Legend of the Covered Bridge

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Jericho Covered Bridge in Kingsville, Maryland

The Jericho Covered Bridge in Kingsville, Maryland was built in 1865 and restored in 1982. The bridge is 100 feet long and cased in cedar planks and timber beams. Legend has it that after the Civil War many lynchings occurred on the bridge. Passersby were supposedly captured on the bridge and hung from the upper rafters. The bridge is very close to my house and I have driven over it several times. The storyteller, age 19, also lives a couple minutes away from the bridge. He has lived in Kingsville, Maryland his entire life. He recalled a dramatic story he had heard from his older brother involving the haunted bridge.

Approximately a year ago the storyteller’s older brother was driving home with two friends after leaving a party. They decided to smoke a joint and drive over the legendary Jericho Covered Bridge. The night was chilly and foggy. As they crossed over the bridge, the driver decided it would be funny to follow the legend to see if it was true. The driver turned off the head lights, rolled all windows down, and turned off the ignition. After a dramatic pause, the storyteller explained that the driver honked his horn 3 times in a row. As the driver shifted his focus onto his rear view mirror and yelled “What the F**k!” Before the two passengers knew what happened, the driver quickly turned on the ignition and sped away from the bridge. One of the passengers asked, “Dude, what was that about?” The driver explained he had seen three ashy, male bodies hanging from the bridge each suspended by a long, frayed rope.

While telling the story the storyteller used very specific details to produce an effective presentation. He paused several times for dramatic effect, indicating that something important was going to happen. Also, he told the story confidently, rarely stuttering in a short of words. The storyteller appeared to be extremely knowledgeable on the subject because the incident happened to his older brother and due to the bridge's close proximity to his home. While listening to the story I noticed several details that seemed to be exaggerated for effect, such as the three male bodies hanging from the rafters. When reaching the climax of the story the teller did a great job in portraying the frightened expressions of the driver and passengers.

Upon researching the story, I stumbled across one Web page (http://www.

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