Emily's Bridge & Boots Berry: The Ghosts of Stowe, Vermont

Stowe, Vermont has more than New England charm and renowned ski slopes...it is also full of ghosts. Most famously, Stowe boasts the haunted Emily's Bridge (Gold Brook Bridge) and a tap-dancing spirit said to haunt the Green Mountain Inn. This episode follows both tales through oral tradition, local history, and the frustrating reality of trying to pull out the truth from the legend.

This episode's investigation digs into the many versions of Emily’s Bridge, why the story feels more like a template for local legend than a historical account, and how a rumor can harden into “fact” once it gets repeated on tours, in books, and online. It also follows the paper trail for Boots Berry, a supposedly heroic, tap-dancing inn worker whose biography turns out to be far harder to verify than the legend would like you to believe.

Along the way, the episode highlights what historical research actually looks like; from dead links, mismatched citations, false leads, and the reality that sometimes...the information just isn't there. It’s a reminder that some ghost stories are be built from nothing but spooky vibes, loose retellings, and a sprinkling of just enough details to make it feel legitimate.

CHAPTERS

[00:00:03] - Introduction to Stowe, Vermont’s ghost stories and the listener-submitted case
[00:01:39] - The Haunting of Emily’s Bridge at Gold Brook Bridge
[00:03:45] - The Legend of Boots Berry at the Green Mountain Inn
[00:07:57] - The Many Versions of Emily's Story
[00:11:29] - Digging into Possible Origins of the Emily Legend
[00:13:19] - A Different Haunted Bridge?
[00:16:59] - Researching Boots Berry’s Biography
[00:22:37] - Tracing Citations and Finding the Trail is a Dead End
[00:26:10] - When Historical Research Leads Nowhere
[00:28:00] - Conclusion

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SOURCES

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Citro, Joseph A. Passing Strange: True Tales of New England Hauntings and Horrors. Houghton Mifflin, 1997.

Green Mountain Inn. “Inn History.” Accessed April 15, 2026. https://www.greenmountaininn.com/discover-the-inn/heritage-of-the-inn.

Levitt, Alice. “Exploring Vermont’s Haunted Restaurants.” Seven Days, October 30, 2013. https://www.sevendaysvt.com/food-drink/exploring-vermonts-haunted-restaurants-2266453/.

Lynchings in the North. “Lynchings in the North.” Accessed April 21, 2026. https://lynchingsinthenorth.org/.

Mackinnon, Kim Foley. “Spend a Night at a Favorite Haunt.” The Patriot Ledger. Accessed April 15, 2026. https://www.patriotledger.com/story/news/2007/10/19/spend-night-at-favorite-haunt/40226261007/.

Merritt, Kelly, and Kelly Merritt. The Everything Family Guide to Budget Travel. Adams Media, 2011.

NAACP. “History of Lynching in America.” Accessed April 21, 2026. https://naacp.org/find-resources/history-explained/history-lynching-america.

Newman, Rich. The Ghost Hunter’s Field Guide : Over 1000 Haunted Places You Can Experience. With Internet Archive. Woodbury, Minn. : Llewellyn Publications, 2011. http://archive.org/details/ghosthuntersfiel0000newm.

Obscure Vermont. “Emily’s Bridge?” March 17, 2024. http://web.archive.org/web/20240317102114/https://obscurevermont.com/emilys-bridge/.

Ocker, J. W. “Emily’s Bridge in Stowe.” Atlas Obscura, April 14, 2026. http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/emilys-bridge.

Page, Timothy. “The Legend of Boots Berry.” Vermont Daily Chronicle, Vermont Daily Chronicle. Accessed April 15, 2026. https://vermontdailychronicle.com/the-legend-of-boots-berry/.

Seven Days. “Exploring Vermont’s Haunted Restaurants.” Accessed April 15, 2026. https://www.sevendaysvt.com/food-drink/exploring-vermonts-haunted-restaurants-2266453/.

St. Albans Daily Messenger (St. Albans,VT). “A Heroic Young Woman.” October 30, 1882.

“Stowe, Vermont Is Allegedly One Of State’s Most Haunted Towns.” Accessed April 15, 2026. https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/trip-ideas/vermont/stowe-most-haunted-small-town-vt.

The Barre Daily Times (Barre, VT). “Stowe.” January 13, 1932.

The Daily Iberian (New Iberia, Lousiana). “Navy Wives Club Installs Officers at Monday Meet.” August 24, 1960.

The Daily Iberian (New Iberia, Lousiana). “Navy Wives Meet at Frederic.” November 8, 1960.

“This Place in History: Emily’s Bridge — Vermont Historical Society.” Accessed April 15, 2026. https://vermonthistory.org/emilys-bridge.