The Legend of Hell’s Bridge – Steve’s Stories

Today we will tell you a tale so terrifying that it is said that it is the most haunted place in Michigan!  Hell's Bridge is perched only a few feet above Cedar Creek in Algoma Township.  The bridge has become the setting for an urban legend that has terrified West Michigander's for years.

No one knows where the story came from or when it was first told, but the story begins in the late 1800s with a preacher would strike terror into the town of Algoma.  The legend tells of a preacher named Elias Friske who was possessed by a demon.  Friske lured seven children from their homes in the town and brought them deep into the woods to Cedar Creek.  The children were led there against their will, driven by a demonic song.

Friske took the children to Hell's Bridge and murdered them one by one.  He then took their bodies and threw them into the creek.  After his deed his done, the parents of the children hunted him down and attempted to hang him over Cedar Creek.  But, the rope snapped and Friske was swept away by the water.

As the legend goes when you are on Hell’s Bridge with the moon high overhead you can still hear the Devil’s laugh and children’s cry.

But, all that isn't true, and here is why.  The thing about this urban legend is that their are historical records showing that Elias Friske wasn’t even a person.  And that no one with the Friske family name moved to Algoma until 1910 and this supposedly happened in the 1800s. That type of steel grated bridge wasn’t really produced until at least the 1930s or 40s.  And there isn’t a record of any such murders anywhere.