The Story of Emily’s Bridge By: Nacole LeBlanc Photo taken by Nacole LeBlanc

The History Emily’s Bridge in Stowe, Vermont is a well known haunted site in the United States. The bridge was built in 1844 by John W. Smith and was originally named the Gold Brooke Bridge. The bridge is more commonly known as Emily’s bridge because Emily is the ghost that haunts the site. Emily was a young women growing up in the late 1800’s who fell in love with a man her parents disapproved of. When her parents forbid her to see him anymore the couple decided to meet at the bridge one night, and elope. Emily anxiously waited for her lover to arrive, but he never showed. Heart broken, Emily committed suicide by hanging herself. The angry women is said to haunt the bridge. People have reported that their cars have been shaken and clawed at, they have also heard a woman’s voice, and many pictures have orbs and strange lights that appear in the photos.

FACT OR FICTION?

ORBS The common definition of an orb is something round or circular. In this case I researched paranormal orbs that appear in photographs. I not only researched scholarly papers, but opinionated sources and investigations as well. There were many sources that were skeptical of orbs actually being a ghost or spirit that was still on earth. One website claimed that “the majority of “orb photos” are not paranormal at all, but merely refractions of light on the camera lens. This occurs when the camera flash bounces back from something reflective in the range of the camera. When this happens, it creates a perfectly round ball of light that appears to be within the parameters of the photo but is actually just an image on the lens itself.” ( Other sources that strongly believed in paranormal orbs claim that orbs take on a circular shape because it takes the least amount of energy. It is also believed that “in the colder parts of the year, it seems that ghosts tend to find it easier to take on shapes other than orbs.” (

The two photos below both appear to have orb like figures. The picture on the left has mysterious white swirling lines that appear in the top left corner of the photo. The picture on the right appears to have a hexagon figure near the candle. Photos taken by Nacole LeBlanc

The photograph below is the most significant photo I took at Emily’s bridge. This photo not only has another hexagon shaped form of light, it also has strange white swirls of light coming from the top left corner of the picture. Photo taken by Nacole LeBlanc

My Conclusions About Orbs Hearing that orbs appear in shapes rather then circles in the colder weather really made me believe in the story of Emily’s bridge. Two of the photographs on the previous slides had orb like figures that appeared in the shape of a hexagon. The two pictures were taken at different angles and positions within the bridge. I found it strange that the abnormalities shown in my pictures appeared in two different forms of light, and each of these two forms showed twice in different photos. I myself have always been skeptical of orbs being ghostly figures, but in the research I found even skeptical sources couldn’t prove that orbs that appear in pictures always have a logical explanation for why they are there. I would conclude from my findings that there are many pictures that appear to have “orbs” that have logical explanations, but I do believe that paranormal orbs can and do exist in photographs taken at Emily’s bridge.

Mysterious Flames… When I visited Emily’s bridge someone had lit a candle and placed it on one of the beams in the bridge. Here are some photos that I took that turned out to have abnormal looking flames. Photos taken by Nacole LeBlanc

Some Comparison… Many people are skeptical that the flames were abnormal because they believed that fire commonly photographs abnormal. So I decided to photograph a candle similar to the one in the bridge at my house. The first photo as seen on top photographed normal. I then photographed the candle outside, as it was at Emily’s bridge, but yet again every photograph I took appeared to be normal. Photos taken by Nacole LeBlanc

My Experience Visiting Emily’s bridge was a fun and exciting experience. I now truly believe that Stowe Vermont is home to one of the most haunted places in the United States. If you are looking for something fun to do I would recommend visiting Emily’s bridge. Not only will you get to see the beautiful landscape of Stowe, Vermont you will also get to encounter the spirit of Emily.

More photos taken at the bridge Photo taken by Nacole LeBlanc

Photos taken by Nacole LeBlanc

Bibliography Alpine Web Media. ( ). Ghosts, haunts and heebee-jeebies in Vermont. Retrieved November 20, 2006 from Citro, J. Green Mountain Ghosts, Ghouls and Unsolved Mysteries. Montpelier, VT: Unknown, Eaton, J. (2004). What Are Ghosts & Orbs? Retrieved November 24, 2006 from Russel, D. (June 2001). Emily’s Bridge. X-Project Paranormal Magazine. Retrieved November 20, 2006 from Taylor, T. (2004). The American Ghost Society; The Trouble With Orbs. Retrieved November 24, 2006 from Wikipedia. (November 14, 2006). Orb (paranormal). Retrieved November 24, 2006 from