The Overtoun Bridge is, funnily enough, a bridge that leads to Overtoun House in Dumbarton, West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. The Overtoun Bridge is a “category B-listed structure” (Wikipedia, 2023) over the Overtoun Burn. Completed in 1895 and based on a design by H. E. Milner, a landscape designer, the Overtoun Bridge and Overtoun House belonged to John White, 1st Baron Overtoun. It is hidden off the main road and up a wee road into the hill, so you’d never know it was there unless you were looking for it. And I know about it because it appeared in a NukesTop5 video. To my surprise, a place where I have family holds a seemingly inconsequential bridge if it wasn’t for the fact that it is haunted.
(If I find the mentioned video, I will add it here. It was years ago, so I’ll have to go on a wee hunt.)
The Bridge of Death
The Overtoun Bridge earned the names The Bridge of Death, Rover’s Leap and Dog Suicide Bridge during the 1950s when multiple dogs would leap from the bridge to the ravine 50 feet down.
Many people believed that the dogs would jump due to evil supernatural forces. However, a few have proposed other explanations for why the dogs may have jumped. One of these people was David Sands, a canine psychologist, who proposed, in 2014, that a mixture of the foliage and male mink urine caused a potent smell for dogs that would lead them to go after it. The dogs may have followed the scent, unaware of the danger over the bridge’s ledge.
People have had mixed reactions to this. A local hunter disputed the findings explaining that there was no mink in the area. However, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds investigated and found that, at one end, there was proof of minks inhabiting the area. Furthering the evidence, a study was carried out (away from the bridge) where ten dogs were exposed to canisters of several scents from small woodland creatures – minks included. The experiment found that seven of the ten dogs favoured the mink scent, proving that if minks were at the bridge, some dogs would likely blindly go after the scent.
The Thin Space
The Overtoun Bridge and house are said to have a supernatural presence. The property is said to be where Gargoyles and Angels come to when in this world. Some have said to have seen Lord John Overtoun’s widow is said to walk across the bridge, just as she did while she was alive.
Dark spirits are said to linger on the grounds, which causes unexplainable behaviour from dogs who cross the bridge. Since the property has been used as a home, a general hospital during World War II, a maternity hospital and a religious retreat, it can be assumed that spirits could be stuck in the location. With religious ties to it there is always an otherworldly connection to the location. The religious retreats with Lord Overtoun being religious and the current owner was previously a pastor in Texas
All of this links into the tales that the Druids spoke of this place, calling it one of the places known as a Thin Space. Thin Spaces are described as locations where the veil between worlds/realms is thin (funnily enough) and, therefore, easier for beings and deities to cross between realms. Similar to how Halloween is described as the one day of the year when the veil is weak or thinner, crossing it is meant to be easier.
The Antichrist
Unfortunately, The Overtoun Bridge isn’t only the site of horrific canine incidents. It is believed Kevin Moy chose the location for a family outing because of its dark and druidic history. A soon to be tragic day for him, his wife, their two-week-old baby boy and everyone else there.
It was October 1994 when Moy and his small family decided to walk over the haunted but seemingly ordinary bridge. However, Moy was convinced he was the antichrist and his baby boy was Satan. So, on that day, Moy dropped his son over the edge of the bridge before trying to climb over the edge as well. His wife pulled Moy back to the bridge’s safety while other public members rushed down the side of the ravine to save his son. Unfortunately, the baby died later in hospital, and Moy attempted suicide at The Overtoun House after the incident before police arrested him; he survived his second attempt.
Moy believed his son was Satan due to a birthmark on his forehead (The Herald), which he thought the Devil had placed himself. He believed he and his son would infect the world with a disease or virus, and responsible for the gulf war.
Unfortunate Endings
Tragically, this was the baby’s first outing, and he passed away the next day in hospital. In The High Court in Glasgow, Moy was found not guilty as he was “insane at the time” (HeraldScotland, 1995) at the time of the incident. However, Moy was sentenced to be detained at State Hospital at Carstairs. He will remain there until specialists concluded he was safe to return to society.
Carstairs is a physiatric hospital in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It provides highly secure psychiatric care for patients from Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The question remains does anything haunt the Overtoun property? There seem to be some explanations for what happens on the property. However, at the same time, some things are still unexplained.
Reference list
Hall, A. (2013). Overtoun Bridge. [online] The Paranormal Guide. Available at: http://www.theparanormalguide.com/blog/overtoun-bridge [Accessed 4 Jun. 2023].
HeraldScotland. (1995). Father who threw ‘devil’ baby from bridge sent to Carstairs. [online] Available at: https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12666222.father-who-threw-devil-baby-from-bridge-sent-to-carstairs/.
Ishak, N. (2019). Inside The Mystery Of Overtoun Bridge, Scotland’s Dog Suicide Hotspot. [online] All That’s Interesting. Available at: https://allthatsinteresting.com/overtoun-bridge.
issuu.com. (2018). Scotland correspondent issue 16 by Discover Scotland – Issuu. [online] Available at: https://issuu.com/scotlandcorrespondent/docs/scotland_correspondent_issue_16 [Accessed 31 May 2023].
Wikipedia. (2023). Overtoun Bridge. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overtoun_Bridge.
