The mystery of where 600 dogs jumped off a bridge to "commit suicide" makes tourists "shudder"

Walking your dog is a common practice for dog owners. However, in Scotland, there is a place that has become a "nightmare" for many dog ​​owners.

Because it was here that they had to witness their beloved pets suddenly jumping off the bridge to their deaths. The scene happened so suddenly that they could do nothing but stand there and watch helplessly.

This mysterious bridge has become a curious place for tourists from all over. Local people have spread many different, somewhat creepy stories about this bridge.

The “Bridge of Death” - where 600 dogs have jumped to their deaths in the past 70 years - is a mystery that makes many tourists curious.

"Death Prayer"

This bridge is called Overtoun, located in Milton, near the town of Dumbarton, Scotland. The bridge is considered a famous landmark... creepy, gloomy in Scotland and is called "the bridge of death" by the locals.

About half an hour north of Glasgow lies an ancient 19th century castle called Overtoun, which spans the river near the castle, the Overtoun Bridge.

Overtoun Bridge is located right in front of Baron Overtoun's castle.

At first glance, this over 100-year-old bridge looks quite simple and somewhat ancient, but many visitors are shocked to learn that this is where hundreds of dogs have "jumped" to commit suicide for unknown reasons.

According to locals, since the 1950s, there have been many cases of dog "suicides" at this bridge. Many healthy dogs, when passing here, suddenly jumped over the bridge railing at a height of 15m and died after hitting the jagged rocks below. Witnesses felt as if they were "possessed" and that was why they acted so unusually.

Over the past 70 years, there have been about 600 cases of dogs jumping off bridges, of which 50 died after jumping off. Some people even say that there are dogs that survived the first jump, then repeatedly returned to "complete the mission".

Supernatural horror theories…

Residents have to put up warning signs after recording too many cases of dogs jumping off the bridge.

Over the decades, Dumbarton locals, scientists and psychics have come up with different theories for the unusual "suicidal" behavior of dogs when crossing this bridge.

The most famous and always passed down theory by the indigenous people is the Celtic legend. According to them, this is one of the places with the most energy from different worlds, and the Overtoun Bridge is the boundary between heaven and earth.

According to legend, dogs are animals that can sense ghosts or otherworldly energies. And because the boundary between heaven and earth at Overtoun Bridge is so thin, dogs were accidentally attracted and jumped down, causing a series of mysterious suicides.

But writer Paul Owen dismissed this theory. He believed that the bridge was haunted by the “White Lady.” This was the name given to the ghost of Lady Overtoun, wife of Baron Overtoun, owner of Overtoun Castle. The Baron died shortly after the castle was built in 1908.

The lady lived in misery for nearly 30 years before her death. Legend has it that in her final years, the widow walked along the bridge every day, where she and her husband had crossed many times, missing him. Many people in the area still lean towards the theory of Lady Overtoun’s ghost. They believe that the “White Lady” “lured” packs of dogs to commit suicide at this bridge.

Some residents say they have seen the ghost of the “White Lady” appearing in the windows and grounds of the castle.

“This woman lived in solitude for nearly 30 years after her husband died. Her ghost has been lingering around the castle ever since. Many people have seen her standing in front of the window, sometimes “strolling” the castle grounds,” Marion Murray, a resident of Dumbarton, told The Times.

The story of the bridge being haunted became even more intense when in 1994, a man named Kevin Moy came here and threw his newborn baby off the bridge. Moy then tried to jump to his death but was stopped by his wife.

Moy later told police that he was anti-Christ, and believed his son was the devil. Moy said he felt no guilt, and was placed in a prison for the criminally insane.

Science "gets involved"

Many scientists have come directly to the bridge to find the solution to the mystery.

The story of hundreds of dogs committing suicide and the mystery of the bridge has stimulated the curiosity of many scientists and animal experts. They came to the bridge with the determination to find a scientific answer that is more reasonable than supernatural theories.

David Sand, an animal psychologist, believes that the distinctive scent of animals under the bridge attracted the dogs to jump. According to him, the dogs passing by the bridge smelled of mink, pine marten or some other mammal.

Weasels emit a distinctive odor from their anal glands. Minks, in particular, have been living in the area since the 1950s, coinciding with the first dog jumping incidents.

To prove his theory, Sands conducted a series of experiments for a documentary about the bridge, in which dogs could choose to chase the scent of a ferret, a squirrel, or a mouse. The results were that 70% of the dogs in the experiment chased the ferret, proving that the scent of ferrets was very attractive to them.

Thus, according to science, hunting and sniffing instincts are the main reasons why many dogs jump onto the bridge railing and slip and fall due to the sloping rock surface.

Sands’ theory is still plausible. However, the question is why hundreds of dogs would attack ferrets only at this bridge when there are 26,000 other bridges in Scotland?

Dogs simply have a more limited field of vision than humans, Sands said. Standing on a bridge, they don’t perceive height, but rather a flat surface, which can trigger dogs to rush off the bridge to hunt the marten. By the time they finally jump off the bridge and realize that there are jagged cliffs below, it’s too late.

According to Vietnamnet