Maryland Urban Legends 

Demons, ghosts, and ghouls. Often, these three don’t haunt the same place at once, but at Jericho Covered Bridge, Maryland, legend has it that they do.  

Hidden in the woods of Kingsville, Maryland, between Jericho and Jerusalem, surrounded by ruins, hiking trails, and graveyards, is the Jericho Covered Bridge. Originally built in 1865 for horse-drawn carriages, it was refurbished in 1937, 1983, and 2015. The bridge was added to Baltimore’s historic location and landmark list in 1978. The bridge stands at 12 feet in height, 15 feet above the water below, 88 feet long, and 15 feet wide. The bridge is still in use and has 24-hour surveillance, and is said to be haunted by many different spirits. Some say they have seen handprints on their car after driving over the bridge, others say they’ve seen a girl with a badly burned face carrying a basket of flowers. Two other tales of a monkey-like creature with a tail protecting the bridge, and even a red-eyed demon that lives under the bridge, keeping away those he deems unwanted. After reading all this, I decided to visit the bridge myself.

On Saturday, September 20th, at 9:58 PM, I arrived at the bridge. While driving over the uneven wood, it sounded like a roaring river.  We parked on the side of the road and began to snoop around. While recording, I saw a man run past my cameraman. One of my crew members said they saw a muscular red man running towards me on the bridge. After 20 minutes on the bridge, we got back in our car and left. The bridge gave off an eerie feeling, and the surrounding area was quiet, the only noise being the rushing water of the river under the bridge. The whole experience was very supernatural. Leaving the bridge felt like leaving an unsolved case, and as time goes on, the bridge will only become stranger as it has some attraction to tragedy and the paranormal.