Haunted Bear Creek Bridge

Haunted Patterson Road in Houston, Texas, is next to Bear Creek Park between Highway 6 and Eldridge Road. [Google Maps: Patterson Road - Bear Creek Park]

It follows the route used by Civil War soldiers who fought in a battle that took place in the southeastern quadrant of Bear Creek Park. According to folklore, those soldiers' ghosts still march along Patternson Road at night.

This area was once a farming community of German immigrants and their descendants. Today, it is part of Addicks Reservoir and Bear Creek Pioneers Park, in Harris County, Houston.

There are two bridges on Patterson Road by Bear Creek Park. One is Langham Creek Bridge, near Eldridge Road. The other is Bear Creek Bridge, closer to Highway 6.

Bear Creek Bridge isn't supposed to be haunted. I disagree. In daylight, it's vastly more "eerie feeling" than the other bridge on Patterson Road.

In May 2005, using the "sparkles" camera, we saw visible anomalies at the Bear Creek bridge and none at Langham Creek.

In the digital photo above, taken at Bear Creek Bridge, we captured part of a remarkably vivid orb in the upper left corner of the photo.

(It can't be a street light, but it could be a bug. We'll take more photos in May 2006.)

We paused on that bridge as well, testing the "tapping Civil War soldiers" legend.

With my car windows open, I heard three rapid, distinct and clear taps on the car, immediately below my outside mirror. They sounded like metal on metal, similar to my car antenna tapping the vehicle roof when I'm driving on a very bumpy road.

If that was anything ghostly, it didn't sound unearthly.

I have no explanation for the tapping, since the car window was fully open and I could see the side of the car easily.

In fact, I looked out to see what the noise was as soon as the first tap caught my attention. I saw nothing unusual at all: No insects, no animals, and nothing brushing against the car.

It was too loud to be the car or the bridge settling. I was in the driver's seat, so my door was towards the center of the bridge, and there was no likelihood of shrubbery, vines, or branches hitting the car, either.

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