The chilling backstory to one of the most famous ghosts in America.

An artist portrait of Francine and her baby.

Legend of Crybaby Bridge: The Francine Abebe Story

By W.L. Peterson

October 29th

It’s evening time and Crystal Thompson, an 18-year-old freshman at Stone’s Throw College, sits in her dorm room with four of her friends, trying to decide what to do for Halloween this year.

Crystal asks, “Have y’all heard of the freshman challenge?”

Donovan, Kendrick, and Melissa shake their heads no.

Brenda eyes widen and she says, “Yes, I’ve heard of the it, but I won’t do it.”

Brenda is an 18-year-old freshman and local native to Stone’s Throw. According to her friends, she is hardcore and up for most challenges. She loves traveling around the country to different haunted houses and being scared. However, this was one thing she was not going to do.

“Come on Brenda,” Crystal says. “You mean to tell me that you’ve been in the most haunted houses throughout the state, but you won’t do the freshman challenge?”

Alarmed at the fact that Brenda won’t do the challenge, Kendrick asks, “What is the freshman challenge?”

“Trust me,” Brenda yells. “You don’t want to mess with this.”

“Stop being such a scaredy cat, Brenda. It’s only an urban legend,” Crystal says. “Now, have you guys ever heard of the legend of crybaby bridge?”

Looking very worried, Brenda says, “Please stop it.”

“I will not,” Crystal replies, then looks at the other three people in the room. “Now, have y’all heard of it or not?”

They all shake their heads no.

Crystal says, “Oooohhh, you guys are in for a treat.”

“I’m leaving and will not be a part of this,” Brenda says. She grabs her belongings and heads out the door. Slamming the door behind her.

“Wow,” Crystal says. “That’s not like Brenda at all, but any who, I got a story for y’all.”

Melissa says, “Do tell. Do tell!”

Crystal begins her tale of crybaby bridge, “It all began….”

***

Stone’s Throw thrived during the time of slavery. Being a southeastern coastal town, it was ideal for the Atlantic slave trade. However, with the union winning the war and Lincoln abolishing slavery, the old slave masters were desperate to maintain their power and the slaves were desperate for their freedom. One such slave was Francine Abebe.

On October 31st, 1864, Stone’s Throw was hit with one of the worst storms it had seen in history. Rain was falling on the town like water running from a faucet. You could barely see ten feet in front of you. Francine figured this would be a perfect time to try to escape the Hampton plantation. With such heavy rainfall, she figured the trappers and dogs wouldn’t be able to track her footprints or her scent.

That evening, Francine packed what little belongings she had and tied it all up in a handkerchief. She then grabbed her 11-month-old baby, blew out the candle in the shack, and walked towards the front door. She pushed the door open just wide enough to see if anyone was out there. Once she noticed that no one was watching, she headed out into the storm with her baby.

Francine ran through the woods as fast as she could, barefooted, with her baby in her arms. The bushes and briar patches were poking and cutting Francine’s legs, but she was numb from the pain, because all she could think about was their freedom.

Francine finally reached Hampton bridge, an old iron bridge at the edge of town. The water below was rising, but not high enough to flood the bridge. She thought to herself, If I can make it across this bridge, I’ll have a chance.

At that moment, Francine heard dogs barking behind her in the distance. She looked behind her and noticed Mr. Hampton was fast approaching. He was holding his dog by a leash in right hand and lantern in left.

Mr. Hampton yelled out, “Where the hell do you think you’re going nigger?”

Francine turned back around and began to run across the bridge. The old bridge hadn’t been used in years since the war and it was covered in broken glass and debris. Every step Francine took, glass punctured her feet and flesh ripped from it. Although it was very painful, she continued to move forward.

She got more than halfway across the bridge before she noticed Mr. Hampton’s slave trapper, Mr. Watson, standing there at the end of the bridge holding a shotgun.

“You just stop right there,” he yelled to her.

Francine refused to stop and kept running towards Mr. Watson and the end of the bridge, the beginning of her freedom. Mr. Watson raised his shotgun, aimed, and fired one shot towards Francine. The round blew half of her right thigh off. She fell forward to the ground and at the same time, loss hold of her baby, sending it rolling towards Mr. Watson. Pieces of glass pierced its little body, and it screamed in pain.

When Francine fell forward, a sharp metal object impaled her in the neck. Blood began to pour out of her neck and mouth. She tried to talk, but only the sound of blood gurgling came from her mouth.

Mr. Watson, walked over to the baby and picked it up. He inspected it, and noticed it was bleeding from several places.

Mr. Hampton looked down at Francine trying to talk, as he walked past her and approached Mr. Watson.

“Sorry boss.” Mr. Watson said. “She wouldn’t stop.”

Mr. Hampton took the baby from Mr. Watson and walked back over to Francine.

Even through the heavy rainfall, you could see the tears streaming down Francine’s face as she reached up for her child.

“Oh, is this what you want?” he asked.

Francine tried reaching up for her baby again. Her tears changed from a clear liquid, to tears of blood as she looked up at Mr. Hampton and her baby. Finally, she was able to say four words, “Give me my baby.”

“You think I’m going to take care of a dead nigger’s baby?” Mr. Hampton asked. “That’ll never happen.”

Mr. Hampton walked over to the edge of the bridge and held the baby out. Already in pain, but now terrified of the man holding it out over the edge of the bridge, the child began to cry even louder.

Mr. Hampton looked back at Francine, smiled, and released the baby. It fell more than fifty feet into the murky waters below. The impact shattered the babies’ bones and it sunk below the surface. Mr. Hampton looked over at Mr. Watson and both men laughed.

Meanwhile, Francine watched on in horror. She extended her left and right arm and slowly drug herself across the bridge. With each pull, glass and metal debris ripped through her stomach. She finally made it to the edge of the bridge. She was bleeding profusely from all over her body. She looked over the edge of the bridge and saw the raging water below, but not her baby.

She looked back at Mr. Hampton and screamed, “Where is my baby?”

Tears of blood streamed down Francine’s face as blood also poured from her mouth. She turned back around, pulled herself over the edge and fell to her death.

***

Melissa starts to cry. “That’s horrific,” she says.

“It’s only an urban legend,” Crystal says. “I doubt it’s even true. I think it’s just a story the locals tell us to scare us. However, I want to do the challenge.”

“What exactly is the challenge?” Kendrick asks.

Crystal says, “Tomorrow night at midnight, it will be October 31st, Halloween night. The night Francine and her baby died. We’re going to drive to the Crybaby bridge and arrive about ten minutes before midnight. As soon as the clock strikes midnight, we get out the car, walk to the edge of the bridge and we say, ‘I have your baby’ three times.”

“Then what? Then what?” Kendrick asks rubbing his hands together and smiling. Looking like a giddy little kid at Christmas.

Crystal continues, “Then we run back to the car, lock the doors, look in the rearview mirror and wait.”

Donovan asks, “Why the rearview mirror?”

Crystal replies, “Supposedly, that’s the only way you’ll be able to see her. She’ll climb up from over the edge of the bridge and ask about the whereabouts of her baby as she approaches the car. At that point, we need to leave.”

“Oh snap,” Kendrick says. “I’m filming all of this.”

“I don’t know about this,” Donovan says. “Brenda is a local and she was really scared. She’s not scared of anything, but this frightened her.”

“Again, she is a local and just trying to scare us,” Crystal says. “So, are you guys in or what?”

Kendrick and Melissa say yes, but Donovan is still a little hesitant.

“Let me sleep on it,” Donovan says. “I will you know tomorrow for sure.”

“Okay, scared ass,” Crystal says as they all laugh.

Donovan, Kendrick, and Melissa grab their belongings and leave Crystals room.

October 30th

Rainfall blankets the town of Stone’s Throw that afternoon. The wind is gusting about 15-20 mph. Donovan sits in his dorm room and contemplates if was going to attend the challenge later that night. He wonders why Brenda seemed so scared of the challenge, so he decides to give her a call.

Brenda sits in her bedroom doing homework. Her wall is covered with posters of pop artist, WWE wrestlers, UFC fighters, and a collage of tickets from the theme parks and rollercoasters she’s ridden all over the country. One look at her room and you can tell she is all about challenges. Her phone rings.

“Hello,” Brenda answers.

“Hi, Brenda, it’s Donovan,” he says.

“I know who it is. I do have your number saved in my phone.”

“Oh yeah, duh.”

“What’s up, Donovan? What do you want?”

“Oh wow. Why the cold shoulder?”

“Because you guys are going to do that stupid challenge and I warned you not to do it. I don’t want anything at all to do with it.”

“That’s why I called you, Brenda. I want to ask you why you are so against it.”

“I know people like to come to our small town and make fun of the locals and the urban legends, but this one is real. Francine Abebe is a relative of mine. She was the sister of my great-great grandmother.”

“Oh wow! I had no clue.”

“Nobody knows. Only our family know our link to her. What happened to her was horrific and that bridge is really cursed. I beg y’all not to go there. Please!”

“Why is the bridge still there, Brenda? Why haven’t they torn it down or closed it off?”

“Because of the legend, it’s known as Crybaby bridge, but the actual name of the bridge is the Hampton bridge. The Hampton plantation was the biggest plantation in the southeast and the family still has money and power to this day.”

“Oh wow,” Donovan says.

Brenda continues, “Although it’s the site of a horrific crime, the Hampton family refuses to tear the bridge down. They cling to that bridge the same way these racist clings to their confederate flags.”

“Who owns the plantation and property now?”

“Mr. Hampton great grandson, James Hampton III, owns it.”

“Have people tried the challenge before?”

“There has been a total of eight people that have tried the challenge and they all ended up dead. Or at least we think they were there attempting the challenge.”

“Oh shit,” Donovan says. “What happened?”

“About 10 years ago, on Halloween night, a group of four freshmen were found dead in their car on the bridge. They were locked inside the car but appeared to have drowned somehow. The cops investigated the Hampton’s, but no charges were ever filed, and their deaths remain a mystery.”

“Oh fuck, what about the other four? You said there were eight.”

“I’m getting to that.”

“Ok, ok, ok.”

“About four years ago on Halloween night, there were actually five people that went to the bridge. One of them being my cousin Franklin.”

“I thought you said only eight people died. Five more would make nine.”

“Just shut up and listen, Donovan.”

“Sorry, Brenda.”

“But yes, you are correct. That would make nine, but my cousin didn’t do the challenge. He tried to convince his friends, the same way I’m trying to convince y’all, not to go. But they wouldn’t listen, so he decided to drive out there last minute to try to stop them.”

“He was in a separate car?”

“Yes. He pulled up right before midnight and tried to talk some sense into them, but they wouldn’t listen. As the clock struck midnight, he got back in his car, and they got out of theirs. They said the words and got back in their car. My cousin said he saw Francine in his rearview mirror, crawl past his car. Then he heard screaming from the other vehicle. Water began to fill the vehicle and they couldn’t get out. He was too terrified to move. After about sixty seconds, it was all over. He looked in his rearview mirror and saw Francine climb back over the edge of the bridge and into the water.”

“Holy shit!”

“He went home and told his dad, but his dad told him to keep this within the family and don’t tell the cops or the Hampton’s that he was there. They would surely find a way to blame him.”

“That is wild, Brenda.”

“That’s not the worst part. The incident was never reported to the police and the Hamptons covered it up because they thought the police would find a way to blame them this time.”

“What the actual—"

“Yep. If you look online, and around the town, you’ll see the missing person flyers. Now you see why I don’t want you guys to go. Please don’t go.”

“Oh, hell no,” Donovan said. “After hearing that story, you have me convinced not to go. I will go by Crystal’s tonight and try to stop them.”

“Thank you, Donovan. I will also meet you there. They need to hear this from me. I will meet you there tonight around 9 pm.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Later that evening, Crystal, Kendrick, and Melissa, sit in Crystal’s dorm room. Although they are only freshman, they were able to get their hands on some alcohol. They sit around taking shots of tequila, getting ready for the challenge.

It’s Halloween eve and they all have their costumes on because they plan to go to a Halloween part after they complete the challenge. Melissa is dressed as Catwoman, Kendrick as Batman, and Crystal as The Nun.

Crystal lines the shot glasses up in front of all of them and pour Jose Cuervo in each glass. “Drink up bitches,” she says as she tosses back her shot. “That’s all for me, because I’m driving tonight.”

“Awww, c’mon Crystal. You can at least do one more with us,” Melissa says.

Crystal looks at Melissa, then down at the shot glasses, and then back at Melissa. “Say less bitches, and pour,” she says.

Melissa pours them all a shot and they repeat.

Donovan and Brenda open the door and walk into the dorm room.

Crystal stands up, grins, and greets them. “Hey! Glad you’ll decided not to be a pair of chicken shits.”

Kendrick and Melissa laugh, but Brenda and Donovan shake their heads.

Donovan says, “No. We’re not going, and neither are you guys. You all should listen to what Brenda has to say.”

Already feeling a little tipsy, Melissa says, “Oh no, not again.” Then she rolls her eyes.

“You guys really need to hear what she has to say,” Donovan says. “I beg you.”

“Okay, okay,” Crystal replies. “We’ll listen to her story.” She does air quotes when she says the word ‘story’.

“Thank you, Crystal,” Brenda says.

“Don’t thank me yet. Just hurry with your story so I can get back to pouring drinks for my guest,” Crystal says.

“Yeah, Brenda. Tell us your story,” Kendrick says.

“Very well. You guys really should take this story serious. It’s all true,” Brenda says.

Over the next twenty minutes, Brenda tells the story of the Hampton bridge and the eight people that mysteriously died. When she finished, a look of horror and disbelief filled the room.

“Wow,” Crystal said. “That is tragic.”

Kendrick and Melissa shook their heads agreeing.

“However,” Melissa continued, “It would be even more tragic if it was true.” Melissa bursts out laughing.

Kendrick and Crystal also begin to laugh.

“Yeah,” Crystal says. “You had us going for a minute, Brenda. You are a wonderful storyteller.”

Brenda frowns and slams her first against the wall. “It’s all true and I am trying to save your lives,” she says. “Please Crystal. You seem to be the most sober out of the three. Please listen to me.”

Crystal, still laughing, looks at Donovan and says, “I can’t believe you fell for this shit. I know you are crushing hard on Brenda, but c’mon man.”

Kendrick and Melissa both point at Donovan and laugh.

Kendrick says, “She got him whipped and he still a virgin.”

Donovan kicks the side of Kendricks chair and shouts, “Y’all stop it. I ain’t whipped or nothing like that.”

“Yes, you are,” Melissa replies. Melissa starts singing, “Don and Brenda sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g, first comes—”

“Stop in now,” Donovan says. “I ain’t whipped. I’m going too! Just to show you all.”

Donovan crumbles under the teasing and peer pressure. Brenda looks over at him, shakes her head and looks downward towards the floor.

“That’a boy,” Kendrick says.

Brenda looks up and looks towards Donovan.

Brenda says, “Please don’t go.” Then looks at everyone in the room. “I beg of you all, please don’t go.”

Crystal walks over to Brenda and places her arm around her shoulders. She looks at Brenda and says, “Thank you for that entertaining story, but it’s time to go. You don’t have to go home, but you have to get the hell out of here and stop ruining my party.”

Brenda shrugs Crystals arm off her shoulders. She looks over at Donovan and shakes her head. She faces everyone in the room one last time and says, “I love you all, I really do. You are all my friends. I wish you all would listen to me. But since you won’t, I will say my good-byes now.”

Tears begin to fall from eyes. She turns and leaves the room.

“Damn,” Kendrick says. “She really played that up until the end.”

“How about a shot for me now,” Donovan asks as guilt begins to fill him. He thinks that if he drinks, then he will feel less guilty about turning his back on Brenda. Little did he know this would be the least of his worries tonight.

For the next two hours, they sit around drinking and playing games. Crystal feeling a little tipsy from the drinks, goes over to Donovan and sits in his lap.

Crystal says, “I know you have a crush on Brenda, but she is no fun. She pretends to be a thrill chaser but won’t do this one thing with us. You need someone like me, Don. I’ll always be there for you.” She leans in for a kiss.

Donovan, also tipsy from drinking, doesn’t fight off the advances and shares a kiss with Crystal.

“Ahhh, shoot now,” Kendrick says. “I knew you guys were going to kiss.” He looks over at Melissa. “Give me my ten bucks. I told you they would.”

“Shut up, dumbass,” Melissa replies. “It’s time to go the bridge.”

“Oh shit,” Crystal says as she jumps up and looks over at the clock. “It’s 11.30 and it’ll take us twenty to twenty-five minutes to get there. Let’s go!”

They all grab their belongings and head out the door, down the stairs to the parking lot.

“Who’s driving,” Melissa asks.

“I am,” Crystal responds. “It’s my car and I have had less to drink than all of you.”

They all climb into Crystal’s car. Crystal and Donovan in the front, and Melissa and Kendrick get in the back. She backs out of the parking space, puts the car in drive, and drive out into the night.

Rain continues to batter the town as thunder plays the soundtrack to lightening’s dance routine in the night air. The closer they get to the bridge, the heaver the rain falls, and the wind begins to howl.

They finally arrive at 11.55 p.m. Crystal drives the car slowly on to the bridge. She pulls the car forward until she reaches the middle. She turns the car off and they all sit in complete silence waiting on midnight.

October 31st

It’s officially Halloween. The clock has struck midnight and it’s time for the challenge. The rain starts to fall with more force. It’s as if the heavens are crying on this night. The speed of the wind picks up also. The wind is blowing the rain sideways. This night seems to be angry for some reason.

Crystal says to everyone, “Okay y’all. It’s too late to turn back now. Let’s do it.”

They all get out the car and proceed to edge of the bridge. The rain batters them like little pebbles. The wind blows Crystals nun hat off her head and over the edge of the bridge.

“Damn it,” Crystal shouts. She proceeds with the rest of the group to the edge of the bridge.

“What do we do now?” ask Kendrick.

Crystal responds, “We say the words I got your baby three times. But we all have to say it.”

Melissa, feeling the effects of the tequila from earlier says, “I got this, let’s go bitches.”

They all begin to chant in unison, “I got your baby, I got your baby, I got your baby.”

“Now what?” ask Donovan.

Crystal responds, “Now we go back to the car and wait.”

They all run back to the car and jump inside.

After being in the car for fifteen seconds, the doors automatically lock.

Kendrick asks Crystal, “Why did you lock the doors?”

Crystal responds, “I didn’t lock the doors.”

They begin to pull on the door handles, but the doors will not open. At this point, they hear a big splash from the water under the bridge. Is it something jumping in the water or something jumping out of the water?

Donovan eyes stretch open like a frisbee, and he ask, “What was that?”

They all look out of the window, but they don’t see anything. From the backseat, Melissa can see Crystal eyes fixed on the rearview mirror and she is terrified.

“What, what is it?” Melissa asked.

“Sh..sh..she’s coming,” Crystal says. “Look in the mirror.”

They all look in the different mirrors on the car and they see Francine.

Francine uses her left arm to pull herself up over the side of the bridge. Once she is on the bridge, she continues to pull herself towards the car. She has long, wet, black hair. Although she is an African American woman, her skin is now pale white. She is wearing a white cotton dress that is covered in blood and dirt. It is soaking wet.

Francine moans out, “Where is my baby?”

She continues to drag her body across the bridge. Her fingernails clawing into the bridge and breaking off with each reach and pull. Her body leaves a trail of blood as she inches closer to the car.

Inside the car, the college kids are freaking out. Crystal tries to start the car up, but it won’t start. The car is completely dead.

“Come on Crystal,” Kendrick yells. “Get us the fuck out of here.”

“The car won’t start,” Crystal responds as tears stream down her cheeks. They all start to cry and yell.

“Please, please hurry, Crystal,” Donovan says. “She is getting closer.”

They all frantically try to open the doors to escape the car. They start banging their fists on the windows, but it won’t break. Crystal looks in the rearview mirror and can no longer see Francine.

“Where did she go?” Crystal screams.

They all closed their eyes and began to pray. None of the kids were religious, but in this moment, they all tried to find Jesus. Someone came, but it wasn’t the one they were praying for.

Kendrick and Melissa could feel something gripping their wrists. It was a tight, wet grip. They opened their eyes, looked in the mirror and saw Francine sitting between them, gripping their wrist.

Francine eye sockets are empty and a mixture of water and blood flows from her mouth, running over her blue lips. Blood spews from the side of her neck where the iron rod originally impaled her on the bridge. She turns her heard towards Kendrick.

“Where is my baby?” she asks as she cries.

The floorboard of the car begins to fill with water. They continue to scream and try to open the car by any means necessary.

Kendricks says, “I’m sorry. I don’t have your baby. I’m sorr—”

Before he could finish his sentence, Francine reaches over and rips the bottom half of his jaw off his face. Blood begins to pour from Kendricks’s face. Francine takes the bottom half of the jaw and pushes it through Kendrick’s forehead.

Melissa screams. Francine turns her attention to Melissa.

“Where is my baby?” Francine asks.

Melissa screams, “We don’t have your fucking baby, you crazy bitch.”

Francine uses both of her hands and grabs Melissa on the left and right sides of her head. She pushes her hands in opposite directions and rips Melissa’s head completely off her body. Her head falls into the water that’s beginning to fill the car.

Donovan sobs in the passenger seat as he tries over and over to open the car door, but it is in vain. The water level in the car is at waist level now. Francine crawls over the center console and looks at Donovan.

She asks, “Where is my baby?”

Donovan begs, “Please don’t kill me. I’m—”

Francine grabs the bottom of Donovan’s jaw and pushes upwards, causing his hyoid bone to pierce his skin. Blood begins to spew from his throat. He tries to talk, but blood pours out of his mouth. Causing him to choke and spit up blood. Francine pushes upward with more force, causing Donovan’s head to flip backwards like a Pez dispenser.

Crystal bangs on the window and cries out, “Somebody help me. Please help me.” She continues to bang her fists against the window. She angles her body, leans back, and kick the front windshield, but it will not break. Francine looks over at Crystal.

Francine asks, “Where is my baby?”

Crystal kicks the windshield with both feet, over and over. At one point, she kicks the windshield so hard, the sole on her left shoe flies off and her left ankle bends and snaps in half. She instantly grabs her ankle and screams out in pain.

Francine again asks, “Where is my baby?”

Crystal only sobs, holding her ankle. The water in the car starts to rise at a faster rate. Within seconds, the entire car is filled with water.

Francine grabs Crystal’s left ankle and rips it from her body. A sharp bone protrudes from the top of the ankle. Francine pushes the bone through the right side of Crystal’s head. The entire car looks like a blood-filled fish tank.

Francine opens the door and crawls out of the car. She cries as she drags her body across the bridge to the edge. She says, “Where’s my baby?”

Francine falls over the edge of the bridge and back into her watery grave.

The sun rose over Stone’s Throw around 6 a.m. Halloween morning. The rain has stopped and there isn’t a cloud in sight. Mr. James Hampton III is out for his morning walk when he came across the car in the middle of his bridge. He walks over to the car and notices the four bodies. He turns away quickly and vomits.

“My god,” he said. “Not again.”

He uses his left forearm to wipe the puke from the edges of his mouth. From the water below the bridge, he hears a faint cry.

“Where’s my baby?”