Ghost bride haunts local bridges

STEVENS POINT — With the Wisconsin River and other waterways winding through the city, Stevens Point has numerous bridges. Local folklore suggests a ghostly bride lingers around some of these bridges.
Allegedly, a newlywed couple was traveling over the bridge on Highway 66 near Jordan Park on their wedding night when they were tragically killed in a car accident. A police officer is said to have found the woman in the road. When he exited his vehicle to check on the bride, she vanished from the street. When the confused police officer returned to his vehicle, he saw the bride in the backseat of his squad car.
Ever since the tragic night, the bride is said to haunt the bridge alongside Jordan Park, the Red Bridge on Casimir Road, and the Black Bridge that carries trains alongside the paper mill. She is believed to mostly be seen during the dark hours of the night, but can be seen by fishermen, kayakers, and pedestrians along the water—distraught and wearing a bloody wedding dress. In addition to sightings by people on the water, local residents report seeing the bride in their rear view mirrors as they drive over a bridge late at night. Others report seeing a woman, wearing a wedding dress covered in blood, worriedly pacing the bridge and the shoreline.
With some in the paranormal community believing that water attracts ghosts due to being a conductor of energy, the bloody bride may occupy more than just the bridge where she was tragically killed. Having tragically died alongside the water, the bride is said to search areas of water for her late husband.
A handful of variations of the story include the groom and his fate, but largely the groom is not included in the folklore.
Some of the information in this article is sourced from Weird Wisconsin by Linda S. Godfrey and Richard D. Hendricks.