Welcome to lore legends, a subset of lore episodes that explore the strange tales we whisper in the dark,

even if they can't always be proven by the history books.

So if you're ready, let's begin. All across America, there are bridges where you can hear a baby crying.

This urban legend is fittingly called the crybaby bridge.

If you have a spot in your hometown where people claim to hear ghostly babies wail,

then I'm sorry to tell you, but your Crybaby Bridge isn't all that unique.

In Kentucky, a bridge on Sleepy Hollow Road is rumored to be the site where mothers would drown their unwanted newborn babies.

In Salem, Ohio, a bridge on Egypt Road is said to be where site where mothers would drown their unwanted newborn babies. In Salem, Ohio,

a bridge on Egypt Road is said to be where a child tripped and fell into the water. There's a bridge

in New Jersey, one in Illinois, and there are at least three crybaby bridges in both Maryland

and Texas. In Portnachia's Texas, legend speaks of a man who allegedly decapitated a mother

before throwing her baby, Sarah Jane, into a river full of alligators. The baby could still be

heard crying to this day, and the mother's headless body can be seen wandering the woods nearby,

calling out for little Sarah Jane, although I'm not quite so sure how she does that,

without a mouth. But although it's not fun to hear, almost none of these local tales are true.

Folkloreist Jesse Glass has said that most Crybaby Bridge stories were invented on the internet.

There was no oral tradition behind them, just an anonymous, creative individual, sitting behind a keyboard.

They are stories that were made up to generate clicks in a world where viral posts are a form of fame and glory.

And sure, sprinkled among them are a handful that might go deeper into the past,

the rare hand-me-downs of older traditions from generations ago.

But most of these legends are nothing more than that.

Fiction.

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