Hidden within a maze of country roads at the bottom of a valley near Doylestown is a narrow gravel turn-off with an old wooden sign reading “Rogues Hollow.” Also known as Ohio's "Sleepy Hollow", and situated deep within Wayne County, Ohio, this now lost ghost town is said to be haunted by everything from huge snakes to ghostly miners to the devil. With a past full of rowdy saloons, out-law hideouts, and horrific mining and mill accidents, Rogues Hollow is thought to be one of the most haunted sites in Ohio. During its height the Hollow was reputed to be one of the most lawless places in the country, where criminals on the run could hide out until the heat was off, prohibition was openly ignored, and outsiders rarely ventured. The entire area is still honey-combed by the remains of numerous mines that stretch for miles in all directions under what is now a quiet residential area, some old maps show there were at least two dozen in operation at one time. Old-timers tell stories ranging from the midnight ride of a headless horseman and dancing mining picks, to sightings of the devil himself. (For full details on Rogue’s Hollow background and the many legends surrounding the area, read my feature article on “Ohio’s Sleepy Hollow” in the April 2005 issue of Fate Magazine.)



One legend in particular tells of a tree at the bottom of a steep hill known as "The Devil's Dead Tree". One story says that in the 1800s a horse and carriage was going down the hill, losing control. The horse it the tree so hard that it was decapitated. The ghost of a headless horse is now seen in the area. Around 1890, a gentleman decided to check out the legends of Rogue's Hollow. As he came upon the tree, his horses suddenly stopped. As he looked for a reason for the horse’s fright, he saw a pair of red glowing eyes in the tree above him and what appeared to be the devil himself. The horses began fleeing away from the area, and as the gentleman looked back, he saw the creature crawl back into the tree. The “devil” has been documented as being seen on at least two other occasions since. Today, cars are known to stall near this tree, only to restart again once they pass. The only thing remaining of the actual town is an old half-broken down barn, Rogue’s Hollow's many legends still live on. The story of Crybaby Bridge is perhaps the most popular.

The bridge itself is small and unimposing, extending over a small stream and surrounded by trees. One local legend has it that years ago a mother killed her infant child by tossing the baby into the creek, after being abandoned by her intended suitor. It is said that if a person stands on the bridge, the cries of the murdered child can be heard in the night. A more recent version, dating from the 1950s, tells of a young woman who drove off the bridge one winter’s evening, and her infant child who was riding next to her in the car drowned in the shallow, freezing water. Distraught, she herself was said to have committed suicide at the spot not long after.

OUR INVESTIGATION: My wife, myself and some friends first visited the bridge on October 31, 2003, and again on June 20, 2004. We explored both sides of the bridge, beneath, and along the banks of the small stream, until dusk made it too dark to see. We heard nothing out of the ordinary and were to chalk up the stories to folklore, as many who come to the site probably do. Joyce Kilbane, a member of our group, took a parting shot from the bridge and caught this view of a strange mist slowly taking shape on one bank of the stream close to the bridge, which was not noticed until after the film had been developed. The evening was clear and crisp with average temperatures and no trace of fog, and the mist, right at the site of the reported drowning, was not present to the naked eye. Was this the spirit of the murdered child? Interestingly, there is still another possibility.


Just across the road opposite the bridge, perhaps less than fifty paces away, once stood one of the Hollow’s original buildings, and old mill built alongside the same stream, dating back to before the Civil War. It was said that in the early 1920s the current owner went mad and hung himself from the rafters in the upper floor of the mill, where his body was not discovered for days. For years afterwards strange shapes and apparitions were said to be seen in the windows of the now abandoned mill, and locals avoided passing the site after dark. A new owner purchased the site in 1948 but before he could do anything with the property it suddenly burned down in a mysterious fire that totally destroyed the building. Today a re-built reproduction of the mill stands on the same foundation, and is owned by the local historical society. The mill itself is almost directly across the road and in full view of the bridge from where the photograph was taken. Whether the spirit that was captured was that of a child, distraught mother, or forlorn mill-keeper, will probably never be known, but we’ve proven to ourselves that at least some of the ghost stories surrounding the area have more than a little truth to them.

The steep, dangerous road leading down to the bridge (left), and one of the many sinkholes that still dot the area from the extensive mining once carried out in the area.

Some of the rotted remains of the old wooden buildings now lost in the woods (left), and the remains of a stone wall dating from the 1800s.

The present-day view of the bridge.

Another view of Crybaby Bridge (left), and the view of the cold murky waters where the tragedy was said to occur.

The very intersection where the tree once stood where the devil was said to accost unwary travelers!

One of the many winding country lanes in the area which make easy to get lost (left), and the reconstructed haunted mill as it appears today. Compare with the original mill in the period photographs at the top of this page.