Salem-Shotwell Covered Bridge

Opelika, AL · Bridges

Salem-Shotwell Covered Bridge The original bridge was the site of a tragedy when a woman and her two children were crossing it in a car and the bridge collapsed. All three were killed. Urban legend has it that if you put candy on the bridge's edge at night, by the light of your car headlights you will see the ghost children come to collect the candy. The original bridge was destroyed by a falling tree in 2005. The rebuilt bridge is at the new location shown on the map.

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Geographic Information

Address
Park Rd
Opelika, AL 36801
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GPS
32.65937485, -85.38138987
County
Lee County, Alabama
Nearest Towns

Quick Answers

Is Salem-Shotwell Covered Bridge really haunted?
Visitors rate Salem-Shotwell Covered Bridge at 78.2 out of 100 on our EHP (Estimated Haunted Probability) scale. So far 3 people have shared firsthand experiences from this location in the comments.
Where is Salem-Shotwell Covered Bridge located?
The address is Park Rd, Opelika, AL 36801. GPS coordinates: 32.65937485, -85.38138987.
What kind of haunted place is Salem-Shotwell Covered Bridge?
Salem-Shotwell Covered Bridge is listed under Bridges in our Alabama section.
What is the nearest town to Salem-Shotwell Covered Bridge?
Opelika, AL is the closest town, about 1.0 miles away, with Auburn (6.7 mi.) and Cusseta (9.7 mi.) also nearby.

Please note: It is your responsibility to acquire appropriate permissions before investigating any location listed on this site. Private property should be respected at all times, as should all posted signs concerning trespassing, hours of operation and other regulations.

Share Your Experiences

Comments (3)

  • Jhenny |

    You can smell car oil or smell burning flesh

  • James Miller |

    In the mid 1980s there was talk of a monster ghost deer at covered bridge in Saleam , Alabama . This deer was supposed to be almost big as a mule. A guy in a truck reported he hit the deer an knocked on of its horns off . The only person to ever make contact with it . So it was real . Not jus a sighting like all the rest . Now I have hunted deer for years . So I decided to go hunting there just pass the bridge where everyone has spotted this monster ghost deer. As I sit in my stand on top of this hill it appears. One shot threw the heart , and it runs down the hill and jumps in the creek . I can’t see it but hear it splashing around, and it’s head pops up looking from the deep bank of the creek. So I shoot it threw the neck , I think this really pissed it off , it comes out of that hole crawling and fighting the with an angry loud grunting sound ,, and come right beneath my tree. So I shoot it again right between the shoulder blades. Three killing shots , so this time I was hoping that it knew it was dead . And yes but I couldn’t move this monster buck , so I stared to go for help but at lest 12 Miles for help . So go back an only had to move this buck about 40 feet to my 65 Buick wildcat . So would grab a horn a tre an move it about a half a foot at a time . I would quit and look back at it , no I’m not going to leave this deer , three hours later after throwing up a few times from straining myself . I got it to my car and couldn’t load it . But after another hour and a half I finally got it pull into the not the trunk, but the back of the inside of my car . Anyhow thank God for monster 65 Buick Wildcats .
    Anyhow this monster buck did have a ghost spirit and does live on threw me
    James

  • M. Stillwell |

    Until 2005 my family owed the property on the SE corner of the bridge. I spent a large amount of my life around the covered bridge, and never saw anything but people vandalizing the bridge. I've camped under the bridge and all up and down the creek and never heard, or saw any of these things.
    My now adult son would spend his summer afternoons playing in that creek, he never saw anything.
    I didn't hear any of these stories growing up, they only appeared in the last 15 years.

Disclaimer: The stories posted here are user-submitted and are, in the truest sense, ghost stories. Haunted Places makes no claims that any of these stories are factually accurate or scientifically provable.