South of San Antonio, there is a bridge haunted by the ghost of the Donkey Lady. In fact, locals call it the Donkey Lady Bridge. The short version of her story is that she was a single, independent woman who raised donkeys to support herself more than a hundred years ago. She died in a fire that destroyed her body so thoroughly that her spirit could not find peace, she she lingers near the bridge.
The Donkey Lady is in good company, as she joins so many other women whose ghosts haunt places across America. Why are so many ghosts stories about a woman? There are several theories, which are tied to the period these stories were first told. It only makes sense that women who had been abused in life might want to hang around after death in order to take revenge. Or their heartbreak keeps them searching for solace after death. Women were tied to the home, and that might continue after death. Some stories arose as cautionary tales of women who stepped out of their expected role. Or, as Edgar Allen Poe wrote, a woman's death is, "unquestionably, the most poetical topic in the world.” In other words, it makes a good story.
The question of why so many women figure in ghost stories is explored at Atlas Obscura. It was linked as part of their roundup of their favorite ghost stories of 2023. You'll enjoy them all.
(Image credit: Albert Roosenboom)
