Cry Baby Bridge & Kali Oka
Saraland, Alabama
By Robin Wright
Take a turn off of Kali Oka Road in Saraland, Alabama, go carefully around Dead Man’s Curve (so named for the numerous fatal car accidents) and you will be heading towards Cry Baby Bridge and the Kali Oka Plantation. The plantation may look familiar to independent film buffs as it was used as the location for the horror film “Dead Birds,” where a mix of demonology and voodoo create a horrible place to stay the night in post-Civil War Alabama. There is an eerie aura around the plantation house and the smaller house that was once the slaves’ quarters. Some have said they have seen a woman in white lighting candles in a window. Others have spotted a hulking African American man, believed to have once been a slave on the plantation, walking the Kali Oka Road. These two ghosts, it has been said, are the reason you can hear a baby cry at night on the bridge just down the road.
The woman was the mistress of the plantation house, and her husband was an abusive, cold-hearted master. The giant was a slave and the Mistress’s lover. One night, the master of the house followed his wife as she entered the slaves’ quarters just behind the plantation house. He caught them in a lovers’ embrace, pulled them apart and at knife-point, forced the slave to a tree where he was chained up. Both of his hands were cut off for daring to touch the master’s wife, and he was left to die as a warning to others. Afterwards, the mistress of the house discovered she was pregnant. According to local tradition, she delivered a baby boy in the woods and drowned him in the nearby creek, where Cry Baby Bridge crosses today. Now, they say, one can hear the baby cry as his poor, innocent body touches the cold, running water in a constant repetition of his mother’s desperate betrayal. The slave still walks the road, looking for the son he’ll never know on the mortal plane.
But there is another version of the story, too…
Some believe the Master actually showed favoritism towards his behemoth slave. After the master’s death, however, the wife was the one who tied him up to the tree because she hated him so much. Insanely jealous, she supposedly left him tied to the tree in front of the house so that she could watch as he died a slow death.
Cry Baby Bridge also has multiple legends as to why one can hear a baby cry when you cross it at night. Some say a bunch of kids were playing on the bridge when they knocked a boy into the creek, where he downed. There are a few versions that a woman and her baby had a tragic accident. In some versions, she escapes and doesn’t even try to save the baby, in others, both she and the baby die. Those who follow logic claim that the sound is actually the wind blowing across the pipes that lay beneath the bridge, but that does not explain why cars have so much trouble crossing the bridge at night. Cars will stall, lights will go haywire, and some have even reported that their cars have moved from one end of the bridge to the other without any earthly aid.
Some have tried to get physical proof of the bridge’s haunting by sprinkling baby powder on a car from bumper to bumper. Wait inside the car for a few minutes, then go out and look. Some say that you will see a toddler’s hand and footprints. Another, much more satisfying twist on this (some have suggested) is to send a passenger out to sprinkle the car with baby powder. When they get out, drive away, leaving them alone in the dark to experience the bridge for themselves for a few frightening minutes. But we would never suggest such shenanigans….
No one knows which, if any, of the stories are true. Everyone does agree, however, that there is something definitely otherworldly in this area of Alabama. The plantation house has been relatively recently purchased and renovated by a family who do not seem bothered by the ghosts that haunt Kali Oka Road.
309 comments on this haunted house. Share your story »
309 Comments |
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breanna says: |
May 6, 2009, 5:14 pm |
i need to know if this is real. and the directions to the bridge. please?
James says: |
May 11, 2009, 6:42 pm |
Angela, I have been to Cryaby Bridge outside of Lawton, Oklahoma. We used to go during my Sr. Year (1990). I can’t actually say that I heard or saw anything paranormal, but it didn’t change the fact that the place was downright spooky. It was all old, crikkety, rusted, tucked away in some thick trees and weeds and we convinced ourselves that our car was gonna fall through when we drove over it. Obviously, it never happened but that didn’t change the fact that we were all freiked out everytime we went out there. No matter how much a chick liked you (or not) they would always cling toghtly to the closest dude when we went out there, so it was always a good time. Great memories.
Alma says: |
May 23, 2009, 5:51 pm |
i’m pretty sure that there is only one Cry Baby Bridge to go with this story and the chances of this exact incident happening somewhere else on a bridge is really really slim. though, i really do enjoy the story and if i lived near there, i would probably take my boyfriend to scare the **** out of him, but sadly i don’t. as for the people who don’t seem to comprehend the baby powder thing: when you spread baby powder on the hood, bumper, etc. of the car, it will show that someone has touched it because it will show the shape of what did through the baby powder. if a baby hand touches that area, you will a shape that should look like a baby’s hand print. try with your own hand, if you want to see for yourself. spread baby powder and then put your hand on it, pull your hand away and you should see the shape of your hand within the baby powder.
rednek country girl says: |
May 31, 2009, 9:26 pm |
hey guys. i live on live on kali oka road.. i have never been to the plantation but i have been to the bridge during the day and nothing happened.. i want to go to the plantation though! to David and all the others who needs directions to how to get there.. if you are on the interstate heading to gulf shores then take the 158 exit and take a right then get onto kali oka road and you will come to a L-shaped curve then another curve then the bridge.. take the first road on the right and there is two houses next to each other.. the one on the left is the plantation i think..
Evan says: |
June 3, 2009, 3:21 pm |
The story I heard of cry baby hollow is you can drive on the bridge and with your headlights on get out of the car place a candy bar in front of your headlights get back in your car turn the headlights off then turn them back on and a bite of the candy bar will be gone.
WRONG!!! says: |
June 8, 2009, 3:55 pm |
This info is wrong, first Deadmans curve is on a interstate in Birmingham and second I live 5 min from crybaby bridge and its not in Saraland, it is in Leeds, Al right off of Morrow rd. i’ve been on crybaby bridge and experienced the haunting….
Cody palmmer says: |
June 29, 2009, 2:41 am |
We went to the one in edgefield sc about a week ago and my friend uploaded the pictures to his facebook and there are orbs in every single picture. Also, you can actually hear a babys cry. It is very real. This place here has been known for devil worshipers and there is animal blood on the floor of the old church and a painting of some creature in blood. It reeks of something dead. Just driving up the dirt road gave us the creeps because you could just sense death and evil
Crystal says: |
July 31, 2009, 3:32 pm |
I have lived next to Cry Baby Bridge and the old Kali Oka Plantation for 32 years please email me for any questions you may have. I even have some photos posted my myspace while being there at night…. Cre0420@yahoo.com
Austin Yewell says: |
October 9, 2009, 8:58 pm |
Hello. I drove across the bridge as a stop going to Florida and technically flew across it going 5 MPH. I saw an orb when I took a picture of how far my wheels were off the ground. I also heard crying from below.
Julia says: |
October 21, 2009, 7:04 pm |
My husband and I were just talking about Kali Oka Road, and how oru daughter loves to go down there, I.ve been in the daytime, and don’t like it at all.I’ve never sean or heard anything, tooscared to get out of the car,but just the “feeling” of the place, a place I would not want to go down at night and to break down in a car. I live about 20 miles from this place all my life, and been there 2 times, one by accident, the other with someone else driving, and that;s it! Not a “good feeling”kinda place.
BILLY says: |
October 22, 2009, 6:52 pm |
I have been to this place before, really interesting. but I think it is an old pump or something making the sounds. Haven’t been to the plantation though.
Slim says: |
October 30, 2009, 5:31 am |
We have herd of the ghost of Kali-Oka Road up here in Nebraska There’s a guy that wrote a song called “The Ghost of Kali-oka Road” his name is L.J. Henry. I got the CD up here but he is from Mobile when he was a kid or something. It is a weird CD in a good way. The CD is Geronimo-songs of glorified dispair. On the CD it spelled like that.
bittydig says: |
November 1, 2009, 7:53 pm |
does anyone know how to get to the grave yard?? I went to the bridge today and also took the dirt road to the plantation house (they have done a great fixing it up by the way) but I couldn’t find a grave yard.
tennessee chick says: |
November 3, 2009, 8:00 pm |
I was at Cry baby Bridge one night my dad told me to get out and put baby powder on the car. Once i got out and shut the door he drove off i droped the baby powder on the bridge and started to try and run but it felt like i couldnt move like something was holding me back. Horrified i look down and saw footprints small prints at about the same time i heard a baby crying. When me dad came back on the bridge he said he heard nor seen anything.So just a heads up DON’T GO!!!!
April says: |
November 12, 2009, 2:24 am |
I took my teenagers out there recently and told them the story that was told to me when I was young,that the woman threw her baby off the bring and then jumped to her death.All the years I have been out there I’ve heard alot off things that I wan’t sure about but this time it freaked me out.As soon as I pulled on the bridge I rolled my window down only to hear a woman’s scream sounding like she was falling.After leaving a few minutes we came back and stopped on the bridge only to hear the baby the next time.My children refuse to go back to the bridge or the plantation
Tania Crook says: |
November 19, 2009, 11:04 pm |
omg my aunt lives in saraland and 10 blocks down that street im not lying people!
jd says: |
November 21, 2009, 12:24 am |
I have been several times but never heard anything. There are actually 2 bridges within 1/4 mile of each other. i have been under both several times at night and have not experienced anything. one night a couple of buddies and myself followed the creek down about 100 yards and the only thing we stumbled upon was a blue orb in a picture that was above my head.
Lenee' Monet says: |
November 21, 2009, 4:29 pm |
One, lonely, Saturday night around ten o’clock, my husband and I had nothing to do. He had been talking about this “Crybaby Bridge” all week at his job, and came home telling me these tall tells about this place. I said let’s get on the internet and see what we can find out about “Crybaby Bridge!” He was up for it, so we hit the internet and found a place just outside of Saraland off Kalioka Road with a map from mapquest labeled “Crybaby Bridge!” All right, we were on our way out there, as I was reading the history that we got off the internet about the place, and to say the least, I was a little bit scared! My husband didn’t seem addled. As we were approaching the bridge, we rolled our windows down and turned off everything in the car, so if the baby cried while we were crossing the bridge, we wouldn’t miss it. We parked the car at the end of “Crybaby Bridge” and got out, and to our dismay could hear no creek running below the bridge! But there was this deafening silence that tortured me to death. Also, the darkness was so black, you could hardly see your hands in front of your face! You could not even see your feet! We stood up on the ledge of the bridge to get off of the road, and that was not much to stand on. The silence was so eerie!!!!!!!! You could not hear a leaf rustling, crickets, or any other form of nature moving out there. I was getting more and more scared by the moment, just from the history of the place, its darkness, and longing silence! Then all of a sudden, we heard this noise. It was hard to figure out at first, because it seemed off in a distance, but as the sound drew nearer, we realized that a vehicle was approaching the bridge. It was on top of us, before we knew it. We hurriedly jumped up on the 4″ ledge of the bridge and almost got hit by the SUV that sped by us!!!!!!!! There was nothing to hold on to, because it was not your conventional bridge. The top of the bridge hit around your calves, and half of your feet were hanging off of the ledge. This speeding SUV had no idea that we were on the bridge, nor how close they came to knocking us off of the bridge. That was enough for me. I had been thoroughly scared just by standing on “Crybaby Bridge” with a hoaring vehicle almost mowing us over the side of the bridge. That’s all that I needed to see for the night, feel for the night, and experience on “Crybaby Bridge!” My heart actually skipped two or three beats, so I feel like I got my hypes worth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Horrified in Semmes
Lynette says: |
December 3, 2009, 1:28 pm |
I grew up in that area. The story about the fatal accident is the one that the local will tell. The others, I have never heard. I went around that curve and over the bridge many times as a teenager and many times alone at night for I had friends that lived in the area. I never saw anything. I did loose a beloved friend on the sharp curve and there were many fatal accidents even 20 years ago when I lived in the area.
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brittany says:
April 9, 2009, 8:43 pm
dude i live like 5 min from there and all that people say is true you can really hear the baby cryin and my aunt wnet across the bridge one night and the car just shut off and would not crank for a while finally she got it cranked and got out of there as quickly as she could. but if your brave go check it out but be careful on a friday night around 11:45pm a man at the plantation will chase you and try to get into your vehicle.