Edna Collings Covered Bridge… Haunted?

Welcome to my blog, “Ghost is the Word.” I am an amateur ghost hunter who finds the supernatural very interesting. I believe in spirits but I am also extremely skeptical. I think most haunted reports are fabrications, imagination, or misremembering. Join me in my journey to these haunted places.

Edna Collings Covered Bridge (or Edna Collins Bridge)

 

Edna Collings Bridge Photograph by Andrea Poole-Presslor

Edna Collings Covered Bridge, west entrance. Photograph by Andrea Poole-Presslor

The Edna Collings Covered Bridge was built in 1922 by Charles Hendrix. No one quite knows why it was named after the fourth child of James and Sarah Ann Collings. The sign on the west entrance shows “Edna Collings 1922” while the sign on the east end reads “Edna Collins 1922.” It is located on a beautiful scenic drive north of the tiny village of Clinton Falls in Putnam County Indiana.

The Legend

The legend goes that little Edna Collings would, accompanied by her dog, play in the rushing waters of the creek that passes under this quaint covered bridge in Indiana. Her parents would drop the child off as they travelled to the nearby town of Greencastle so she could spend the hot summer days frolicking in the cool waters of Little Walnut Creek. Upon their return from town, they would stop on the bridge and honk three times, thus alerting little Edna of their arrival. Most days Edna would come running, pup in tow, smiling and happy from her days’ adventures of playing in the coolness of the creek. One tragic day, upon their return from town, Mr. and Mrs. Collings drove onto the bridge and honked three times. After a few moments when Edna didn’t return, they began honking the horn frantically. After a while longer, her parents anxiously exited the vehicle, calling Edna’s name. Their calm cries turned into screams the longer Edna didn’t answer. Her dog, water logged and muddy from his time in the creek, came anxiously running to meet them. The couple began searching for Edna in the waters, eventually coming to find her body, face down, in the creek. Poor little Edna was dead. After a short investigation, her death was ruled an accidental drowning.

Little Walnut Creek. Photograph by Andrea Poole-Presslor

 

The Haunting

Many people claim to have witnessed the spirit of Edna Collings at this supposed haunted location. The story goes that at dusk, one should park their car in the middle of the bridge, shut it off, and honk three times, thus summoning Edna’s spirit. She is said to come running and some reports even claim she will get in the car with you. There have also been rumors that, after leaving the bridge, people have discovered little hand prints on their car windows. Others have claimed to have heard the voice of a little girl, or crying and sobs, or even little girl giggles, coming up from beneath the bridge. Claims of orbs and even supposed photographic evidence exists.

The supposed apparition (right) and orb (left) of spirits at Edna Collings Bridge. Photograph by Alex Tanaskovich, 2009.

One tale states that Edna will get in the car with you, only to return to the bridge later. A story I discovered in my research says a woman out on an investigation of the bridge with some friends felt her pinky being held. After leaving the bridge, the group stopped at a gas station and looked at her arm. They discovered fingernail marks dug into her skin. Why she didn’t feel that, I don’t know. The author of that story says they then went back to the bridge and the woman asked, “Are you going to follow me home?” They heard two voices, a male and a little girl, reply, “Yes.”

Some stories say after little Edna’s drowning, her mother, in deep mourning, hanged herself from the bridge. Legend has it there is a church nearby and the original noose hangs on the church sign. If you take a bit of the noose with you to the bridge, the mother will come in search of her daughter.

There is also a completely different story, one not involving Edna at all. This story goes that way before the bridge was built, back in the 1850s, an esteemed doctor from a nearby town had an affair with a young woman. The young woman became pregnant, and fearing repercussions, the doctor botched an abortion on the young woman. She became septic a few days later and perished. The doctor then threw her body into the creek. The story goes on to say you can see the ghost of the woman walking along the creek bank.

 

The History

Edna Collings was born on August 30, 1851, which puts her at the age of 71 when this tragic event of a little girl drowning takes place, proving she didn’t drown there as a child. She died on March 26, 1930 at the age of 78. She is buried next to her older brother in Mount Moriah Cemetery near Hollandsburg, Indiana. This makes the story of her tragic demise just that, a story… a fabrication. I have been extensively researching this legend for some time now and have come up with zero evidence that anyone ever drowned near the Edna Collings bridge. Some people argue that it is the ghost of another little girl, but again, no historic evidence proves a drowning ever occurred.

Grave of Edna Collings and her brother, John. Mt. Moriah Cemetery. Photograph by Andrea Poole-Presslor

The Investigation

My husband and I ventured out one exhaustingly hot summer day to do our own little investigation. We arrived at the bridge and parked the car. My husband had his window down and I made him roll it up. I was getting freaked out at the idea of a little ghost girl hopping in our Dodge Journey for a ride home. With the windows securely rolled up, we taunted the ghost to come and get in. To my husband’s disappointment and my delight, she didn’t. Hubby told the ghost to pound on the car. She didn’t. I told her to shake the car. She didn’t. So far into our investigation we were finding Edna to be very boring and inhospitable. We sat for a while and waited for something, anything. Na-da. I drove the car off the bridge and parked along side the road. We got out and began taking pictures. I very purposefully looked for Edna’s name graffitied along the bridge somewhere but never saw anything. It was odd when we got home and looked through the photos that I did capture her name on the floor of the bridge. I’m not sure how I missed it when we were there. Also, someone wrote their phone number on the bridge if you care to do some prank calling. Or maybe it’s Edna’s forwarding number.

“Edna” is written in block letters, bottom left. Photograph by Andrea Poole-Presslor

The name showing up in the photo really had me bewildered, so hubs and I went back that evening to verify her name was really written on the bridge and it wasn’t some kind of phantasmic apparition. Right as we pulled over the bridge, we saw the name written in big block letters, so I made sure to get another photo.

“Edna” written by someone at some point on the floor of the bridge. Photograph by Andrea Poole-Presslor

There is a lot of graffiti, some as innocent as a name, some not so innocent satanic symbols and swastikas.

I began recording. I will explain in some detail since my blog site is cheap and it won’t let me upload video. I told the ghosts if they have anything to say, they better say it. They didn’t. They are either very shy or they are complete snobs. The only thing I found slightly odd is just after I told them to talk, there was what sounded like static on the recording. Some might say this was Edna’s spirit trying to communicate but… no. After we listened to it more, it sounds like locusts. Not just sounds like… it IS locusts.

I don’t believe the bridge is haunted by a little girl or her mother. I don’t believe it is haunted by a woman who died after a botched abortion, although I am more likely to believe this tale than the one of Edna drowning, since Edna lived into her late 70s. I have found absolutely nothing on a woman being killed and her body being disposed of there. We also couldn’t find a church anywhere near the bridge, so we couldn’t take a piece of the original noose with us to try to summon poor Sarah Ann Collings’ spirit. There very well could have been a church there 100 years ago, but there isn’t now and there is definitely no noose.

The grave of John and Sarah Ann Collings, parents of Edna Collings. Photograph by Andrea Poole-Presslor

The Conclusion

I will say again, I do not believe this bridge to be haunted. That does not mean I don’t think some weird stuff goes on there. I whole heartedly think demonic presences have a way of being drawn to popular “haunted” sites. Although I personally haven’t witnessed anything supernatural at the Edna Collings Covered Bridge, there are others who swear it is haunted, like the group of friends investigating the bridge in 2009 who witnessed the fingernail marks on their friends arm and heard the voices of a man and little girl. Could their encounters actually be demons disguising themselves as ghosts? Probably not, but maybe. I think most people get excited and scared and their imaginations run wild. They think the wind rustling through the trees is a disembodied moan, or wildlife in the woods making noises is the cry of a ghostly girl. How fingernail marks got on the woman’s arm is a mystery. I hate to suggest she could have done it herself… but it is a possibility. I guess a good sage cleansing might rid this area of any supernatural beings.

While I don’t think ghosts are roaming the waters and lands near this bridge, I will say it is an absolutely beautiful area. It is worth a visit just for the historical aspect. It is the only covered bridge in Indiana to ever replace an old concrete bridge that had been washed out during a flood. It is also the smallest and youngest covered bridge in the state of Indiana. We had a lovely time driving to the bridge and then driving on to the quaint village of Clinton Falls. We unfortunately didn’t stop to get any photos of the falls. I guess we’ll do that another day.

So, in conclusion, I think the legend is just that, a legend. It is fun to go and try to summon the spirit of Edna, especially around Halloween, but be careful. A good friend of mine and I took a van load of pre-teens there a few Halloween’s ago and were pulled over by a police officer who told us to go home. We instead drove around for awhile and when we were sure the cop was gone, tried to get Edna to come to the bridge. Guess what? She didn’t. The neighbors near the bridge don’t like it when people are ghost hunting. While my husband and I were doing our research, three off road vehicles from a home just up the road drove over the bridge and no one said a word to us, but they were friendly with a wave. Technically, the bridge is public property, but if you choose to seek out Edna, please be respectful of the people living nearby.