More on that urban legend…

This grisly story seems to show up in relation to various bridges, and sometimes other structures, like dams and large buildings. One bridge that I’ve heard this tale mentioned in relation to is, unsurprisingly, that dreadful demon of the south, the infamous Sunshine Skyway Bridge. It was said that a worker got buried in the concrete on the original bridge and because of that, it was forever cursed. Which then led to the ship strike and the destruction of that bridge. The second iteration of the Skyway monster is apparently also affected by the original curse, as it has seen so many deaths in its thirty seven years of existence. As for other bridges associated with this legend, it is a real wonder that I’ve not heard it come up with the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Considering it has a reputation that is just about as noxious as that of the Sunshine Skyway, it would be a prime candidate for inclusion. A few workers did die during its construction but none were buried in concrete.  Another bridge that is sometimes associated with the legend is the Mackinac Bridge in Michigan. But no where has this horrific death ever actually happened, at least not in the modern age in the developed world that I could find record of.

Such an accident defies logic in so far as how the doomed worker’s company was said to have handled things. Leaving a worker to perish without even an attempt at rescue would be unthinkable, even in a third world country. In addition, some of the research I uncovered unequivocally stated that if a body was left in modern concrete, it would not cure properly and the structure would be unstable. It’s hard to say exactly how this urban legend got started, but suffice to say there have been times in history where human bodies were interred within various structures. Some, of course, were used as tombs, but in others remains were placed as sacrificial offerings to various deities. And worse yet, some were believed to have been buried alive. This apparently was a thing in medieval Japan. When a bridge was being built that crossed a river, some unfortunate person was chosen to be buried alive in the foundation of the bridge to appease the river spirits. The intent was to keep the river spirits, and the river, from destroying the bridge.

Thankfully these days this notion of someone being trapped and buried in the concrete pier of a bridge is nothing more than a creepy story. But still, to the uniformed, it lends yet another layer of mystique, uneasiness and mistrust to these enormous and imposing structures. Ignorance tends to be at the root of fear in so many circumstances, as does embellishment and falsehood.