Is NYC’s iconic Verrazzano-Narrows bridge haunted? Inside the creepy urban legend

Is NYC’s iconic Verrazzano-Narrows bridge haunted? Inside the creepy urban legend

Drivers crossing the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge aren’t just worried about bumper-to-bumper traffic.

According to a growing crop of social media sleuths, the massive span linking Brooklyn and Staten Island may also be home to something far creepier.

Posters on TikTok and Reddit claim they have been terrified by ghostly groaning, shadowy figures, unexplained whispers and even an unsettling presence while crossing the bridge after dark.

The Verrazzanno-Narrows Bridge has been the subject of creepy tales for decades. Paul Martinka

“Most people are afraid to travel over the bridge,” said Mona taxb6, whose alarming TikTok post recently revived the urban legend, according to silive.com. “This bridge is also known for howling in the wind . . . count me out. I ain’t going across this s–t.”

A Tik Toker recently revived the myth with an eerie video about the bridge taxb6/tiktok

The Verrazzano opened on Nov. 21, 1964 — the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time — and remains the only direct bridge connection between Staten Island and the rest of NYC.

One of New York City’s greatest engineering marvels, the double-decker span stretches 13,700 feet — roughly 2.6 miles — across The Narrows and carries millions of vehicles every year.

A man views the bridge from the shoreline as the USS Milwaukee sails into New York Harbor at the start of Fleet Week Parade of Ships in 2019. Getty Images

The Federal Highway Administration says its twin towers rise approximately 693 feet above New York Harbor. Massive cargo ships pass beneath its 228-foot navigational clearance.

But paranormal enthusiasts are far more interested in the bridge’s darker history.

According to Historic Bridges.org, three construction workers died during the bridge’s five-year construction, including one worker who fell from the structure shortly before it opened.

Some believe they and other workers who may have tumbled into the massive cement blocks as they were being poured are now angry spirits who haunt the bridge and exact revenge by purposely throwing objects that smash car windows.

The view of the massive Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge is impressive. Christopher Sadowski

Over the decades, the bridge has also been the site of fatal crashes, emergency rescues and dozens of suicides.

Unlike the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, there is no official body count for the Verrazzano, although media estimates have ranged from 100 to 150 jumpers, of whom 80 to 120 perished. In 2013-14 alone, 14 people jumped and seven died.

NYPD officers even go through special training to deal with the unending string of jumpers.

Runners cross the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge during the New York City Marathon in 2024. Getty Images

After years of advocacy, a stainless steel mesh fencing extending 28,000 feet across the entire stretch of the upper and lower roadway was completed in January 2023.

But desperate folks keep flinging themselves over the rail and into the soup, despite suicide-prevention phones on the bridge, which read “Life is worth living,” and connect to 1-800-LIFENET, a suicide prevention service.

The MTA keeps no data on suicide attempts, but reports say two attempts during a single month isn’t out of the ordinary.

On a foggy night, the bridge does look downright spooky — as if ghostly doings are very possible. NurPhoto via Getty Images

Social media users have also shared photos of the bridge disappearing into dense harbor fog and discussed its eerie atmosphere, while TikTok creators continue posting videos claiming strange sightings, moving figures and unsettling experiences during late-night crossings.

Whether it’s restless spirits, thick harbor fog, mysterious lights or an overactive imagination, the stories somehow never disappear.

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