The Dog Suicide Bridge in Dumbarton, Scotland
From this angle it’s not a bad bridge… if you ignore the dog suicides
In 2016 Lottie Mackinnon was walking her dog, Bonnie, a border collie, along a popular route in Scotland when they came upon the Overtoun Bridge. On the first step onto the century-old bridge, Bonnie froze becoming entranced possibly by something not of this world. Or at least not on this side.
According to Lottie Mackinnon, something possessed Bonnie and she ran towards the center of the bridge before jumping off it, fifty feet below. Lottie ran down the side of the bridge, pushing through the trees and shrubs looking for Bonnie, fearing she would only find a lifeless body. Luckily Bonnie survived, she was injured but in one piece.
Bonnie’s story is not a rare one, according to legend and eye witnesses since the 1950’s it’s estimated up to 600 dogs have jumped off the bridge, possessed by something. Tragically at least fifty have died with no known explanation as to why.
Today we’re looking at the Overtoun Bridge, nicknamed Dog Suicide Bridge for the amount of times dog’s have jumped off the side without warning. Through decades many have attempted to find the reason for the jumps, some believe the reason is born from the supernatural.
Related Article: 5 Haunted Bridges Around The World
Building the Bridge
The Victorian-style bridge was built in 1895 and commissioned by John White the 1st Baron of Overtoun as an extension to lead to the Overtoun house and estate. John White was a philanthropist dealing with chemical manufacturing that would mar his legacy due to the lack of safety regulations in place at his factories and the exploitation of his workers.
Even when safety regulations were put in place, he would largely ignore them and continued to force his employees to work seven days a week for the lowest wages in the country. The toxic dust the men worked in was so dangerous his employees were known as “White’s Dead Men”.
A report in 1900 found up to 83% of his employees suffered from some type of adverse effects from the toxic dust, many had lesions on their hands, arms, and forearms known as chrome holes. Others had deep ulcers on their skins with several of them penetrating their bones.
Eventually, the pain he caused would pay him back in the form of an illness that would have him bedridden towards the end of 1907. His wife, Grace Eliza McClure, stayed by his side every minute until his death in 1908.
Local legend says this devastated Grace. For years after she was seen walking along John White’s last creation, the Overtoun bridge, mourning his loss. She would walk carrying her grief back and forth the bridge to no discernable end. It’s believed by some the amount of grief she carried imprinted itself and her spirit onto that bridge after her death in 1931.
Many say this is who the dogs see whenever they cross that bridge. The spirit of Grace freezing the dogs before possessing them and jumping fifty feet below, possibly an action she contemplated all those years while she walked along that bridge.
The White Lady of Overtoun
Today her spirit is known as the White Lady of Overtoun and many have claimed to see glimpses of her along the bridge and in the Overtoun house believing she attempts to force others into jumping.
Her presence and haunting were even attributed to a tragic event that occurred on the bridge in 1994 when a 32-year-old man threw his infant son off of the bridge believing him to be the antichrist. The man then tried to jump himself but was stopped by his wife. Unfortunately, their son didn’t make it and died the following day. The man was found not guilty by reason of insanity and placed in a psychiatric hospital.
But the White Lady of Overtoun isn’t the only reason some have for the hauntings and strange activity.
A Thin Place
An old saying often attributed to the ancient pagan Celts says “Heaven and Earth are only three feet apart but in thin places, that distance is even shorter”. These thin places according to legend are a chance to peek behind the veil that is our world and peer into the world of heaven, a place that is different for each of us.
Some believe the Overtoun bridge was coincidentally built along one of these thin places. Dogs, able to perceive the other side better than humans, jump believing they are entering heaven. Is it possible the reason The White Lady of Overtoun walked along the bridge so often was that it was a thin place and she felt the presence of her lost love there?
Theories
Probably not, so let’s look at a more scientific reason for the many dog suicides. Now I’ll preface this by saying we actually don’t know why dogs are jumping but there have been many investigations. One done by the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals could find no reason for the dogs wanting to jump.
One of the most likely scientific theories for the jumps comes from Dr. David Sands an animal behaviorist who suggested the smell of the animals below the bridge causes dogs, especially those with long noses to jump. He believes because of the stone barriers on the sides of the bridge the dogs don’t realize they’re walking along a bridge and don’t see how far down the ground is until it’s too late.
Below the bridge, there are many squirrels, mice, and minks whose urine leaves a strong smell that Sands believes is a strong attractor for the dogs. He found this by running experiments testing how dogs react to the smell of their urine, finding in seventy percent of his tests the dogs went for the minks smell. He also realized minks were introduced to the area near the Overtoun bridge in the 1950s right around when the dog jumps were said to have started.
Doctor Sands makes it clear the dogs are trying to commit suicide they are simply being fooled by the smells and the layout of the bridge. But the question Doctor Sands was not able to answer is, why do dogs only seem to jump off of the Overtoun bridge? Other similar bridges in Scotland also house mink nests below and it doesn’t appear to have the same effects on the dogs in those areas.
I was going to make a joke but… WHOSE A GOOD BOY?!
Though it appears we have part of an answer, it also may be the wrong one. Another debunked theory is the thought of a location nearby emitting high frequencies and creating confusion among the dogs causing them to take the leap. But Sands tested for this and found no anomalies in the sound waves near the bridge.
In the end, we may never know why dogs keep choosing this one spot to jump off of the bridge, the white lady of Overtoun, the thin place, or a different scientific reason but the best deterrent for whatever haunts the bridge is a dog leash.
But how about you? What do you think is haunting the overtoun bridge? What scientific reason do you think is causing dogs to want to jump fifty feet below at overtoun bridge?
