Jake’s Hill Bridge

Posted: 10.22.2025 | Updated: 10.22.2025

Located near a crossroads at the edge of Williamson-Travis County, Jake’s Hill Bridge doesn’t look like much. It’s not a covered bridge where things can whisper from the shadows, or one with thick, gothic stonework befitting a devilish haunting. 

Yet despite its rather humble appearance, the air feels thicker when crossing, the veil worn thin, and spirits roam freely. From footsteps to disembodied voices, they never hesitate to let themselves be known. If you long to stretch the night and listen for those on the other side, why not book one of our tours to find out more about other Austin hauntings?

Is Jake’s Hill Bridge Haunted?

The site of more than one horrifying tragedy, the bridge has been stained by death and misery. This is a place for spirits, and they have made it their own, making themselves known in unsettling ways. They scratch and claw their way from the other side to chill anyone who crosses the bridge.

Tragedy and Legendary Lore

The original bridge was built in the late 1800s at the crossroads of Hutto and Pflugerville, just a small two-lane structure crossing the Brushy Creek. Named for a Hutto resident named Nelf Jacobsen, it stood in silence for 30 years before the first tragedy struck.

A horrifying murder suicide during the Great Depression is but one stain on this backwoods bridge. Three teenagers lost their lives on this bridge, too. The mangled remains of the car were pulled from Brushy Creek, as witnesses looked on, horrified by the carnage.

The bridge had been upgraded in the 1980s, and the spirits were not pleased. They are forever tied to the bridge, taking the stage each and every night, letting passersby know they exist.

A Chilling Utterance

As you pass over the bridge, your car gets a flat tire. The night closes around you while changing the tire, only the moon bearing witness. Then, as the wind picks up, you hear a dog passing by, though none appears, the sound bringing goosebumps and unease. 

But it doesn’t end there. The voice calls, your heart thudding with ice, as you hear the words clearly, “I’m coming for you.” The malevolence in each word, like venom, an angered spirit culling the darkness for those still among the living.

The terror doesn’t stop there. What of the legend of ghost children trying to push vehicles to keep them off the bridge, trying to save others from suffering their fate? Yes, the chill you feel is real, and so are they, the spirits long ago cast in a play which is performed every night.

Phantom Vehicle

Racing across the countryside was a popular pastime in the 1950s, when the monotony of farm life became too much for teenagers. On one particular night, a group of friends decided to up the ante and tempt fate by turning the lights off on their car.

Plunging through darkness, their phantom vehicle thundered, the passengers urging the driver to go faster. They never saw the bridge approaching, a waiting monolith in the night. The car slammed through the guardrail and into the swirling waters of Brushy Creek, killing them all. Their spirits can still be heard crying out in pain, begging for help that will never come. 

Suffer the Children

Children’s spirits are perhaps the most troubling and frightening. Whether it’s the sense of lost innocence they portray or how short their lives were, when children haunt a site, it adds a layer of fear to the haunting. It is the same for the Jake’s Hill Bridge children’s spirits.

Leaving the roadway in the misty morning, a school bus plunged into Brushy Creek, killing several and injuring dozens. The spirits of the perished children are said to protect those who dare cross the bridge by doing something remarkable. 

Dozens of people have tempted the child spirits by stopping their car in the middle of the bridge. Putting their car in neutral, the ghost children of Jake’s Hill Bridge push their car to safety. Some have even sprinkled flour across the back of their car only to find tiny handprints of the children who push their car across the bridge. 

Jacobsen and His Misery

Jacobsen’s spirit is a constant presence on and around the bridge, the malignancy thick.

Like millions of others, Jacobsen had been impacted by the Great Depression. He lost everything. To him, there was no way out. When the drought ruined the harvest Jacobsen had been counting on, he did the most chilling thing imaginable. With the harvest moon watching, he murdered his wife and children at their farmhouse, before hanging himself from the bridge. 

The spirits of his children are also said to try to keep people away from the bridge by pushing vehicles across it so they don’t suffer the same fate at the hands of their father. 

Another variation of the legend details that it wasn’t his wife and children, but his parents he killed by pushing their car off the bridge. 

Regardless of which story is the truth, there is no denying that he continues to haunt the bridge. There are repeated tales of the sound of running footfalls, followed by the scream of a man’s voice, “I’m coming for you.” It’s too easy to imagine Jacobsen’s children running from their enraged father, seeking safety that never comes.

More Hauntings

Another frequent haunting is that of a lost dog and its owner. On more than one occasion, the sound of a dog crossing the bridge has been reported, followed by the owner’s calls. 

There have been countless reports of the sounds of boots thundering across the bridge, screams always following. Is this Jacobsen chasing down someone from his family who dared escape his rage? Or are the screams those of the children who perished on the bridge? 

Haunted Austin

If you haven’t been chilled quite enough by the lost spirits of dead children or the enraged specter of Jacobsen’s ghost, why not find out more about other Austin area hauntings by booking one of our walking ghost tours with Austin Ghosts?

And don’t forget to read about other real Austin hauntings on our chilling blog. Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok!

Sources:

• https://communityimpact.com/austin/round-rock-pflugerville-hutto/history/2020/10/06/mystery-of-huttos-jakes-hill-bridge-driven-by-urban-legend-spooky-happenings/

• https://kbeyfm.com/2013/10/14/spooky-bridge-was-end-of-the-road-for-jake-the-farmer/

• https://texaslocalstories.wordpress.com/2020/07/20/jakes-bridge/

• https://folklore.usc.edu/legend-jakes-hill-ghosts/