 'love locks' left on railings." The Gazette (Montreal), 10 June. 2014, http://www.lexisnexis.com.ezproxy.usca.edu:2048/hottopics/lnacademic/. Accessed 7 Oct. 2016.

Key, Derek. Pont Des Arts, Paris. 9 April. 2013, Commons. Wikimedia, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pont_des_Arts,_Paris_9_April_2013.jpg.

Morenne Benoit. “Paris Bridge of Love Locks Now One of Sculptures.” The New York Times, 25 May. 2016. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/26/world/europe/paris-bridge-of-love-locks-now-one-of-sculptures.html. Accessed 9 Oct. 2016

Rendón, Frankie. “Love Locks: The History and Appeal” The Huffington Post.com, 28 Aug 2016, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frankie-rendon/love-locks-the-history-an_1_b_8056154.html/. Accessed 11 Oct. 2016.

BBC New. “ ’Lovelocks’ collapse Paris bridge rail- BBC News” YouTube, 9 June. 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSM3AreSiAA

Other sources:

No Love Locks

https://nolovelocks.com/

A website of a petition that locals in Paris made to ban people putting love locks on the bridge

Love Locks online

http://lovelocksonline.com/blog/

A website that promotes the custom of placing lovelocks on landmarks.

New York Post

http://nypost.com/2016/10/06/city-is-sick-of-couples-leaving-love-locks-on-brooklyn-bridge/

Tells the problems of that hanging love locks on the Brooklyn Bridge. Which is a similar case to Pont Des Art Bridge

Cry Baby Bridge

Rylie Thurman

Throughout the United States there are lots of “Cry Baby Bridges” each one has their own legend behind it but they all relate to a incident with a mother and her baby.

In the article the, bridge in South Carolina just north of Pageland claims to have a Cry Baby Bridge. This tells a story about a women and her new born baby. The story is that the women and her baby were one the way back home one night and she was extremely tired and ready to get home because her husband was coming home the next day from fighting in a war and she was ready to see him. The next thing she knew she took the turn around the bridge to fast and she soon realized that her baby had been thrown from the car. She was looking and looking and couldn’t find her baby but could hear him. The baby’s cry got faint and she couldn’t find him. It is said that if you go to the bridge at night time and turn your car off, you will hear the cry of the baby.

In Wood Bridge, New Jersey there is a legend that goes along with there Cry Baby Bridge that there was a couple who just had a baby and the man got very jealous that his wife was showing the baby more attention and ended up throwing the baby off of the bridge and killing his wife. The legend says that if you go to the bridge in New Jersey you will hear the ghost of the baby cry and feel your car move like someone is pushing it.

In Saraland, Alabama the Cry Baby Bridge and is said to be one of the most haunted places in America. The story is that a plantation owner caught his wife in the arms of his biggest and strongest slaves. When the women found out that she was going to have the slaves child, she carried the baby until full term and then drowned the baby in the creek under the bridge. Its said that the ghost of the women and child are still heard.

In Millington, Maryland the legend goes there was a teenager girl who was about to become a mother and right when she had the baby, she found out that he had deformed legs. She took the baby to the bridge and tossed him over. It is said now that he is a ghost with very strong legs, knocking over trees with his crying fits. All of the trees that have fallen in the area are blamed on the ghost. There has been people with experiences with this bride, such as their car not wanting to start and hearing gurgling sounds in the water below.

This image was caught by a person who has visited this bridge in Maryland.

In Aiken, South Carolina where I attend college there is said to be a Cry Baby Bridge, the story is that the mother killed her baby because she thought the child was interfering with her and her husband. I think it would be cool to go visit to see if one of these bridges is really haunted. 

Works Cited:

Seegars. “The REAL Cry Baby Bridge.” 7 May. 2007, https://strangetalespodcast.wordpress.com/2007/05/28/the-real-crybaby-creek-bridge/

                                                                                                                            

Abbey. “Cry Baby Bridge Ghost Story.” http://www.angelsghosts.com/cry_baby_bridge_scary_ghost_story. Accessed 13 October. 2016

Herman, Amanda. “Cry Baby Bridge” http://www.serpentsofbienville.com/cry-baby-bridge/ Date accessed 17 October 2016.

“Cry Baby Bridge” http://www.hauntedplaces.org/item/cry-baby-bridge/ Date accessed 17 October 2016.

Giant’s Causeway

Author: Zack Eller

The Giant’s Causeway is a geological wonder located in northeastern Ireland. According to experts from the Northern Ireland Guide, it is made from volcanic activity between 50 and 60 million years ago, during the tertiary period,  that later cooled and cracked (McGarry). The Giant’s Causeway is on the northeastern coast of Ireland that borders the Atlantic Ocean. At one time the area was believed to be a mound shape, but the water from the ocean got between some of the cooled lava making the pillars. After time the water from the ocean and the naturally occurring ocean breeze eroded the areas between the pillars even more, making the crevices between the pillars wider and deeper.

There are roughly 40,000 pillars, some of which can reach up to 39 feet in height. For the most part, they are hexagonal shaped, but some have as few as four sides and as many as eight sides. There is no answer to the question of why and how all of the pillars are between four and eight sided, and how none of them are connected (McGarry). All that is known is that there are many columns that make for a great tourist attraction as well as many stories that can be thought of about the origin of this masterpiece made by Mother Nature.

All of the columns are made of Basalt. According to the Stone Store, experts on rock formation and different kinds of stone, Basalt is made from cooled lava that is tens of millions of years old. The color originally starts as black, but after millions of years of weathering and erosion, the colors can change like they did on the Giant’s Causeway (Basalt Columns). This is a great piece of evidence about the natural formation of the Giant’s Causeway.

There are also many myths about the formation of the Giant’s Causeway. The most popular myth is that Finn McCool, an Irish giant, heard Scottish soldiers yelling insults across the channel. Finn began to throw pieces of earth into the ocean so that he could make a bridge to Scotland. After completing the bridge, he grew very tired and he needed to sleep. Before he went to sleep, he told his wife to dress him up as a baby. She did, and then when the invaders from Scotland came over, they saw Finn dressed up as the baby. The Scottish soldiers saw the vast size of the so-called baby and saw that he was a giant and they wondered about the size of his father. They fled before they could find out. When they retreated back to Scotland, they destroyed the rest of the bridge so the giant could not follow them (McGarry).

According to Voices from the Dawn, who are experts on tertiary stone structures state that after growing interest in the Giant’s Causeway, The Giant’s Causeway Company won a case that allowed them to fence in the area and charge people and tourists to come see the area (The Giants Causeway). People are allowed to step on some of the pillars in a fenced in area as well as to see the great natural wonder. The company helps to preserve the area keeping the natural wonder intact. This has been a huge fundraiser for Ireland. This is a tourist attraction that is second to none other in the world because of the uniqueness as well as interesting nature of the pillars. 

Photo by Christopher Hill, National Geographic, 2013

Works Cited

“Basalt Columns.” The Stone Store. The Stone Store.com, 17 September 20013. Web. 14 October 2013.

Hill, Christopher. Giant’s Causeway. N.d. Photograph. National Geographic. nationalgeographic.com. Web. 15 October 2013.

McGarry, Gerard. “The Giant’s Causeway and the Legend of Finn McCool.” The Northern Ireland Guide. The Northern Ireland Guide, 5 November 2007. Web 17 October 2013.

"The Giant’s Causeway” Voices from the Dawn. Voices from the Dawn, n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2013.

Links for further research:
The Giants Causeway and Causeway Coast:http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/369

Formation of the Giant’s Causeway:http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/giants-causeway/history/

Formation of Basalt Columns
http://giantcrystals.strahlen.org/europe/basalt.htm