You’re driving down a lonely road in Ohio after dark.
The road curves ahead of you, and then your headlights catch a bridge.
There’s nothing particularly frightening about it.
At least, not yet.
You drive onto the bridge.
Maybe you’ve heard the stories. Maybe that’s why you’re here.
So you slow down.
According to one version of the legend, you’re supposed to stop your car and shut off the engine.
Then you wait.
For a while, there’s nothing.
Just darkness.
The railroad tracks below.
The quiet road behind you.
Then you hear voices.
A man and a woman arguing.
You listen.
The voices become louder.
Suddenly, a woman screams.
Then a man screams too.
You reach for the ignition.
The engine doesn’t start.
And somewhere below you…
something is moving along the railroad tracks.
Welcome to the Screaming Bridge of Maud Hughes Road, one of Ohio’s creepiest roadside legends.
Where Is the Screaming Bridge?
The Screaming Bridge carries Maud Hughes Road over railroad tracks in Liberty Township, Butler County, Ohio, between Princeton and Millikin Roads.
The railroad corridor beneath it has been there for generations, operating under several different railroad companies over the years. The tracks remain active today.
The bridge itself has also changed.
The old span associated with many of the earliest stories is gone, and the crossing has been rebuilt and repaired over the years.
But replacing a bridge doesn’t necessarily replace its stories.
And there are a lot of stories attached to this one.
Ask why it’s called the Screaming Bridge, and you may hear about a murdered woman.
Or a terrible argument.
Or a mother and her baby.
Or a school bus.
Or two railroad men killed in a horrific accident.
The details change depending on who’s telling the story.
One thing doesn’t.
Someone always screams.
The Woman Who Never Made It Off the Screaming Bridge
One of the best-known versions begins with a couple.
They’re driving across the bridge late one night when their car stalls.
The man decides to leave and find help.
The woman stays behind.
Alone.
Eventually, the man returns.
But something has happened while he was gone.
According to the legend, he finds the woman hanging from the bridge above the railroad tracks.
Then he meets a terrible fate as well.
Years later, people began saying that if you stopped on the bridge at night and listened carefully, you might hear them.
First, the couple talking.
Then…
the woman’s scream.
And finally…
the man’s.
It’s a wonderfully awful setup for a ghost story because you don’t see what happened.
You hear it.
Over and over.
As though the bridge remembers the last moments of that night and occasionally plays them again for anyone foolish enough to stop and listen.
But that’s only one version.
Another Woman. Another Scream.
In another telling, there was no stalled car.
Instead, a couple was driving across the bridge during an argument.
The fight became heated.
Then somehow, the woman went over the side.
Some versions say she jumped from the moving vehicle.
Others say she fell.
Still others say she was pushed.
Whatever happened, the ending is the same.
She didn’t survive.
And according to the story, her final scream still echoes around the bridge.
Some versions even claim that if you remain very quiet, you can hear pieces of the couple’s final argument before the scream comes.
Imagine hearing that.
Not simply a scream in the darkness.
But voices.
Two people arguing about something that happened long before you were born.
You can’t quite understand what they’re saying.
You lean closer.
Try to make out the words.
And then…
one of them screams.
The Mother and the Baby
There is another story connected to the Screaming Bridge of Maud Hughes Road, and this one may be even darker.
According to this version, a distraught mother came to the bridge carrying her newborn baby.
She threw the child over the side.
Then, horrified by what she had done, she took her own life.
Some say the sounds around the bridge belong to both of them.
A baby crying somewhere in the darkness.
And the anguished screams of its mother.
It’s the kind of story that appears around haunted bridges in many places.
But at Maud Hughes Road, it became another layer of an already crowded legend.
One scream became two.
One tragedy became several.
And eventually, almost every terrible thing imaginable seemed to have happened on or near the bridge.
Including one story involving an entire school bus.
The School Bus Legend
Another version says a school bus crashed at the Screaming Bridge.
Depending on who’s telling the story, the driver lost control or the bus plunged from the roadway.
The children inside were killed.
Afterward, people supposedly began hearing them.
Voices.
Cries.
Sometimes screams.
The school bus story is one of several versions collected in the folklore surrounding the bridge.
If you’ve spent much time reading urban legends, that detail may sound familiar.
Haunted bridges and ghost children seem to find one another.
We’ve seen it with the Ghost Children of San Antonio, where children are said to push cars safely away from railroad tracks.
But Maud Hughes Road has something San Antonio doesn’t.
A real railroad tragedy dating back more than a century.
And this one involved a steam locomotive.
The 1909 Train Disaster
Not every tragedy associated with the area exists only in ghost stories.
On the morning of October 24, 1909, a northbound freight locomotive suffered a catastrophic boiler failure along the rail corridor between West Chester and Gano.
The locomotive had reportedly left Cincinnati with a full supply of water, but a leak drained much of it during the journey.
The boiler failed.
Two railroad engineers were scalded to death, and three other men were injured. One of the men who died was reportedly off duty and simply riding home toward Middletown.
Over time, those dead railroad men became part of the Screaming Bridge’s supernatural lore.
People began reporting figures along the tracks.
Men dressed in dark clothing.
Railroad workers who shouldn’t be there.
Some stories describe them walking the tracks between the bridge and Gano.
Still following the railroad more than a century after the explosion.
And they’re not the only thing people claim to have seen down there.
The Phantom Train Beneath the Screaming Bridge
Sometimes there are no railroad men.
Sometimes…
there’s a train.
Stories of a phantom train have circulated around the Screaming Bridge for years.
People have described strange railroad sounds and something resembling a ghostly train or caboose moving along the tracks below. Other reports involve unexplained lights and mist around the railroad.
There’s something especially unsettling about the idea of a ghost train.
You hear it before you see it.
A distant rumble.
Steel wheels.
Maybe a whistle.
The sound grows louder.
You expect a headlight to appear along the tracks.
But the darkness remains empty.
The noise keeps coming.
Closer.
Closer.
And then…
nothing passes beneath the bridge.
The tracks are empty again.
The Dead Engineers Still Walk the Tracks
The apparition stories may be even creepier.
Imagine looking down from the bridge and seeing a man walking beside the railroad.
He’s dressed in black.
Perhaps you assume he’s a railroad worker.
Then another figure appears.
Something about their clothes seems wrong.
Old.
You call down.
Neither man answers.
They simply continue along the tracks.
Then darkness swallows them.
Reports collected around the Screaming Bridge describe dark figures believed to be the dead railroad men walking near the tracks.
Perhaps they’re still trying to get home.
Perhaps they don’t know the train exploded.
Or perhaps some journeys simply never end.
Strange Lights, Mist, and Hooded Figures
The Screaming Bridge doesn’t limit itself to one kind of haunting.
Visitors have also reported unexplained lights, strange mist, shadowy figures, and even black-hooded shapes around the area.
Some people have gone there with cameras hoping to capture something.
Others have simply driven across and kept going.
Personally, that second option has a lot going for it.
Because a scream is one thing.
A phantom train is another.
But seeing a hooded figure standing near the tracks in the middle of the night raises an entirely different set of questions.
Especially if the figure isn’t there when you look again.
The Screaming Bridge Ritual
Of course, no good haunted bridge legend is complete without somebody turning it into a ritual.
At Maud Hughes Road, several versions exist.
One says to stop your car on the bridge at night.
Turn off the engine.
Then wait.
According to the legend, you may hear the voices of the doomed couple followed by their screams.
Another warning says that once you shut your car off…
it may not start again.
Another variation involves flashing your headlights three times and waiting for something supernatural to happen.
But this is one legend I’d strongly recommend experiencing through the story rather than attempting the ritual yourself.
The bridge is a public roadway with sharp approaches, and the railroad below remains active. Stopping on the bridge or going onto the tracks could put you directly in the path of a vehicle or train.
Besides…
if the stories are right, you don’t need to invite anything to appear.
It’s already there.
Why Are There So Many Stories About the Screaming Bridge?
That’s one of my favorite things about this legend.
There isn’t just one Screaming Bridge story.
There are many.
A murdered woman.
A couple arguing.
A hanging.
A mother and child.
A school bus.
Dead engineers.
A phantom train.
Mysterious lights.
Hooded figures.
Screams in the darkness.
Each generation seems to have added something.
Maybe someone heard a scream and invented a story to explain it.
Then someone else heard the story and changed one detail.
The woman became a girlfriend.
The girlfriend became a mother.
The railroad tragedy became a phantom train.
Before long, the bridge wasn’t haunted by one tragedy.
It was haunted by all of them.
That’s how some of the best urban legends grow.
Not from one storyteller.
But from hundreds.
Each person adds something.
Each person passes it on.
Until nobody remembers where the first story ended…
and the next one began.
The Bridge Changed. The Legend Didn’t.
The bridge that drivers cross today isn’t exactly the same bridge that inspired generations of stories.
The roadway and crossing have been rebuilt and updated over time, with additional repair work taking place as recently as 2025.
But that hasn’t erased the name.
People still know it as the Screaming Bridge.
And maybe that’s fitting.
Haunted places aren’t always about bricks, boards, steel, or concrete.
Sometimes the haunting belongs to the location itself.
Replace the bridge.
Repave the road.
Change the railroad company.
The stories remain.
And somewhere beneath it all…
the tracks keep running through the darkness.
More Haunted Roads and Bridges You Shouldn’t Visit After Dark
The Ghost Children of San Antonio
At a railroad crossing in San Antonio, Texas, legend says a school bus filled with children stalled on the tracks and was struck by a train.
Now their spirits supposedly protect other drivers from suffering the same fate.
Stop your car on the tracks and put it in neutral, the story says, and invisible hands may push you to safety.
Dust the back of the vehicle with baby powder first…
and you may find tiny handprints afterward.
Sachs Covered Bridge
Near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Sachs Covered Bridge has accumulated its own collection of ghost stories.
Visitors have described strange lights, unexplained sounds, and apparitions around the historic bridge.
Some believe Civil War soldiers still linger nearby.
Cross during daylight and it’s a beautiful piece of history.
After dark…
you may not be crossing alone.
The Screaming Tunnel
Near Niagara Falls lies another place where the legend begins with a scream.
According to the story, the ghost of a young girl haunts an old stone tunnel.
Strike a match inside at midnight and wait.
The flame may suddenly go out.
And somewhere in the darkness…
a girl will scream.
Final Thoughts
Maybe someday you’ll find yourself driving through Butler County, Ohio.
You’ll turn onto Maud Hughes Road.
Eventually, the road will carry you toward an ordinary-looking bridge.
If you didn’t know the stories, you might cross it without thinking twice.
But you do know them now.
So when your tires reach the bridge, you’ll remember.
The woman.
The baby.
The doomed couple.
The engineers.
The men in black walking beside the tracks.
The phantom train.
And all those people who claim something still screams here after dark.
You’ll probably keep driving.
That’s what I’d do.
But imagine that halfway across…
you hear something.
A woman’s voice.
Faint.
Coming from somewhere below.
You tell yourself it’s nothing.
Then another voice answers.
A man.
They’re arguing.
Your hands tighten around the steering wheel.
And suddenly…
the woman screams.
You hit the gas.
The bridge disappears behind you.
A few seconds later, you look into the rearview mirror.
Nothing is following.
The road is empty.
Then, far behind you, another scream rises from the bridge.
Only this time…
it sounds like a man.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Screaming Bridge
Where is the Screaming Bridge of Maud Hughes Road?
The Screaming Bridge is on Maud Hughes Road in Liberty Township, Butler County, Ohio. It crosses an active railroad corridor between Princeton and Millikin Roads.
Why is it called the Screaming Bridge?
Several legends explain the name. One involves a woman who died after going over the bridge. Another tells of a woman found hanging from it. Other versions involve a mother and baby or a school bus tragedy. According to the folklore, screams can still be heard around the bridge after dark.
What happened to the railroad engineers near the Screaming Bridge?
On October 24, 1909, a steam locomotive suffered a boiler failure along the nearby rail corridor. Two engineers were scalded to death and three other men were injured. Stories later developed about ghostly railroad men walking the tracks.
Is there a phantom train at the Screaming Bridge?
Stories associated with the bridge include reports of a phantom train or caboose, unexplained railroad sounds, strange lights, mist, and apparitions near the tracks.
What happens if you stop on the Screaming Bridge?
According to one version of the legend, people who stop and shut off their cars may hear a man and woman talking, followed by screams. Another story warns that the vehicle may refuse to restart.
The bridge is an active public roadway and the railroad below is active, so don’t stop on the bridge or enter the tracks to test the legend.
Are there other ghosts at the Screaming Bridge?
Stories collected over the years include shadowy figures, men in black walking the railroad tracks, strange lights, mist, hooded figures, and ghostly railroad activity.
About the Author
Karen Cody is the creator of Urban Legends, Mystery, and Myth, a blog exploring eerie folklore, strange history, and the mysteries behind the world’s most chilling stories. From haunted places and supernatural creatures to ghost stories, horror films, and modern myths, she examines the legends—both ancient and modern—that continue to fascinate and frighten us.
© 2026 Karen Cody. All rights reserved.