Fact or Fiction? Re-visiting Devil’s Bridge, Rockford
I heard about this eerie urban legend for years, and my curiosity finally won.
I've been to Devil's Bridge...in the middle of the night...and yes, it's creepy. This little metal footbridge is hidden away within Michigan woods, crossing over the Rogue River near Rockford.
The legend is a sordid one, not concerning a usual “lady in white” apparition, orbs, or any other typical tale. This one is as disturbing as it is scary.
According to the legend, in the mid-1800s an older man named Elias Friske murdered local children at the location. Evidently, some children came up missing, and some townsmen organized a search party to go into the woods to look for them. They didn't want to leave other children unattended, so they left kindly old Mr. Friske in charge of babysitting. What they weren’t aware of, was good ol’ Mr. Friske was the one who killed the other children.
Claiming he didn't want to have any children wander off, Friske tied the children together and marched them into the woods. Once at the location of the bridge, the kids noticed a rancid stench...after mentioning this to Mr. Friske, he uncovered a pile of leaves and branches to reveal the bodies of the other missing children. The kids' screams did no good, for Friske knew the search party was off in another direction. he proceeded to kill the children one-by-one and dump their bodies into the Rogue River.
Later, when the townspeople realized their kids and Friske were missing, they searched along the river until they came to the spot and saw the bodies of the children in the water. Following Friske's footprints, they found him covered in blood, babbling about how the devil coaxed him into the killings. The men grabbed the rope Friske had used to tie up the children and proceeded to hang him right then and there from the nearby stone footbridge. Legend says the rope snapped, the current took his body downstream and it was never found.
To this day, it's said the evil forces that influenced Friske still inhabit the area, you can see the faces of the murdered children under the water from time-to-time, and you can hear the devil laughing in the woods if you're there at midnight. Glowing red eyes have been seen in the woods and on the bridge --- along with the sounds of screams & laughing of young children late at night. Tubers claim they've had unseen hands trying to pull them into the river. The stone bridge is long gone, replaced by a metal bridge and dubbed "Devil’s (sometimes ‘Hell’s) Bridge" by locals.
A buddy and I were there around midnight a number of years ago and it does feel weird...I didn't hear or see anything, but I stepped out into the middle of the bridge and it actually shook underneath me as I stood completely still.
The bridge is located within the woods in Algoma Township, northwest of Rockford. Take 131 North to exit 97. Turn left (east) until you get to Algoma Road. Turn right (north) until you get to 12 Mile Rd. and turn right. A few feet down the road is Friske Drive...turn left and the turnaround is a little way down on the right.
RESPECT ALL LOCAL NEIGHBORS, HOMES, HOUSES AND PROPERTY.
Don’t be an idiot litterin’, whoopin’ and hollerin’ or you’ll ruin the fun for others who may want to visit. Go during the night...
Haunted history: the dark legend behind Rockford area's 'Hell's Bridge'