Case #03 : Train Trestles in Mexico, MO

For Your Consideration...

An old set of wooden/iron train trestles in Mexico, MO. This bridge is similar to 9 Mile, in that it is rumored slaves were hung from it. PROOF has been several times to check this spot out, but the bridge has yielded nothing in the way of confirmation of a haunting. It's located down a gravel road, which makes dust contamination in pictures a pain, and, as it's out in the country, there's a lot of extraneous noise (bugs, cars, etc), making EVP work next to impossible.

The last time we were here, it was just Shaun and myself, along with Jeff Smith, a native of Mexico, a fellow fraternity brother and a supporter of PROOF. We attempted to do some debunking by parking my car directly beneath the bridge and sprinkling baby powder on top. We turned the engine and headlights off, hoping to see footprints appear in the powder, but nothing happened, other than a car driving past us wondering what we were up to. We were only able to wait about five-ten minutes before it started sprinkling, which made distinguishing footprints from rain splatters really tough.

Personally, I feel the "activity" at this bridge is simply another legend, based upon urban myth. We've found no corroborating history or information to suggest slaves were ever hung from this bridge. Much like 9 Mile, it's a popular hangout spot and is covered with all manner of graffiti. I will say this in defense of the legend, it's a very creepy locale.

Case #02 : 9 Mile Bridge

For Your Consideration...

A lot of towns across the United States have stories about a "haunted bridge," most involving hangings. 9 Mile Bridge, located outside Auxvasse, MO, located down a very long and winding gravel road, has just such a story.

Supposedly, during the time of the Civil War, many slave women and children were hung from this bridge. Legend says that now the bridge, as well as the church and cemetery up the hill from it are haunted by the spirits of these women and children. Other people have claimed to have gone out to the bridge, dangle their bare feet over the edge and have sensations of someone or something tickling them. It is also rumored that if you lean over the edge you'll see sets of eyes staring back up at you. These eyes are also said to be viewable within the many trees that line either side of the creek. The final myth says if you stop your car in the center of the bridge, turn off the engine and sit a spell, you'll be enveloped in a fog. After it clears you'll be able to see hand prints all over your car, which won't start until you push it off the bridge. Other versions say you'll have to leave your car and come back to get it in the morning.

The PROOFteam has been out to 9 Mile several times, and every time the only thing we've experienced is severe amounts of dust in all our photos. No one has had a personal experience of any kind. The only thing that feels creepy about the location is the fact it's out in the middle of nowhere. We've looked for the eyes, tried leaning over the edge, dangled our feet, but nothing has happened. The only thing we haven't tried is stopping a vehicle on the bridge, as we didn't want to strand ourselves out there (it'd be a long walk, with no cell service).

In our opinion, this place is chock full of urban myth. The "eyes" people see could be any number of things reflecting light, or perhaps bugs or animals. The "tickling" sensation could be the wind blowing tiny particles of dirt, dust, sand, etc off the bridge and onto the bottom of someone's foot. Even our research thus far hasn't yielded any results to prove anyone was ever hung there. Both the church grounds and the cemetery feel peaceful and at rest.

Until our research yields something conclusive, we can't call this bridge haunted. Unfortunately, the bridge itself is a popular hangout for teenagers and the target of a lot of graffiti. For directions, email us at proof.hq@gmail.com. Please note that both the church and cemetery are private property and tresspassers will be prosecuted.

PROOFteam Pictures

Here's a collection of pictures from past investigations showing the PROOFteam in action. The pictures were taken in a variety of locations, including 9 Mile Bridge, A Bar in Fulton, MO, Train Trestles in Mexico, MO, Dulany Theatre, Jones Hall Dormitory and a Private Residence in Glasgow, MO.

CASE #01 : Dulany Theatre

For Your Consideration...

This picture comes from Dulany Theatre. The place is pretty old, and naturally generates a lot of dust, which made many appearances in our photos over the course of the investigation. This one, however, is different. Dust is generally solid in the center with a sort of opaque, grayish look and transparent rings around the perimeter. It happens when light refracts through particles in the air. The most prominent orb in this photo, however, seems to be lit from within and has a bit of a trail behind it, suggesting that it's moving rapidly. This also leads me to believe it isn't dust.

I'm not one to count on orbs as signs of paranormal activity, unless coroborating evidence can be found. This night, I was lucky enough to capture an anomaly on an EVP right before taking this picture. The recording didn't contain any weird noises or voices. What happened is this - I asked, "If there is someone here, do you know that you're dead?" Upon playback, we found the word 'dead' to be completely omitted from the recording. I cross-referenced video taken within the room whilst we were there, and I clearly said dead, and it didn't clip out on the tape. I should also add that 'dead' was the last word of that question, and, after allowing time for someone to answer, the next question came in just fine. This was the only time this occurence happened that night. Kinda freaky, no?

To play devil's advocate, I know that sometimes particles in the air can become supercharged and give the appearance of a true 'paranormal' orb, and to be fair, that room is only several feet away from the campus radio tower, which puts off a pretty high EMF (electromagnetic field). These things could account for both the orb and the clipped recording. The energy output from the tower could have sent a mini surge into my recording device, causing DC Offset and the clipped word, however, as I stated before, this was the only time it happened, and we did several more recordings as the night went on with absolutely no problems. I also find it interesting that it decided to clip out the word 'dead' and nothing else (we also checked for any possible source of light contamination and reflection).

Perhaps I'm reading too much into this. Perhaps there's nothing there at all. At the least, the PROOFteam will continue to check this place out and gather more evidence to either support or debunk the stories of supposed activity. Look for some of those stories, coming soon!