The Haunted Legend of ‘Mary Jane’s Bridge’ near Lafayette, Louisiana
Every town across the world has some sort of creepy local haunt. Down here in South Louisiana, we definitely have our fair share of legends. The Legend of Mary Jane's Bridge near Lafayette is one I've been hearing about forever.
I should probably head on out to Broussard to see what happens. I did some digging around on the internet to see what I could find about it, and actually found quite a bit.
The legend says a young girl, presumably named Mary Jane, and her prom date arrived at the bridge to hold hands, and he assaults and murders her, throwing her over the bridge. Her body was never found, and apparently, no one was ever caught or prosecuted for the crime. Local legend has it that apparitions of a woman in white appear at the bridge from time to time.
Here's what I found on hauntin.gs about Mary Jane's Bridge:
A number of people indicate that Mary Jane’s Bridge is the Bayou Tortue Road Bridge located on Bayou Tortue Road. Bayou Tortue Road is continuous with Garber Road, intersecting with Highway 90 further north toward Broussard. Bayou Tortue Road eventually turns into Parish Road 140 the further south you travel along its winding corridors.
Rumors abound about Mary Jane’s Bridge (actually the Bayou Tortue Road Bridge). Some associate the bridge with satanic rituals that have been rumored to take place nearby. Other people claim that all of the tales of paranormal activity are a hoax. Indeed, a serial axe murderer who went through the area in the early 1900′s may actually be responsible for inspiring local lore about the bridge.
One retired police officer has reported that he is a believer. One August night in 1985, this man (who asked to remain anonymous), reported that he felt a strange presence at the bridge which motivated him to actually stop his car and get out. When he got out of the car, he saw a young woman wearing white, with brown hair flowing in the wind. He asked her, “Can I help you?” but she didn’t answer. She just stared back at him. He reported feeling very cold at the bridge that night, even though it was a summer evening during the hottest time of the year in Louisiana. He didn’t have his headlights on, but the light of the full moon apparently cast an eerie bluish glow over the woman and the surrounding landscape.
So many communities have a story of a ghostly 'woman in white' on a bridge and Mary Jane is the one who haunts the bayous of Southern Louisiana.