The Ghost at Fanny Wylie’s Bridge

Close to the village of Ballyarnett on the outskirts of Derry there is a small stone bridge. An ivy-clad tree grows close by the remains of an old cottage.
At nighttime in the 1950’s and 60’s it was a lonely place to cross. Most people preferred to have company when they made the journey because of the ghostly experiences recounted by the people who lived around there.

When someone passed by on the empty road, no sooner did they cross the bridge but the figure of a small man jumped out before them seemingly from nowhere. He leapt about muttering and gesticulating in front of the unfortunate person then disappeared as suddenly as he came. After an eerie silence of a few seconds an unearthly laugh was heard behind. When the traveller looked around the tiny evil-looking man was crouched on the bridge ready to spring into the air. It has been said that he jumped as high as the nearby tree after which he disappeared and all that was left was the sound of the laugh.

Many people have also said that when walking along the road late in the evening they have felt the hairs on the back of their necks prickle when the sound of footsteps seemed to follow them. When they looked around no-one was there but when they continued to walk the footsteps followed.

The last known appearance was around 1962. The bridge and the tree are still there but the cottage is gone and new housing estates are encroaching on this stretch of road.