When I first heard about River Legacy Park being haunted, I was skeptical. Some of the stories just seemed crazy. However once I actually took a trip there, and saw first hand all the weird, unexplainable things I began to change my mind. I do believe that there is something supernatural going on in that park at night. I almost want to go back just to see what else I would see, however I believe it is best not to mess with those sorts of things because it can become dangerous. So while I would not go back there myself, I can tell you that the night I spent in River Legacy Park is one I will never forget.

There has not been a lot of documented investigation on the rumored hauntings in River Legacy Park. With all the rumors however, many people have gone to try and see for themselves if these stories hold any truth. I myself decided to see what I could find out about the hauntings of River Legacy Park. It was last halloween and me and 3 friends decided to go to the park because we had heard it was haunted. It was around 11 o'clock so the gates were closed and we had to walk in, we walked around for a while and nothing really seemed strange, but as it got closer to midnight things began to change. We spotted figures flashing across open fields and strage noises. All this scared us so much that we decided it was time to leave. Just as we turned around to begin what was probably a thirty minute walk back to the exit we saw a car began pulling up. We sprinted into the woods to avoid being seen, at the time thinking it was a park ranger. We were all crouching in the bushes as the car slowly pulled up to where we were hiding and stopped. It sat there for a while before pulling away. As we emerged from our hiding spots we saw that the car was somehow all the way across the park in what seemed to be mere seconds, we also began notice there was no road leading over there unless you circle the entitre park. Which would have been impossible to accomplish in such a short amount of time. Terrified, we sprinted all the way back to the car, we later learned that there are no park reangers in this park. So the question remains...who, or what, was in the park with us that night?

As with any story passed down over half a centurey, details will be changed and different variations of the story will emerege. It is said that the "screaming bridge" was not a head on collision, but a car full of young girls who were speeding across the bridge which had been burned out by some boys earlier that week. The boys were tried but not idited. (1)

(1) Car Falls into Creek Bed; Two Arlington Girls Killed. Dallas Morning News Archives.
Februrary 5, 1961. October 25, 2010.
http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives

(2) Ghostly Desings. Screaming Bridge.
July 23, 2006. October 25, 2010.
http://www.strangeusa.com/ViewLocation.aspx?locationid=9399

River Legacy Park has been rumored to be haunted for years now. Countless people have snuck into the park after closing to see if they can catch a glimpse of the paranormal activity that is said to take place in the park after closing. When I first heard these rumors, I did not think there could possibly be any truth to them; to me the stories just seemed unlikely.Ghost cars and haunting hobos just do not sound that realistic to me, but my mind quickly changed when I decided to pay a visit to this spooky little park after closing.

How River Legacy Began

River Legacy Park was started by the River Legacy Foundation, which is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to preserving the parkland along the Trinity River. River Legacy Park has more than tripled in size since its gates first opened in 1990. The park has been rapidy growing through donations, fund raisers, and city grants. This is a very family friendly location, whether your just taking a jog or having you're childs birthday party, the park is generally filled with activity. Many reports of  wild cats being spotted in the park have been documented, however these animals have been quickly captured and realeased into reservations. For a while people became worried about the parks safty but they have trained speacialist on staff who know how to handle these situations, which helped ease the fears of park goers. It is a multi-use park; part nature preserve, part playfield, part picnic  place, part wedding pavilion, part jogging, walking, biking and blading park, with miles of trails, and both paved and unpaved biking trails. With such varied attractions this park has become one of the most popular in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.



 Sources:
"Our History" River Legacy.
2010. October 20, 2010.
http://www.riverlegacy.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=135

"Arlington, Texas" Eyes on Texas.
2009. October 20, 2010.
http://www.durangotexas.com/eyesontexas/arlington/riverlegacy/riverlegacypark.htm