#acid bridge

[homeofhousechickens]

The other day I visited the seven gates of hell in Illinois.

Urban legend states that if you drive through all of the bridges in order at midnight it will open a portal to hell. People say that each bridge is guarded by an evil spirit, such as ghosts, demons, hellhounds, ect

I can see why 1900s architecture smacked in the middle of a growing rural town can be perturbing to city folk and teenagers. These bridges are leftover from back when they used the railroads for mining operations in the area. They are thicker then typical modern bridges and are an interesting shape

That gates themselves are very cold, some people think it is ghosts but i think it is a swamp cooling effect due to the thick concreate shading the gates plus the small creek that flows parallel to most of them. Car accidents are also common at the gates but i think this is due to the roads small size, sharp turns, and blind spots that are common on the roads the bridges reside. Who knows?

Commonly people have mentioned seeing fires and men carrying weapons such as axes and scythes especially close to the last gate. I find these pretty amusing because right down the road before the seventh gate is a feed lot full of beef cows. When i went there was a fire going but it looked like it was to clear the pasture nearby. Of course i saw alot of men carrying farm tools as well and i cant help but wonder if those things people have claimed to have seen were just rural people going out about their buisness. The first gates are in more populated areas then it gets replaced with corn field and animal agriculture as you continue on. To me the drive was very pleasant and nostalgic.

I will say i likely accidently scared a teenager at the twin gates 3 and 4. He was sitting in his car and when we pulled up he yelled "yall good??" Part of the urban legend is that sometimes you see a ghost car so i wonder if the reason he jumped and yelled is because he thought we were the ghost car haha.

Gate number Five did give me a funny feeling. Its very overgrown and when you pass through it its very cold and it goes on a bit longer then the other gates. Its more like a tunnel.

Im sure people who are residents of Illinois read the first sentence and went "Yes of course the seven gates of hell are located here"

[myhauntedsalem]

Acid Bridge Collinsville, Illinois

Acid Bridge in Collinsville is said to be one of the most haunted places in Illinois and Lebanon Road certainly does seem like a rather terrifying stretch of road! One of the most unique features of the road is that it has seven railway bridges passing over it which are locally referred to as the seven gates of hell. There is an urban legend that circulates in the local area stating that if someone passes underneath all seven bridges at midnight, they will pass into a portal leading to Hell itself! Each of the seven bridges is also supposed to be guarded by Hell hounds! One of the scariest of the bridges is the one know as Acid Bridge. The legend is that some teenagers were high on Acid when they lost control of their car and flipped over the edge of the bridge into the shallow creek below where they all died instantly. People say that they feel particularly uneasy on this bridge and have strange feelings while there. There are also cold spots and weird unexplained noises. Although, to be fair none of the seven bridges looks particularly welcoming!

[myhauntedsalem]

Acid Bridge Collinsville, Illinois

Acid Bridge in Collinsville is said to be one of the most haunted places in Illinois and Lebanon Road certainly does seem like a rather terrifying stretch of road! One of the most unique features of the road is that it has seven railway bridges passing over it which are locally referred to as the seven gates of hell. There is an urban legend that circulates in the local area stating that if someone passes underneath all seven bridges at midnight, they will pass into a portal leading to Hell itself! Each of the seven bridges is also supposed to be guarded by Hell hounds!

One of the scariest of the bridges is the one know as Acid Bridge. The legend is that some teenagers were high on Acid when they lost control of their car and flipped over the edge of the bridge into the shallow creek below where they all died instantly. People say that they feel particularly uneasy on this bridge and have strange feelings while there. There are also cold spots and weird unexplained noises. Although, to be fair none of the seven bridges looks particularly welcoming!

[novaya-model]

So there’s a legend around the St. Louis Metro are that these 7 exempt railroad overpasses are the gates of hell. Teenagers and young adults spend their nights trying to pass through the gates in order, in one round. It is said that if you do this, passing through the 7th and final gate will open the entry to hell. Some people believe that you will be transported directly to hell, while others believe that a tear will form in your reality and you'll be able to see the Lake of Fire. But everybody believes THAT THE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE DIRECTIONS FOR THE GATES ALL SUCK.

So, in my boredom today, I went through the gates and documented the turns and tricks to doing it properly.

Getting there:

-Go to Collinsville from Rte 159 -Turn right (E. Church Street)

Go to Collinsville via Route 159. If you're coming from the south than you will pass the giant Brooks Catsup bottle. When you get into town, take a right turn onto E. Church Street. Follow it pass the cemetery. E. Church Street will become Lebanon Road as you pass by the school bus parking lot. After about 2 miles, you will come across the first gate.

Gate 1, The Beginning:

-Lebanon Road

The first gate is easily accessible and not of much consequence. About a 1/2 mile after you pass through this gate you will come across the second.

Gate 2, The Sharp Left:

-Sharp left onto Lockman Road (immediately after bridge)

Along Lockman Road (which is where you'll be after passing through the first gate) there is a cement bridge covered in graffiti. Directly after this bridge is a sharp left turn you need to take.

This turn is the entrance to the second gate.

Gates 3 and 4, The Twin Gates:

-Sneaky right turn under the railroad

These gates are easy to pass by. 

After you pass through the second gate you will still be on Lockman Road. You will travel another 1/2 mile before you come across the next gate.

You will pass by three cement structures. Two walls on either side of the railroad tracks to your right and one structure in the trees to your left. The third gate is immediately after these structures.

There is a dipping, gravel road on the right that goes under the railroad tracks. This is the third gate. The road under this gate curves and leads to the fourth gate about 400 ft away.

Gate 5, Going the Distance:

Distance: 3 miles

-Pass Heck and Bohnenstiehl Roads -Left on S. Liberty Road

The road out of the fourth gate is Longhi Road, though it turns back into Lebanon Road soon enough. Follow this road pass Heck Road and Bohnenstiehl Road. Take a left turn onto S. Liberty Road.

Travel S. Liberty Road for about 1 mile and the 5th gate is waiting for you at the bottom of a hill.

Gate 6, The "Not Acid Bridge":

-Merge right onto W. Mill Creek Road

S. Liberty Road merges into W. Mill Creek Road. About a 1/2 mile after the convergence is the sixth gate. This gate is often confused will acid bridge. This gate is not Acid Bridge. Acid Bridge is on Lebanon Road, but the Troy, Il section of it.

No, no, gate 6 is not acid bridge. It is simply gate six. Nothing special about it, not difficult to find. 

Just gate six.

Gate 7, The Doozy:

-Follow W. Mill Creek to intersecting Troy-O’Fallon Road -Cross intersecting road, continue onto E. Mill Creek Road -Take a left at the skewed E. Mill Creek/ Blackjack intersection -Take right onto Bauer Road (first available road)   -Alternative: Take right onto E. Kirsch (second available road.       Labeled). Take eventual left onto (labeled) Bauer Road.

Gate seven kicks a lot of people in the crotch. Directions are bad, road signs are flipped (or non-existent), and this gate is the furthest from the others. Many people give up before they reach the final gate.

To get to gate seven, follow W. Mill Creek until it lets out at Troy-O’Fallon Road. Cross Troy-O’Fallon road and continue on E. Mill Creek Road until you get to Blackjack Road. At the time of typing this, there is a messed up road sign that confuses a lot of people, so let me clarify:

~Blackjack Road is the crossing road. When you come to this stop sign, turn left. Do not follow through to the road slightly skewed across the street. That is just a continuation of E. Mill Creek. Turn left and stay on Blackjack Road.~

Now after you get on Blackjack Road, you will eventually turn right onto Bauer Road. As it stands (7/26/14) Bauer Road is not clearly labeled until you get to the inner neighborhood. To be safe, I'd take the next right turn, E. Kirsch Road. E. Kirsch will come to intersect (a labeled) Bauer Road that you can then turn left on. This will put you back on track to the seventh gate.

Bauer Road takes you directly through the seventh and final gate.

From there you can take an immediate left onto Country Lane and follow it until it lets you out at Troy-O’Fallon Road, or you can turn around and go back through the gates, maybe reverse your luck and close the entry to Hell. 

Your choice.

Legends of the Gates:

Gate 2:

One of the most common legends about this gate is the KKK murder of a young African-American child. It isn't hard to believe, as the KKK still march around a few neighboring cities to this day. They say that, if you journey the gates at midnight, you can see the ghost of his hanging body swaying back and forth.

Gates 3 + 4:

Because you can nestle between these two gates of hell and be completely secluded from the eyes of the road, it is rumored that these gates were a common place for satanic rituals in the 70s and 80s.

Gate 7:

One common legend about this gate is that when you pass through it, Cerberus, the three-headed dog that guards hell, comes at your car and takes the soul of the most sinful person into the depths of hell.

Another one says that passing through puts everyone in the car on a radar of sorts (kind of like Final Destination) and demons come haunt and harass you until you die (untimely, either by suicide or the physical damage a demonic haunting will take on your body) so that they can bring you back to hell with them. They say the only way to avoid this fate is to go back through the gates in reverse order, sort of like repenting your sins.

The Technique:

From what I've heard, the only way to do it right is to do it at midnight with all of the windows down (so that Cerberus can catch your scent, or the demons can latch onto you). 

Do not do this while inebriated or in bad weather conditions. Talk to anyone in the area and you'll hear a variety of tales about death and pain related to these gates. The roads are thin with sharp turns and corners you can't see around.The gates can hardly fit two cars through them. Go slow, be alert, and stay alive. Don't join the legends. 

Bonus, Acid Bridge:

Lebanon Road travels parallel to Mill Creek. If you want to see Acid Bridge, it's on the same side of Troy-O’Fallon Road as E. Mill Creek. Instead of taking a left on Blackjack to get to the seventh gate, take a right.

After about a 1/2 mile, you'll get to the Blackjack/Lebanon intersection. Turn left onto Lebanon Road. Another 1/2 mile and you will come across Acid Bridge, notable by it's colorful an bright graffiti.

Acid bridge comes with many legends.

Stories of teens dropping acid on the bridge only to try to dive into the (shallow) creek and die.

A little girl supposedly died looking for her dolly in the creek during rain season (when it gets full with a strong current).

The ghost of a car accident supposedly drives at you when you pass it at the right time (I'm not sure what that time is).

Lots of stuff at Acid Bridge.

[sailllboat]

"faeries were here" i miss saltspring.