Would you walk along the "Bloody Bucket Bridge" near Tampa, Florida?

"Bloody Bucket Bridge" courtesy of Patch

A little south of Tampa, Florida lies the town of Wauchula. Within Wauchula is a bridge that has been the alleged source of many ghostly encounters. Locals have named it "Bloody Bucket Bridge" based on the urban legends that surround the landmark.

Let's explore the stories surrounding the bridge and take a look at how you can take a stroll along it yourself...if you're daring enough!

The Legend of the "Bloody Bucket Bridge"

Photo by Riin Aisent on Unsplash

Depending on who you ask, the legends of the bridge are slightly different, but isn't that the same for all urban legends? Overall, the general story goes that there was a midwife that lived near the bridge during the Civil War. She was a slave that served many pregnant woman as their midwife during that time.

Whether it was concern that the mothers couldn't care for their children, or a more sinister take (that she was jealous of the young mothers and driven mad by her own baby's early demise), the stories all have one thing in common: they say that the midwife would smother the newborns with a pillow or blanket, and then carry them to the bridge in her bucket used in the delivery...before putting them into the river.

Photo by Brendan Church on Unsplash

The more she did this, the madder she grew. She started to see the haunting images of blood filling her bucket and hear the babies' cries at night. Then, one one trip to the bridge, she tripped and fell in, drowning.

Since then, countless people have reported hearing newborns crying near the bridge late at night when all else is silent. On a full moon, the river has a red, bloody gleam to it if you walk along the bridge at midnight.

How to take a midnight stroll on the bridge yourself...

Map of Wauchula, Florida from Google Maps

Don't believe in ghost stories? You can take a midnight stroll along the bridge for yourself, of course. The bridge is still standing to this day, and is used. If you're feeling daring, it can be found looming over Peace River. As you go across Main Street in Wauchula, the road will turn from paved to dirt. Locals call it "Bloody Bucket Road," though that is not the official name of the road.

Off the dirt road, you'll find "Bloody Bucket Bridge" over a small part of the river. If you do investigate if the legends are true, be sure to do so at midnight, so you have the best chance of seeing the red river or hearing the unearthly cries from the water and nearby woods.