Latest / Amigos, Afraid! / 61. San Gabriel Valley Spirits: Spadra Cemetery and the Suicide Bridge

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61. San Gabriel Valley Spirits: Spadra Cemetery and the Suicide Bridge · Amigos, Afraid!

0:00
Hello everyone, welcome back to Amigos Afraid.
0:03
Every time you take the 57 freeway through Pomona, you're
0:06
driving right past the town that completely vanished.
0:09
The cemetery is all that's left and between a founder running
0:12
from a double murder and shadow figures roaming the headstones,
0:15
the real history is weirder than any of the long standing rumors.
0:19
This week we dig into the hauntings and the dark history
0:22
of Spadra Cemetery. Quick disclaimer on my topic
0:25
this week, which includes the themes of suicide and untimely
0:29
deaths. If this topic hits close to
0:31
home, please take care of yourself and know that help is
0:34
available. You can call or text 988
0:37
anytime, 24/7 for free and confidential support.
0:42
We've also included crisis resources in the episode notes.
0:46
All right, with that said, I'm talking about the Colorado St.
0:49
Bridge, a Socal staple and historic landmark with a pretty
0:53
depressing history and a long list of unfortunate jumps that
0:56
eventually earned it a much darker nickname.
1:37
welcome back everyone, give me your golden tickets.
1:40
The Can I sit here?
2:07
No, that one doesn't mind. See the one with the microphone?
2:10
I sit there. How's it going everyone?
2:13
Welcome back. Guys, it is once again Thursday
2:16
and you're listening to Amigos Afraid, a weekly paranormal
2:20
slash supernatural slash weird history slash anything Jerry and
2:25
Brian want to talk about show. I'm Brian.
2:28
He's not Brian. He's Jerry.
2:29
I'm Brian. And he's Jerry.
2:32
And that is a man. And underneath the mend we find
2:36
his nucleus. You I.
2:39
Don't want to stare at a man in nucleus.
2:42
Reel back, reel back, reel back. It's naturally re.
2:46
Nacho Libre has a nucleus. I don't remember the last time I
2:50
saw that movie, but I have been considering it as a Halloween
2:52
costume. Do it.
2:54
I used to. I wish I still had my mask to
2:55
give you. You had it.
2:56
I dressed up as natural. Leave it.
2:58
I think like 2019 or something. Were you shirtless and was there
3:01
pictures? I have not shirtless.
3:03
It was Polo. Then why even do it?
3:06
It was in the the polo that. It's not the iconic look.
3:09
It was his. His OK.
3:11
It is an iconic look. His gym.
3:12
Look. No, his, his.
3:13
What is it? It's.
3:15
These are my recreation clothes. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
3:18
So you have to do the blue tights, the red undies and the
3:21
red Cape. Not at a family party, no.
3:23
Oh shoot the after. Party at the club.
3:28
Really quick, Brian, what? I know it's Thursday but let's
3:32
just say it were Tuesday 9/22. Imagine.
3:36
Just imagine I want to wish everyone a happy Hobbit day and
3:40
wish Bilbo and Frodo a happy birthday.
3:43
Oh my God, happy Hobbit day. It's their birthday.
3:46
It is Oh oh was. Someone else's birthday.
3:49
It was also Daves birthday. Happy birthday, Dave.
3:53
Please don't hurt us for sharing that.
3:55
I'm also just it's a Dave. It's a Dave, it's a Dave.
3:58
We never said which one. Exactly.
4:01
It's not Dave Bead. You know who you are.
4:05
Yeah, you, you bearded man. Stood yeah, a lot of
4:11
celebrations happening, but we're so happy that you're here
4:13
with us on this glorious Thursday.
4:16
Make sure you like you follow the podcast, you subscribe to
4:19
the YouTube channel, you follow us on TikTok, you follow us on
4:22
Instagram, you visit the website and you submit your own story.
4:25
That's it. This all you got to deal.
4:26
With a couple things. And then you grab a friend to do
4:28
the same thing, and once they grab two or three friends who do
4:31
the same thing, you level up in your membership.
4:33
And then eventually, once enough people have signed up, you start
4:36
making money. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
4:38
And I know it kind of looks like a pyramid, but it's not a
4:41
pyramid scheme. No, it's just triangle where. 2D
4:45
we're flat. Yeah.
4:45
Yeah. And just trust me.
4:48
Yeah, trust him. Just trust me.
4:49
Look at him. You can trust him.
4:51
Trust me bro. Never call me bro.
4:55
If you call me bro, I'm kicking you in the shin.
4:59
You can't really call me, man. Like, hey, what's up, man?
5:02
I can't reach. No, you know what?
5:05
Go over it. You know what's really funny?
5:07
Go over it. No, do it.
5:09
I went to like a work thing a couple nights ago.
5:13
OK, this is the only update I have and this place, the event
5:17
was at an old school and I don't know if you as an adult have
5:20
been to what used to be elementary schools.
5:23
The only reason I did is because I went to an improv show that
5:26
takes place at a church that has an elementary school.
5:28
OK, weird combination, but yes. OK, went into that bathroom
5:32
there's. A joke somewhere in there.
5:33
OK, went into that bathroom and there was a urinal maybe like 1
5:37
foot off the ground. Oh, perfect for you.
5:39
No, no, that was too short. Fast forward to this week when I
5:43
went to an event also in an elementary school.
5:46
Why was the urinal at my stomach like, who's this for?
5:52
What giants go to school here? Maybe they got some D1 athletes.
5:56
I don't know, but there's also a no smoking sign in the bathroom.
5:59
I mean, it's a decommissioned school.
6:00
It's really scary because nice. It's only a little section
6:03
that's open for like library services.
6:06
I don't know what it was. And then the rest of the school,
6:08
the windows are all broken, everything's boarded up.
6:11
It's really scary. You take pictures?
6:12
1 bathroom? No, because I was working.
6:15
Don't want to be like oh look at this, how do I get in there?
6:18
One of those quick pictures where you just take it out, take
6:19
a picture, put it back, and then you see something in the
6:22
background. My worst fear?
6:25
We should do that more often. Wow, well that's cool.
6:30
I haven't been to tiny restrooms in a long.
6:33
Time. It really makes you feel giant
6:35
until you get to the wrong one that makes you feel small.
6:39
Man, I I my only update Brian is that I finished reading The Lord
6:44
of the Rings after almost 2 decades.
6:48
I finished the Turn of the King. Of being able to read.
6:51
Of being able to read, of not being able to read and then
6:54
learning how to read and then starting these books.
6:56
Yeah. So I finally finished them and I
6:59
started watching the last movie. You learned how to read it like
7:02
8 years old. No 18.
7:05
Yeah, 18. 18 It's only been 10 years.
7:07
Yeah. You said 2 decades.
7:09
Oh, did I? Maybe I don't know, I'm one
7:12
drinking today I. Probably didn't, you know what I
7:15
mean, but the movie was good. A little little changes here and
7:18
there. I did not finish it yet, but I
7:21
plan on finishing it this week. It's been a really busy week.
7:24
This man told me that movie is 4 hours long.
7:26
Extended the extended version yet?
7:28
Oh, you're watching like everything that was recorded for
7:31
that movie. Everything.
7:32
No scenes cut, no cuts. I need everything.
7:34
No editing. It is a live show that they're
7:36
putting on in Jerry's living room.
7:38
And I'm wearing a wig. And it's playing every character
7:42
but Jerry's wearing a wig. I'm wearing the wig.
7:44
Yeah, I was. I found my my Gandalf wig.
7:47
No way. Which I put on for the 1st 30
7:49
seconds of the movie and then I started.
7:50
To take a picture and remember that's a photo of you in your
7:52
wig. I love when you wear wigs.
7:55
But then I started sweating so I took it off.
7:56
So no, I I lasted 5 seconds. Why'd?
7:58
You tell me two minutes ago quick pictures we take quick
8:00
pictures you just. You're right.
8:02
That's it. If it's blurry, it's blurry.
8:04
That's true, but the but the but the proof is there.
8:07
The proof is in the pudding. Banana pudding.
8:11
Come down high, love pudding. Love pudding?
8:15
Don't remember the last time I had pudding, it's been too long.
8:18
I think we had snack packs not too long ago those.
8:20
Are the best ones the chocolate ones?
8:22
Oh, the Louisa, the leche ones. I.
8:24
Don't think I've ever had that one.
8:26
Ah, they saw my kindness. Haven't been there in years
8:29
anyways. Yeah, well, what about you?
8:32
What have you been up to? All right, I told you that's it.
8:35
I was talking. To them.
8:35
Oh, oh, I'm so sorry. So greedy.
8:40
Rudely interrupted by Brian. You ready to get into the stuff?
8:45
I guess I'm still talking to them.
8:46
Oh. My God, guys, you know the
8:49
working environments I find myself in.
8:52
Brian, he calls me short, says I can't kick a shin.
8:55
Brian, what haunted you this week?
8:58
Well, Jerry, I thought you'd never ask.
9:02
I thought you're asking them. I never said which, Brian, so
9:05
I'm not talking. I'm resigning.
9:10
This is Amigo. Amigo resigned.
9:15
Well, Jerry, since you asked so kindly, I've been haunted by
9:20
this specific place for years and honestly, I'm upset that I
9:25
haven't been there yet. Hidden away in Pomona, CA under
9:29
the 57 freeway and nestled up against the train tracks is a
9:33
cemetery that is over 150 years old.
9:37
Wow. While the town of Spadra is long
9:40
gone, the Spadra Cemetery has outlived The Pioneers, survived
9:45
vandalism, alleged cold activity and may be haunted by the ghost
9:50
of those buried there. Jerry, this week I am haunted by
9:55
the Spadra Cemetery and the stories of its community and the
9:58
town that built it. Whoa.
10:02
I believe we mentioned this place before.
10:04
I know we do it in our day-to-day lives.
10:06
When I mentioned it to Jerry today, he said haven't you done
10:08
that? And then IA cold chill went down
10:11
my body of like, what do you mean?
10:13
What do you mean? I've done it already.
10:14
I just did hours of research. Yeah.
10:16
And we have it. Yes, confirmed.
10:19
We did do Yorba Cemetery. Yes, we didn't, but that's.
10:22
Deep in Orange County. Yeah, what I should have done is
10:24
just waited until you showed up today.
10:27
Or technically I showed up, but you sat down and started telling
10:30
me about it, and then I dropped the We Did That episode 7 or
10:34
something, just to scare you a little bit even more.
10:37
Psychological warfare is what I'm living through today.
10:40
It's called Amigos Afraid for a reason.
10:42
I make you. No, you make me afraid.
10:45
I think Jerry thought we talked about it because we did watch a
10:47
YouTube video about it not that long ago.
10:50
Maybe a long ago, but there was people who were doing a
10:54
paranormal investigation there. But I wanted to go deeper.
10:57
I wanted to go deeper than just, oh, there's ghost at the
11:00
cemetery. Because of course people are
11:01
going to say there's ghost at the cemetery, but I wanted to
11:04
see where did this come from? Yeah, Why is it there?
11:08
What happened to it? Because I've heard some crazy
11:10
stories. How is it there?
11:12
A personal goal of mine is to one day visit after dark and
11:15
hopefully with the permission of the Pomona Historical Society
11:18
who manages the property. That would be cool.
11:21
I drive over the cemetery on the way to work everyday.
11:25
No way. Oh yeah, 57.
11:27
It's literally right under the 57.
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If you like pull up into the hazard lane and like look over
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you could. Probably see it.
11:34
I was going to say I I know the 57 by heart.
11:36
I think I just I'm trying to like locate which.
11:39
You're on the 57 right before it merges onto the 10.
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OK, You know those two lanes right after town?
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Is it town? If you get off town, there's a
11:51
Wendy's. But wouldn't you already be on
11:54
the 10 if you go to town? No on the. 57 you're still on
11:58
the 57 I mean, go. Afraid.
12:02
OK, so when the 57 turns into the 10, there's like there's
12:05
like those two lanes one goes. Yeah, it's right where those two
12:08
lanes are right before, right before.
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There is a probably a billboard there for a church for sure one
12:14
of those, but it's there. OK, I know where it's at.
12:17
Good. I'm glad we got that sorted.
12:19
So you you really like you know how?
12:20
Local it is exactly exactly. It's a tiny piece of land in the
12:24
foothills of Pomona, and the area behind it is completely
12:27
empty for now. But there are developmental
12:30
plans to build housing in the area, threatening the safety of
12:33
the cemetery. This is recent.
12:35
This is in the last like year. Wow.
12:37
The cemetery is close to visitors, and it's only open a
12:40
few times a year. The Historical Society regularly
12:43
provides tours in the fall around Halloween time, however,
12:47
that's currently paused. The Historical Society is asking
12:50
patrons and community members to send letters of support to the
12:53
city's planning division as the green space bordering the
12:56
cemetery is going to be leveled off to make houses limiting
12:59
public access. Oh yeah, yeah.
13:02
Not that I don't want housing. Well, it's not going to be
13:05
affordable I. Was going to say, it's not that
13:06
it's going to be the maybe low income housing, it's probably
13:09
going to be expensive housing, but that sucks.
13:11
It's going to be condensed housing, you know, like all
13:15
those new builds where, yeah, they're considered houses, but
13:19
your neighbor is, like, 5 feet away.
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Yeah, that's the kind of housing I believe they're going to be
13:22
building there. They're urging the city to
13:24
protect the cemetery as it's a vital historical site in the
13:27
area with over 100 years of history.
13:30
And that's mostly what I want to get into, what it is.
13:33
How did it get there and what happened to the town of Spadra?
13:37
And doing my research, I found some wild stories about one of
13:39
the earliest settlers, Uncle Billy Brewbottom.
13:42
It's a great name. What a name, right?
13:44
What a name. I know we've talked about the
13:47
cemetery before, but do you know anything about the pioneer town
13:50
of Spadra? Besides it, it sounds like a
13:53
video game town, no? Right, city of Spadra.
13:57
Wow. Buckle up because this story is
13:59
straight out of a western movie. Is it crazy that I started this
14:03
whole thing with a western accent?
14:05
Jerry, you have a psychic connection to my brain, and I'm
14:09
so sorry for that. Wow, it's pretty I'm I'm
14:12
tripping out right now, guys. His jaws on the floor, guys.
14:15
I don't know what to do. Wow.
14:16
So there's this guy named William Wiley Roo Bottom.
14:19
We'll call him Uncle Billy, as many did back in the 1800s.
14:23
This story comes from a short biography of him written by
14:26
Danona Brown Vincent, based on journal entries written by his
14:29
grandson, King Dorsey. Uncle Billy was wild.
14:34
He was a landowner, a business owner, a slave owner, a gun
14:39
owner, a murderer. The name is no longer cool.
14:44
Thank you. Billy came from Spadra,
14:47
Arkansas. He owned land by the Creek and
14:50
devoted his life to farming to support his wife and two kids.
14:53
And that's also where he had four slaves.
14:55
Him and his family ended up becoming local celebrities and
14:58
had a big impact on local culture and government.
15:01
Him and his brother Ezekiel ended up hearing rumors about a
15:03
land out West welcoming any newcomers to settle in the farm
15:06
lands. They heard it was cheap and
15:08
prosperous. Sounds too good to be true,
15:11
right? Well, I guess it was true.
15:14
In 1852, him and his brother rallied over 100 wagons worth of
15:17
people to make the trip out to California.
15:20
Along the way, he was given nine other slaves, but whether they
15:23
were borrowed or purchased secretly is up for debate and
15:27
would become a major plot point later on.
15:29
It took about nine months, but they eventually arrived in
15:32
Pomona Valley. At the time it was called Willow
15:34
Grove for the Willow trees that covered the area for miles.
15:38
Isn't that crazy that there used to be Willow trees?
15:40
There's something about Willow trees that just like, they're so
15:43
big and majestic, but creepy, you know?
15:46
But do you envision those just being in the area of Pomona, CA?
15:50
No, not Pomona I envision. There's like palm trees there.
15:54
My day school places. Yeah.
15:56
Pomona. And women of the night, yeah.
16:00
Yeah, I guess. Some settlements had already
16:02
popped up nearby by the time he arrived in what is present day
16:06
El Monte or El Monte. Armani is that old dude.
16:09
That's that's also super far, not super far.
16:12
But it's off the 10 when you think of people buying hundreds
16:14
of acres of land. Yeah, that's who your neighbor
16:17
is from Pomona to Armani. That's true.
16:18
Wow. He ended up purchasing land from
16:21
Rancho Cucamonga, plus some more from Rancho San Jose.
16:24
He built 2 very popular hotels in the area, some of the first
16:28
allowing him to kind of monopolize the market.
16:30
He had two successful hotels and a lot of people who came with
16:33
him, so they saw him as a leader of their community.
16:36
He was the big dog of Pomona Valley, or one of them at least.
16:39
More on that later. OK.
16:41
He was able to set up a post office in one of his hotels,
16:44
which helped establish his community as a permanent
16:46
settlement. As more people arrived, the
16:49
community expanded, and he ended up naming it Spadra in 1866
16:52
after his hometown in Arkansas. Would you move somewhere that's
16:56
never been claimed and call it Chula Vista?
17:02
Well, I mean the fact that it's derived from like a Spanish
17:05
word, yes, I think that's a great idea.
17:07
But what do you think of like renaming something a place
17:09
you've already lived in before? I'm leaning towards no.
17:14
So unoriginal. How to go with like a super fun
17:16
name, right? That's like unique.
17:18
Yeah, something cool. Yeah, just like renaming it
17:21
another city's name. Like I think that's pretty wack
17:23
to be honest. You know what?
17:24
I agree, and I'm glad we're on the same wavelength.
17:26
Yeah, Uncle Billy did make a trip back to Arkansas to
17:29
organize another wagon train to California, but he found himself
17:33
in some trouble. Remember the slaves that were
17:35
forced to join them? Yeah, they eventually gained A
17:38
dependence and refused to return to Arkansas.
17:41
Good. Good for them.
17:42
Yeah, well, word had gotten back to their owner and he was
17:47
pissed. Uncle Billy was out and about
17:50
back in Arkansas when the original slave owner and a
17:53
friend pulled up on him. They accused him of selling off
17:56
his slaves and demanded payment. They were literally trying to
17:59
shake him down. They said give me your money, I
18:02
know you took my slaves. But Uncle Billy, he was built
18:06
different dude. I don't think he knew what fear
18:09
was. He said no.
18:11
Things got heated quickly and the owner pulled out a gun and
18:14
shot Uncle Billy in the hand, saying that a bullet went
18:17
straight through his palm. He thought OK, well I'm going to
18:20
be dying, fuck it. Mm hmm.
18:22
He pulled out a knife that he had in his pocket.
18:24
With his good hand, he ripped off the sheath with his mouth
18:28
and started swinging. In a rage, he chased the two men
18:33
into a Tavern and wailed on them, stabbing them to death and
18:37
allegedly cutting them into pieces.
18:39
With his knife. With his knife and his I'm
18:43
assuming his not good hand. Yeah, just imagine the whole.
18:47
It said went and what he saw straight through it, like he
18:49
could see into the ground. His fingers are barely hanging
18:52
on and he said damn, I'm well if I'm going to die from this,
18:55
might as well go out with while kicking.
18:57
Yeah. His brother helped him escape
19:00
into the mountains and try to nurse Billy's hand back to
19:02
health. Turns out it wasn't a deadly
19:05
wound and he was able to recover just fine.
19:08
Wow, it was a it grazed him. He was just imagining the the
19:13
hole through his palm. No, it did go through, but he
19:16
was able to like just bounce right back.
19:18
Wow. A bounty was put on him.
19:21
They wanted him back either dead or alive.
19:24
So a warrant was issued for his arrest.
19:26
But this was the 1860s, Mr. Jerry.
19:29
A warrant in Arkansas did not mean much in California.
19:32
Yeah, Uncle Billy came back and lived a long life.
19:37
One day a letter came into the hotel, which was also the post
19:41
office, as I mentioned. Yeah, from Sheriff McConnell of
19:45
Johnson's County, Arkansas. That's where the original
19:47
Squadra is from. They were looking for a William
19:50
Rue Bottom and that it was personal.
19:53
The sheriff was a descendant of one of the men murdered.
19:58
They said no, no, no. You're not getting away that
20:00
easily. Well, the postmaster at the time
20:03
was besties with Uncle Billy, so he warned them that the sheriff
20:07
was coming. And oh boy, was Uncle Billy
20:09
ready. The sheriff eventually showed up
20:12
and found Uncle Billy sitting on his patio.
20:15
He said he was there to arrest him for the murders back in
20:17
Arkansas. Uncle Billy said you ain't got
20:20
no jurisdiction out here in California in.
20:24
Pomona. In Spadra.
20:26
In Spadra. And he pulled out a gun that he
20:29
had been hiding under the table, pointed it right at the sheriff.
20:33
The sheriff stood there staring at Uncle Billy and his gun
20:38
before taking a step back and then walking back down the road.
20:45
No one ever bothered Uncle Billy again about the murders.
20:48
He eventually died at the age of 77 in 1885.
20:52
OK, if Billy founded the town of Spadra, how do we get the Spadra
20:56
Cemetery? That's where Big dog number. 2
20:59
comes in OK. Also, whatever happened to
21:02
infection? I guess it didn't exist.
21:04
Wow. Just throw a little bit of
21:06
whiskey on it, kill the bacteria.
21:08
Smart. So there was a second powerful
21:10
rich man in the area named Lewis Phillips, an immigrant.
21:14
He was originally born in Prussia as Lewis Galewski before
21:18
moving to California and changing his name.
21:20
He also purchased a chunk of land in Rancho San Jose in what
21:23
is present day Pomona, CA and built a massive mansion which is
21:27
still around today and is also operated by the Pomona
21:29
Historical Society. It's called Phillips Mansion.
21:32
Cool. After the Southern Pacific
21:34
Railroad built a train depot in 1874, the community expanded
21:38
rapidly as goods were able to be transported in and out super
21:41
quick. He ended up selling about 1200
21:43
acres to the Pomona track, which started the development of
21:45
Pomona. He also held property in Los
21:48
Angeles owning large blocks, making him one of the richest
21:50
men in LA County with an estimated net worth of
21:53
$3,000,000. That was back in the 1800s.
21:58
That is almost $100 million today.
22:01
That's so funny that you did the conversion rate.
22:03
I did it for you. I appreciate that.
22:04
You're welcome. So if you have a lot of money in
22:06
the area, things tend to develop quickly.
22:09
By the 1870s, Spadra had three stores, warehouses, blacksmiths,
22:13
and some of the first schools in LA County and the post office I
22:17
mentioned earlier. A lot of people in Spadra also
22:20
means a lot of people dying. However, the creation of the
22:25
Spadra Cemetery can be traced to the death of one specific
22:27
person, Melinda Arnett, who passed away in 1868.
22:32
All of the nearby cemeteries were Catholic and since Berlinda
22:35
wasn't, there was no place for her to be buried.
22:38
To solve this, Mr. Phillips carved out a small 2.5 acre
22:41
section of his property to serve as a local non Catholic
22:44
cemetery. Mr. Phillips and his wife would
22:46
eventually be buried there as well.
22:48
It held its last burial in 1971 before being sold to the Pomona
22:52
Historical Society in 1975. In total, the cemetery contains
22:56
212 grapes. Wow.
22:58
So what happened to the cemetery?
23:00
Well, just like Spadra, it had a few years of success before
23:03
ultimately fizzling out. The railroad expanded past
23:07
Spadra in 1875, and that ultimately killed the town.
23:11
Now that Spadra wasn't the final stop, less and less people pass
23:14
through. It eventually became a ghost
23:17
town. The surrounding communities
23:18
continue to grow, leaving Spadra behind, and it was eventually
23:22
annexed into Pomona, which had grown a lot by the 1960s.
23:27
Just like the town, the cemetery took a turn for the worse.
23:30
Even before its final burial, the cemetery was overtaken by
23:33
vandalism. Rambunctious locals would hop
23:36
the fence and destroy headstones, monuments, and
23:38
statues. According to an article on SF
23:40
Gate, one of the most alarming incidents of vandalism occurred
23:43
in 1961, when three teenage boys allegedly robbed one of the
23:48
graves, stealing a skull from the buried body.
23:52
For what for? Fun we're.
23:54
Just three boys. You're right, you're right.
23:56
We got nothing else to do. Yeah, they needed some cranium.
24:00
I wanted some head. They needed some head.
24:03
It was eventually found somewhere in Pomona and returned
24:06
to its grave. Headstones have also been said
24:09
to have gone missing and appear on people's front steps.
24:12
That Did they ever mention how that body that was missing the
24:15
head ended up in Sleepy Hollow? Who?
24:18
Knows so much headless imagery. Yeah, the Historical Society has
24:24
gone through great lengths to restore the cemetery since the
24:27
headstones have been replaced and cement has been poured over
24:30
the graves to prevent any further gravediggers from
24:32
disrupting any more non consenting skeletons.
24:35
So we have disrupted graves, missing skulls and over 100
24:39
years of grief tied to a tiny little cemetery.
24:42
Are we surprised that there's claims of supernatural
24:45
occurrences? No.
24:47
Just take a wild guess what? What am I going to tell you,
24:49
people? See.
24:50
They see a lady in white. Oh, good guess they see
24:55
apparitions of a man. Oh, no way.
25:00
With a hat. Oh shit.
25:02
And a little cat. OK.
25:05
One of those is right, kind of. Let's go one for three.
25:09
According to the blog Paranormal Weekly, there has been decades
25:12
of paranormal experiences at Spadra Cemetery.
25:15
One of the most infamous encounters is that of a shadow
25:18
man that walks through the grounds.
25:20
He appears between the headstones or hiding behind the
25:23
trees. People who have witnessed him
25:25
say he's wearing 19th century clothing, so maybe he's wearing
25:28
a hat. Maybe they just weren't.
25:30
Specific. Yeah, also, this is where Gaga
25:33
was inspired for A Shadow of a Man.
25:36
She was at the Spadra Cemetery. She saw that man.
25:38
Shadow write a song about him. I wonder who it can be.
25:43
Do you think it's Louis Phillips?
25:45
He's buried there. Interesting.
25:49
How would you react to seeing someone in 19th century attire?
25:52
It has happened to us before. It has, yeah.
25:55
When we were in Eureka. Oh yeah.
25:58
Inside the little shop. Yeah, Yeah.
26:00
But confirms we all saw her. So yes, that was pretty.
26:03
Fun. But imagine you saw that girl
26:05
and I'm in the same place and I did not see that girl.
26:08
I would, I would be shook. I, I, I wouldn't know what to do
26:10
or say. But I think after I got past
26:12
like that adrenaline rush, I think I, I could appreciate the
26:18
manifestation, but I would still be freaked out.
26:20
Don't get me wrong, I'd still be freaked out.
26:23
Same. But I'd be like, that was kind
26:26
of cool. Yeah.
26:27
Wait, you all didn't see that girl turning a look?
26:29
Yeah. Just me, yeah.
26:31
I'm the chosen. One Yep, you see dead people.
26:34
If you're interested in maybe narrowing it down, there is a
26:38
website calledfindagrave.com which has a list of all the
26:41
people buried there. I did find it interesting that
26:44
the next two people buried after Merlinda were a father and
26:48
daughter in 18696 year old Elizabeth Greenwade and her
26:52
father James. According to a news clipping
26:55
from that time, James had mixed poison into some whiskey and
26:59
water with the intent to murder his whole family.
27:02
Why? He had a sip, then gave his
27:06
daughter a sip before telling her, hey, go share this with the
27:09
family. On the way to share it with her
27:11
mom, she mentioned, hey, you have to drink this.
27:14
Dad said, but it tastes funny. The mom was like, what do you
27:19
mean it tastes funny? It's just whiskey on water or
27:24
water. I don't know if it was a cup of
27:26
each or if it was just mixed together.
27:28
Sounds like a terrible mixed drink.
27:29
Yeah, she then examined it and could tell that it was mixed
27:33
with poison. She said I got the, I got the
27:36
eagle eye, the poison detector, the.
27:38
Schnauz. Yep, she smell poison.
27:41
She did APH test and stuff. Elizabeth died within two hours
27:45
and her father died not long after.
27:48
Previous to this incident, James had a reputation of being kind
27:51
and affectionate to his family. That was the closing sentence on
27:54
that article from the 1860s. Could the ghost walking around B
28:00
James? Is he regretting his actions?
28:03
Or maybe he's searching between the headstones looking for his
28:06
dead daughter? Or maybe it's the ghost of James
28:09
Friar. He's known to make noises around
28:12
the cemetery. Or are they the same person?
28:15
Gossip separated into two people?
28:17
Because I did my research, there's three people with the
28:20
last name Friar buried at the cemetery.
28:22
However, none of them are named James.
28:24
OK. Other ghostly occurrences
28:26
include a spirit known to grab visitors.
28:29
According to a Yelp review, a group of friends visited the
28:32
property but left running when one of the girls swore a hand
28:35
reached out and grabbed her. There's also claims of cult
28:39
activity. What you like the Yelp review?
28:42
It was a hand from the Amigos Afraid logo.
28:48
That's so. Scary.
28:49
It's a hand. Freshly manicured, bright red
28:52
nails. There's also some claims of cult
28:54
activity stemming from the vandalism.
28:57
Yeah, there's been reports of alleged devil worship at Spotter
28:59
Cemetery. People have gone and found
29:02
candles at grave sites with demonic imagery.
29:05
One person swore they saw a vampire rise from one of the
29:08
graves back in the 1980s. Sure, I mean at least one
29:13
vampire was buried there. It was a non Catholic cemetery.
29:15
Yeah, they had to be, yeah. They're like, oh, I, I can be
29:18
buried. And by now, like the garlic
29:20
would have deteriorated. It would have turned to dust.
29:22
And it's been 100 years. Yeah.
29:23
The. The cement's not going to stop
29:25
it. Come on.
29:26
Absolutely not. No.
29:27
The cement just like shifts to the side.
29:29
Vampires are all powerful great cement workers.
29:33
You must bounce on it. Great cement style style.
29:39
You must move my cement to plaque.
29:41
All in all, it sounds like a pretty active place for a
29:44
cemetery that hasn't been in service for over 50 years.
29:47
However, things may change. As I mentioned at the beginning,
29:51
land development is threatening the area surrounding the
29:53
cemetery, but luckily it's still in the planning process.
29:57
If you can, please help support the Historical Society and share
30:00
the letter on their website. When you go to the Pomona
30:03
Historical Society website, there is a Save the Spa Address
30:06
Cemetery header and there you'll see a sample letter that you can
30:09
send to the city of Pomona. Ask them to leave the area
30:11
undisturbed. Yeah.
30:14
Whether you believe in the stories surrounding Spadra
30:16
Cemetery are paranormal or not, it's still a piece of Pomona's
30:19
history and hopefully one that will be here for people to visit
30:23
and talk about for another 100 years.
30:26
But that's what I was haunted by.
30:27
Wow, something so close and yet so far.
30:32
I know. How do you even access that?
30:33
Right under my feet. I don't know.
30:35
They're not holding tours currently.
30:37
I was going to see if we can book 1 because I think they're
30:39
like $10.00, but I don't think they do them at night.
30:42
I would like to send in that letter.
30:44
Yes, please. It's on the website, you just
30:46
send it to their Planning Commission.
30:48
So can I send it to you? Sure.
30:50
And then you send. And I'll send it on your behalf.
30:52
I know how to send a letter. And I was going to say, and then
30:54
you send it to me and then I'll we'll send it with my carrier
30:57
pigeon. OK, yeah, whatever grabs their
31:00
attention, they'll probably be really scared.
31:04
And we say it's from someone that's buried there.
31:08
The vampire. Is that illegal?
31:10
We're stealing the identity of a dead person.
31:12
And then sending mail on their behalf?
31:15
Maybe not. OK, putting a pin in that.
31:18
Put a pin in that. Wow.
31:20
Well, thank you so much for sharing, Brian.
31:22
You're welcome. That was so cool.
31:23
I am here every Thursday. It's also very cool, like to see
31:28
like the the first pioneers who quote UN quote, bought that land
31:32
that is now present day Rancho Cucamonga.
31:35
And was it San San Jose? San Jose, Yeah.
31:39
After they kicked out all the indigenous people, Yeah, yeah.
31:42
That's the shitty part and the reality of it, yeah, but.
31:46
The different I had a lot of like, opinions, Like what do you
31:49
mean? All the cemeteries there were
31:50
Catholic. What is that a result of?
31:52
Yeah, the missions forcing Catholicism on people.
31:56
Oh sorry, heated opinion. Heated to who?
32:01
I don't know Catholics. Sorry, I I doubt they're
32:04
listening to because I'm afraid. You know that Zara Larsson give
32:09
where she's just like. No.
32:12
Me giving visual reference to an auditory podcast.
32:15
They they saw it, they saw it in their third eye.
32:18
But also what I did see was of the pose Midnight sun pose when
32:22
they're like they got lifted up. Yeah.
32:25
Yeah, that's what I did to you. That's their last we.
32:28
Can do that at the spot dress cemetery.
32:29
There you go, there you go on. They've never played Midnight
32:32
Sun at this at the Spot dress. Cemetery.
32:35
Wow. We will be the first.
32:38
We will be the first, hopefully. Well friend, thank you for
32:42
listening to me app, but I did what haunted you this week.
32:46
Honestly, just not being able to sleep great.
32:49
I probably see. That it's been pretty tough, but
32:52
OK, so let me backtrack really quick.
32:54
So I mentioned Lord of the Rings, I mentioned finishing it
32:57
and how impactful it was to my life.
33:00
And that is the whole identity. And somehow along the way, I
33:04
just started thinking about the different locations and battles
33:08
that took place on, you know, the the planer fields or the
33:12
battle right before or right after they crossed the bridge of
33:17
Khaza. Doom, you're speaking so nerdy
33:19
to me right now. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
33:21
And then my brain just like hooked on the word bridge.
33:24
I'm like bridge to Terabithia. I've never seen it, but yes.
33:28
Oh Jerry, that is a heartbreaking film.
33:32
We're going to be staying closer to home today and driving over
33:37
to Pasadena, CA. Whoa, local.
33:41
This place looks almost too beautiful to have the reputation
33:45
it has. Have you heard of the Colorado
33:47
St. Bridge?
33:48
Never. It's a massive historic bridge
33:52
crossing the Arroyo Sacco, and depending on who you ask, it's
33:56
either an incredible piece of early California engineering or
34:01
one of the most haunted bridges in Southern California.
34:04
Pasadena is past my tax bracket. I could have sworn you just went
34:10
to Pasadena not so long ago. Maybe.
34:13
Brian, I know we've talked about haunted places where the
34:16
location itself just feels creepy.
34:18
Yep, this one's interesting because if you saw it during the
34:22
day, you might not think anything of it.
34:24
It's actually really beautiful. You've got huge concrete arches,
34:28
Concrete. The vampires.
34:31
Ornate railings, old fashioned lamp posts, and the whole bridge
34:35
curves across the Canyon. But once you know what has
34:39
happened there, it changes the way you look at it.
34:42
The bridge was completed in 1913, and at that time, it was
34:46
kind of a big deal. The National Park Service says
34:49
it rose about 150 feet above the Arroyo Seco and was actually
34:54
proclaimed the highest concrete bridge in the world when it
34:58
opened. It stretches roughly 1467 feet
35:02
across the Canyon, and it wasn't exactly an easy thing to build.
35:06
Wow, I bet in 1913. 1913 What were you doing at that time?
35:11
Well, I see life as before the Titanic and after the Titanic.
35:18
And the Titanic was in 1912. What was the question?
35:22
Wow. Where were you on in 1913?
35:27
I no comment. Before the bridge existed,
35:32
getting across the Arroyo Sacco was a pain.
35:35
Horses and wagons had to go down the steep side of the Canyon,
35:39
cross a much smaller bridge and then climb back up to the other
35:43
side. So the city of Pasadena needed a
35:46
better connection, and this enormous concrete bridge became
35:49
the answer. Brian, you're an engineer,
35:52
right? Yeah.
35:54
Well, these engineers had a problem.
35:55
Oh. I can fix it.
35:57
The Arroyo bed was seasonally wet, seasonally, seasonally, so
36:02
finding solid footing for something this massive wasn't
36:05
easy. Engineer John Drake Mercero
36:09
thought of a solution that would solve this issue.
36:12
The solution was to curve the bridge about 50° to the South
36:16
because of engineering and yeah, yeah, you know, all of the.
36:19
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, you know why?
36:24
Why it's? Because of the engineering.
36:26
For sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
36:27
And the gravity, of course. So you got to curve it 50° to
36:30
the South. Exactly.
36:31
So yeah, you know, construction took only about 18 months.
36:36
They used roughly 11,000 cubic yards of concrete and 600 tons
36:40
of reinforcing steel. Imagine trying to build
36:43
something like that in 1912, hauling materials down into the
36:46
Canyon with horse carts. The whole thing costs around 1/4
36:50
of $1,000,000, which was a massive amount of money at that
36:53
time. Today that amount would be 8.6
36:56
million. I yeah, yeah, that's probably
36:59
cheap. It costs a billion dollars to
37:02
extend the train tracks. Oh my God, so this is extending
37:06
it 8 times. Oh yeah, yeah.
37:08
For the city of Pasadena, this was such a big deal.
37:11
Thousands of people showed up to the opening.
37:13
You have this brand new bridge that is supposed to represent
37:16
progress. It connects Pasadena and Los
37:18
Angeles. It eventually becomes part of
37:20
Route 66. Oh, Route 66.
37:23
People are driving across it, and it's a beautiful landmark.
37:26
Everything seems Peaches and cream, right?
37:29
Yeah. Wrong.
37:30
Oh, and this is where I'm going to say trigger warning.
37:34
Everything from now on will have the word unlighting and suicide.
37:39
So if you would not like to listen, please skip my whole
37:42
rest of my segment. Oh Dang, OK, it's going to get
37:45
dark. I'm ready.
37:46
A few years later, the first suicide from the bridge occurred
37:49
in 1919. After that, more followed,
37:53
particularly during the Great Depression.
37:57
You can you can guess why. Oh, that's a little.
37:59
Two tongue in cheek, yeah. Eventually the bridge became
38:03
known around Pasadena as the Suicide Bridge.
38:06
That is the first name that I knew it as instead of the
38:10
Colorado St. Bridge.
38:12
When I first learned about it, my cousin had told me like yo,
38:14
there's just like creepy bridge in Pasadena.
38:16
Sometimes it gets like super foggy, but a lot of people have
38:19
jumped off and there's apparitions.
38:22
I've never heard of this before today.
38:25
I've driven it. It's it's weird, like you do
38:27
have to like you're. Still around?
38:28
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Dang, I've driven over it a
38:32
couple times and yeah, like at night, you can tell, like the
38:34
lamps, the lighting, just all around it's, it's pretty creepy.
38:38
Road trip. Yeah.
38:40
From Spadra to Pasadena? Yeah.
38:42
Through Carpet Canyon. Legends of America estimates
38:46
that more than 100 people eventually died after jumping
38:48
from the bridge. Also, these numbers fluctuate,
38:52
some sorts of say just over 100, others say under 100.
38:56
But some of these deaths aren't necessarily recorded, just kind
38:59
of passed down a long time. The bridge wasn't just
39:02
associated with one tragedy or one particular story or haunt.
39:06
Over the years, it became known for so many deaths that the
39:09
reputation basically became part of the identity of the bridge
39:12
itself. Brian yes.
39:15
Imagine living in Pasadena. Not my tax bracket.
39:18
Imagine living in Pasadena, OK. Let me fantasize.
39:23
And hearing someone say I'm going to meet you at the
39:26
Colorado St. Bridge around that time, I think
39:28
you would know why you're. Going to throw me off the
39:32
bridge. Or would you?
39:33
No, I don't. Know.
39:34
I don't know, Jerry. I'm scared.
39:36
It's foggy. Well, by the 1930s, Brian, don't
39:38
worry. Officials were already trying to
39:41
deal with the problem. Dang.
39:43
The National Park Service notes that the bridge was only two
39:45
lanes wide and was already considered inadequate as traffic
39:49
increased. But at that same time, there was
39:52
another problem they couldn't simply solve by widening the
39:54
road. People were continuing to jump.
39:58
A fence was eventually added along the walkway in 1937, and
40:02
later renovations added additional suicide prevention
40:05
barriers. The bridge itself eventually
40:07
fell into pretty rough shape. By the 1980s, pieces of concrete
40:11
were actually falling from the ornate arches and railings, and
40:16
then in 1989, after the Loma Prieta earthquake, the bridge
40:20
was closed as a precaution. It eventually received about 27
40:24
million in restoration money and reopened in 1993.
40:28
They restored a lot of its original appearance while also
40:32
adding suicide prevention railings.
40:33
Wow, it was that big of a. Problem.
40:36
Yeah, well, you said it's like either below or above 100.
40:41
So historically, the bridge went from being this incredible
40:44
symbol of progress to becoming associated with tragedy and then
40:48
eventually being preserved as a historic landmark.
40:52
But now we get into the part we all came for the ghosts.
40:56
Sign me up. Legends of America says that
41:01
there are stories of spirits wandering both the bridge and
41:04
the Arroyo below. Whoa.
41:07
There are reports of unexplained cries coming from the Canyon.
41:11
People have claimed to see a spectral man walking across the
41:14
bridge wearing wired rimmed glasses.
41:17
Wow, so specific. I'm looking at someone with
41:20
wired rimmed glasses right now. Swear dude, I don't know.
41:24
You should be walking. Weren't you just walking at a
41:26
park? I was walking at a park.
41:27
Worst decision I've ever made. Allergies are murdering me.
41:32
Well, that's worse than this lady.
41:37
There are also stories about a woman in a long flowing robe
41:39
appearing on the bridge before seemingly throwing herself over
41:43
the side and disappearing. And then you have reports coming
41:48
from the Arroyo itself. People have claimed to see
41:51
phantom figures moving around down in the riverbed.
41:54
Stories claim strange sounds coming from the Canyon, and some
41:57
people describe the atmosphere down there as feeling unusually
42:01
heavy or thick, like that musty dank.
42:05
Feeling and smell. All around you, you know, don't
42:07
like that. No, obviously none of that
42:10
proves that the bridge is haunted.
42:12
There are legends and reported experiences that have grown
42:15
around a place with a genuinely tragic history.
42:18
But Brian, I have to ask you this.
42:21
If you were sending the bridge at night and someone told you of
42:23
all these apparitions beforehand, are you going to go
42:26
investigate? No, because I think I'm fearful
42:32
of bridges. Yeah.
42:34
I've not had the experience. Of being fearful at the bridge.
42:39
But. Everything is scarier at night.
42:40
Have you driven over the Coronado?
42:42
Bridge in San Diego, Terry. Sit down.
42:45
You've been standing. I looked.
42:49
I looked just to confirm. That I was sitting.
42:51
No, metaphorically. You're standing on business, so
42:54
sit down, OK? I've had reoccurring nightmares
42:57
my entire life that I am driving over a freeway in the ocean that
43:04
just ends abruptly and I go nose first into the ocean and I can't
43:10
swim. Recurring dream nightmare?
43:13
Yeah. Tell me.
43:15
Why one time? I'm in San Diego with a friend
43:19
and he drove us there. So I'm like, you know what, let
43:21
me let me drive one when we're in the the city just because you
43:25
drove us here. Like, let's try to even it out.
43:29
Yeah, he's like, OK, well, let's go to Coronado.
43:31
Like, yeah, let's go to Coronado.
43:33
Yeah, I love. Coronado.
43:35
Never been there. Never been there.
43:37
I'm just driving, taking the GPS and I see that we're getting
43:41
really close to a bridge over the ocean.
43:46
Knees weak, palm sweaty. I was like, I, I need like a
43:53
physical touch right now because I'm about to have a panic
43:54
attack. I was so scared.
43:57
And I didn't drive the way back, or I did, I don't remember.
44:00
I blacked. Most of you blacked out.
44:02
I just remember getting to Coronado and being like, OK, OK,
44:06
I can. Do this I can.
44:07
Do this. I don't want to do that again.
44:09
I will if I have to, because it was beautiful.
44:11
Yeah. But yeah, no, I don't think I
44:15
like bridges over water. Valid.
44:20
Super valid. I've driven over that bridge
44:22
multiple times and every time you're just like, yeah, it's
44:25
it's unsettling. You're just like, I hate that
44:27
feeling of what if it collapses, of just, yeah, falling, of
44:32
falling. And I'm in a car.
44:33
I don't have one of those glass. Breakers I've I've passed under
44:36
the. Bridge with a boat when I went
44:39
fishing. That was pretty cool, man.
44:41
Many talents and hobbies and activities and then I.
44:45
Climbed up the bra. I'm kidding.
44:46
I didn't. Yeah, No.
44:49
No. So anyways, thank you for
44:51
sharing Brand, that was so cool. If people are saying that
44:53
they're hearing footsteps behind them walking across the bridge,
44:57
what if you hear footsteps behind you?
44:59
Are you looking back or are you picking up the pace?
45:02
OK, here's the thing. I have to look back.
45:06
OK, my curiosity is is going to kill me, but I would don't want
45:09
them to know that I'm looking back.
45:11
OK, So I'm have to do real quick like a little like.
45:15
In my peripherals. Gotcha.
45:16
Like, Oh my God, I dropped something.
45:18
Yeah, I can't just. Turn around and make direct.
45:20
Eye contact with the person stalking me.
45:22
I mean, I probably should, yeah, but then what if no one's there?
45:25
Yeah, I think I'm very. Privileged in that when I do
45:27
hear people behind me, I look back.
45:29
I'm just like, I'm acknowledging that you're behind me and I
45:32
heard you, so just letting you know.
45:34
But I'm also a man. So yeah, it's different.
45:38
World is different when you're 6.
45:39
Feet tall, Yeah, You scooted up again.
45:43
Leave me alone, Dang. Let me live, girl.
45:48
There are more reports from people underneath the bridge of
45:50
hearing a voice whisper. Girl, that's the troll.
45:56
She lives under the bridge. Well, she is.
45:59
Whispering her fault, the identity of the woman or what
46:04
the phrase supposedly refers to is an established 1 paranormal
46:08
site. Claims this comes from a spirit
46:10
of the construction worker legend, but that's part of the
46:13
folklore rather than the documented history.
46:16
Like what is it? What it like who's her fault?
46:19
Who's her? Who's her and what is it
46:22
referring to? Like what did she do?
46:24
Yeah. Was.
46:25
It was. It maybe someone that got broken
46:26
up with you know what, what if? Instead of jumping off a bridge,
46:32
you were pushed off a bridge. Could be the.
46:36
Case it's her fault, her fault. I think anytime in a dark
46:42
location, isolated, whatever the case is whispering.
46:46
It's not even a yell. I think yell is more of a a jump
46:49
scare. But hearing a whisper that's
46:52
chilling. It's I.
46:53
Want to say that's? 10 times scarier, yeah, I agree.
46:56
Because then you're like, where to come from?
46:58
Oh. My God last week at like 5:00 in
47:01
the morning our fire alarm goes off and we discover that it says
47:07
fire fire and it has a voice. But that shit woke us up so bad
47:13
and crazy. Tried to like disarmament but it
47:15
turned off. Why was it going on?
47:16
I have no idea. We were.
47:17
We're still. I even went downstairs.
47:19
I'm like damn, is there a fire? I even checked outside.
47:21
I'm like is there an electrical fire happening outside or
47:23
something? Nothing.
47:25
It just randomly went off and I don't like that it says fire I.
47:28
Know that it freaked us out a. Bit but it was also funny
47:31
because I was so disoriented when I got up and I caught my
47:33
glasses, but I was so blind because my eyes were adjusting
47:35
to the light and then I was like try.
47:37
I was on the stairs trying to take it off and I'm glad, you
47:39
know, freaking fall. No, no.
47:41
I. Was holding on to the rail not.
47:42
Even awake right now, but you see like that being like
47:44
startled awake is yes, it's scary.
47:47
I feel like your, your, your blood just starts pumping and
47:50
that adrenaline, you know, like I got up, I shot straight up and
47:53
I'm like, what the fuck? Turn on the light boom.
47:55
And I just got you know what? Because psychologically, you.
47:57
Don't have to verify that you heard it.
48:00
Yeah, because, you know, you heard.
48:02
It. Exactly.
48:03
Yes, you read my. Mind.
48:05
Whereas a whisper is like, did I just hear that?
48:07
Like, did I just hear that? I don't know.
48:10
I feel like that just seems like chill spine.
48:12
Yeah. Because you don't want to
48:13
question yourself. Because then you start thinking,
48:14
OK, yeah, did I hear something? Because if I.
48:17
Didn't and I made that up in my head.
48:20
Now I am nervous. Yeah, that my Something's going
48:24
on a beer. There's more time for you to.
48:27
Determine like how you're going to react.
48:29
There is another story attached to the bridge that gets a little
48:32
bit more stranger. There's a story about a
48:35
construction worker who supposedly fell from the bridge
48:38
while it was still being built, of course, and landing head
48:41
first into wet concrete. More concrete.
48:45
According to the legend, the other workers believed he
48:48
couldn't be saved in time and left him there as a concrete
48:51
hardened around him. This is back-to-back stories
48:54
where other people that are there just leave them for dead.
48:57
That's so crazy. Now this particular story is
48:59
presented as an alleged legend rather than established
49:03
historical fact. Oh Dang, we should have made our
49:04
name alleged. Legend.
49:05
Alleged legend. Wow.
49:07
Write it down. Write it down guys.
49:09
I'm stealing the website as. So I wouldn't.
49:13
Tell somebody that there's definitely a guy buried inside
49:15
the bridge. But I mean, come on, of all the
49:18
stories that you could invent about a haunted bridge, there
49:21
might be a construction worker permanently trapped inside the
49:24
concrete. It's pretty damn scary.
49:26
There's a true. Crime Story I was listening to
49:29
where they know someone was killed, never found the body and
49:34
I think the person went to jail but they think that he hid the
49:38
body inside of a freeway while it was being built and.
49:44
They can't just. Demolish it without spending
49:46
millions and millions of dollars to reinforce the freeway.
49:49
Yep, Yep, what I feel. Like any sort of murders or
49:53
things like that. Like, especially like in mobster
49:55
movies, they own a garbage facility or a construction
49:59
facility. And for storytelling to make it
50:01
easy, yeah. Yeah, they have the.
50:03
They have the resources, you know?
50:05
Yeah, the most recent death. I won't get into names, but it
50:09
did happen in 2015. Oh, that's very recent.
50:11
Yeah. Identifies this person as an
50:14
actor, model and musician who died after jumping.
50:17
Wow, that's so sad. During the day, you have this
50:20
beautiful historic bridge with arches and decorative details.
50:24
It's listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and
50:28
the National Park Service recognizes it as a historic
50:30
bridge along Route 66. It's literally considered an
50:34
important piece of Pasadena history.
50:36
But underneath all of that is the Arroyo Secco, the deep
50:40
Canyon running beneath the bridge.
50:42
So you can stand up on this historical Rd. looking at
50:44
Pasadena, while underneath you is this much darker, isolated
50:48
space where people have reported, seen figures and
50:51
hearing things that they couldn't explained.
50:53
That contrast is probably what gets me.
50:55
The bridge isn't some abandoned ruin in the middle of nowhere.
50:59
It's right in Pasadena. Cars drive across it.
51:02
People walk across it. It has a long history of as a
51:04
transportation route. And yet it carries this
51:07
nickname, Suicide Bridge, for more than a century.
51:10
And even after all the renovations, all the safety
51:13
measures, and all of the changes to the area, the legends never
51:16
disappeared. The National Park Service itself
51:20
actually ends its page about the bridge by basically saying, once
51:23
you've admired the engineering, ask a local about the haunting.
51:27
I think that's pretty funny because you find that directly
51:30
from the National Park Service website.
51:32
So, Brian, if we were ever to do an Amigos Afraid road trip, I
51:35
feel like this has to be on the list.
51:37
And after learning about Spadra, it would make more sense to go
51:40
up, check out Spadra, and then go West.
51:44
We'll do the whole route, Jerry. We'll do the whole route.
51:48
We'll do carbon cannon. OK, to get into the Chino area,
51:53
Yeah. And then we can go into Spadra.
51:57
And then? Maybe we can fill it.
51:59
Maybe we can visit the Phillips Mansion.
52:01
I don't know any if that's haunted, but it's 100 year old
52:04
building probably is. Yeah.
52:06
And then head on to Pasadena. Woo.
52:11
What about the? Arroyo underneath, is that
52:13
something? If there was a hike which I did
52:14
not research, I was going to ask if that's somewhere you can.
52:17
Like easily access but I want to say there is.
52:19
But if there was a hike available, would you do the hike
52:22
underneath? Yeah, if it's not like super
52:23
difficult. Or I need my inhaler.
52:25
Yeah, sure. OK, I'll do anything.
52:28
For this podcast, Jerry. Anything.
52:29
So would I. So in the end.
52:31
Just like the last episode, I kind of did did some digging
52:33
with numbers and I think it's just fun to get like just the
52:36
the timeline. Yeah, deaths.
52:38
So according to historical reporting, there is different
52:42
totals, but by far this was the most accurate recording of
52:45
deaths by year. So by June 1937, there was a
52:51
total of 89 deaths. Oh my God.
52:54
And this is. These are all.
52:55
Directly from the LA Times archive.
52:59
By 1974, there was a total of 91 recorded deaths.
53:03
By 1988, there was a total of 96 and then by 2013, the Times
53:10
reported more than 100 total. There is a Pasadena Now report
53:14
from 2023 that says more than 150 people, Oh my goodness, had
53:18
jumped from the bridge with more than 30 suicides since 2006.
53:22
But once again, that was one article compared to the majority
53:26
saying 100. So that's what haunted me this
53:30
week. Bridges.
53:31
And it all stems from the Bridge of Khaza Doom, thanks to The
53:35
Lord of the Rings. So that's so another dark
53:39
segment for me. We're just about deaths, which
53:42
is it's wild. Whoa, I'm appreciating life.
53:45
It's because it's that time of year.
53:46
We're in Halloween, but we're also close together, Los
53:51
Muertos. So it is.
53:52
It's a like a topic. Yeah.
53:54
It's this time of year. It seems to reflect.
53:56
From time to time and. Not that I like think about
53:58
death at all times of the day, but yeah, life is such a crazy
54:03
beautiful thing and the only thing everyone has in.
54:05
Common is that one day you're going to die.
54:09
One of the many things people have in common.
54:10
But I was going to say, but we were also born.
54:12
Yeah. And we all have a podcast.
54:19
No only. Special people do.
54:23
Yeah, very special. Jerry.
54:26
Very special. People with special.
54:28
Interests in the paranormal yeah the MC Cobb today it felt very
54:33
MC Cobb and then being. Silly, fun, goofy.
54:38
Boys A Web. Yeah.
54:43
Wow, what a fun episode. We've been keeping things local.
54:46
I mean, fun is a stretch for your half for sure.
54:49
For sure. But this was the best episode
54:51
yet. Oh, I.
54:54
Proud of what we do, but I beg to differ.
54:56
Last episode was really good. Carbon Canyon.
54:59
If for some reason you're finding this episode before you
55:01
listen to the last one, we did Part 2 of Mount Everest and
55:03
Carbon Canyon. That has been our most streamed
55:06
episode of this season, so if you guys haven't checked it out,
55:09
please do so. So sick.
55:11
Visit the website amigosafray.com.
55:12
If you have a story you'd love for us to share.
55:14
Maybe Jerry will read some stories for us in the future.
55:17
I can read. Yeah.
55:19
Look, he's had 10 years experience reading Lord of the
55:21
Rings 10. And those are 400 page books.
55:25
Right, more, I would say more for sure.
55:28
OK. And a story.
55:29
Is like 3 pages dude you could do it.
55:31
Wow, that's a lot. But we're going to release a
55:36
behind the scenes where it's me trying to read it and it's like
55:39
72 attempts, but then I finally get it.
55:41
Now we'll just clip them all together.
55:43
And if you read real slow it'll do 2 times speed.
55:46
Awesome. You have a song recommendation
55:47
this week? Yes, I do, Boy.
55:50
Harsher dropped a new album. As well, on the same, I think
55:52
the same day that Orville Peck dropped an album.
55:56
Oh, you didn't tell people about your album or your vinyl?
55:58
Oh my God, that's OK, I'll get to.
55:59
That right now, after you your song Wreck, I'm recommending Boy
56:02
Harsher's Faulty off of their new album Get Mean.
56:08
Why does that sound so familiar? I've played them before.
56:11
I would like to recommend. Any song by Macklemore?
56:14
But specifically this week, I would like you to listen to Good
56:17
Old Days featuring Ke$ha because I also love Ke$ha.
56:21
OK, OK, Last story. Story.
56:23
Time you can skip if you want. It's OK.
56:25
I will be mad. So I come home yesterday.
56:28
I open the mail, I see a key, package key.
56:31
I haven't ordered a package. Call the wife.
56:33
Nope. No package.
56:35
Awesome. Open it up.
56:37
It's the size of a vinyl, flat and square.
56:40
I'm like a vinyl. I didn't order a vinyl.
56:44
Pick it up. See my name.
56:46
OK, it's addressed to me. See where it's coming from?
56:49
Motionless and white something. And I'm like, wait, what was I
56:53
sent another vinyl? What's going on here?
56:56
So then I come inside, I showed them.
56:58
I'm like, look what I got. What is this?
57:01
She's like, what? Did they send you an extra 1?
57:03
I'm like, I don't know what the hell is going on.
57:05
We're like, cool, whoa, now I have an extra 1 to sell.
57:07
Awesome. I open it and she's like, yeah,
57:10
keep it wrapped. As soon as I open it, I see the
57:12
sticker, which like it's outside on like the plastic foil
57:15
wrapping. And it says decades signed
57:19
vinyl. My breast stopped, babe.
57:22
And I show her she's like, what? And I'm like, I'm freaking out.
57:26
I like, is this real? Pinch me like I'm my hands are
57:28
sweating. So then I of course open it and
57:32
I'm like, I have to see it because if this is the case, I'm
57:34
keeping it. I'm not selling this.
57:35
I'm selling my other copy. Then I open it and I take out
57:38
the vinyl and no, it's not signed.
57:40
And then she opens the second one.
57:42
As soon as she pulls out the sleeve card the size of the
57:47
vinyl with the like an image of them, they all have a signature
57:52
on their picture. And I'm like, what?
57:55
So then of course I like, start freaking out.
57:57
We're trying to figure out what the fuck.
57:58
Like it's so, so cool. Like I was just sent extra vinyl
58:03
with signatures and I don't know what it was we're trying to like
58:07
think of like why I I will say I pre-ordered it as soon as I got
58:11
like the Spotify like top whatever percent listeners that
58:14
I that I was and I'm like cool, I want this version.
58:16
It's like this red cream looking.
58:18
You had already received that one, but I received.
58:20
That back in May when I. First pre-ordered it in April
58:23
before May and then I got the confirmation that it was it was
58:26
being shipped and that was it. I got my copy I think two days
58:30
after the album dropped. Awesome.
58:33
And yeah, so I come home to that surprise and the first thing I
58:36
do is, well, Dulce gets one of the frames that we have for like
58:41
the vinyls and we framed it. So now we have to find a new
58:44
place for it. But it's it's insane.
58:46
Like right above where you sleep.
58:47
Never would have. Imagined.
58:48
No, it has to go on. The music wall, everyone needs
58:50
to see that. I never would have imagined one
58:54
getting their signatures. I mean, I know it's different
58:55
than getting them in person, but I mean it.
58:57
What a surprise, you know? Like I have two vinyls now of
59:00
the same album. Decades with their signatures so
59:03
it's badass like favorite band of all time and look at that I
59:06
was just blessed with so they're going back to life got to love
59:10
it. You just got to like man, got to
59:12
savor it sometimes. So that was my story.
59:16
That is so cute fucking. Epic.
59:18
And I posted them. I'm like.
59:19
Thanks. God, this is so cool.
59:21
This is so sick. Yeah.
59:22
You guys know how much, Larry? You guys know how much Jerry
59:25
loves most in some way He was not.
59:27
He would not stop yapping about them for like a month.
59:30
That was made fun of and. That was just.
59:33
On the podcast, like you talk to the person I.
59:36
Did. If y'all notice I.
59:37
Have not recommended motionless to Why?
59:39
Because I'm like, OK, I got to take a break.
59:40
I got to switch it up, give people something different.
59:43
I'm not just a creature. Yeah.
59:46
So that was pretty cool. I love that for you.
59:48
Friend, thank you and this is where I will spill the beans
59:51
that us and Amigo's afraid we manifested it.
59:55
We said Jerry deserve something good and look, that happened.
59:58
I appreciate you Amigos. I'm just kidding, that was
1:00:01
really random. I don't know how you ended up
1:00:02
with that. Thank you for being afraid
1:00:04
because I got. Assigned the album.
1:00:07
Now they saw your name. They said this guy, Yeah, this
1:00:10
guy's a big fan. This guy is in the top 0.
1:00:13
.000001% they said We saw this guy at the show.
1:00:16
Yeah, for sure. Do you know like what?
1:00:19
Your percentage. Is of I have a picture I know.
1:00:22
Yearly I get like. Yeah, wow.
1:00:24
You know what? My. .01% never set me anything G
1:00:28
friend how dare you G friend are.
1:00:30
Y'all, you know what to do? No, they're disbanded.
1:00:32
Nothing's ever going to happen. Time to manifest.
1:00:35
Oh, a ton of a ton of manifest times 10 reunion reunion reunion
1:00:39
tour world tour G friend again. Well, thank you guys for
1:00:44
listening this. Week.
1:00:45
We'll be here next week and you will find us if you like and you
1:00:49
follow and you rate US five stars or 4.
1:00:54
There could be room for improvement, but preferably 5
1:00:56
for sure. But.
1:00:59
Help us get to 5 first and then and then we'll send out the
1:01:02
surveys, the feedback surveys. But yeah, thank you for
1:01:06
listening. We hope you have an amazing day.
1:01:08
Yes, I did. Amuse.
1:01:11
Afraid.