The article in the alumni magazine for William and Mary College states that "As with any oral history, the tale grows in the telling -- a story of, say, strange lights in an upstairs window in one generation transforms into a grim legend of a vengeful Civil War wife in the next. Some rumors are playful, some are sinister, some have recent origins, and some have histories nearly as long as the College itself."
The College of William and Mary has many legends attached to it, including a reference in a song and several ghost stories. This legend is the classic superstition type of legend that involves the Crim Dell Bridge over a stagnant stream on campus.
My bride and I were on our honeymoon in Colonial Williamsburg. On our second day, we took a walk through the beautiful campus of William and Mary College, to see the three old colonial era buildings at the eastern end, and ended up walking deeper into the campus to find some waymarks already posted. Near the statue of the lovers was a bridge. We walked across the bridge, and as often happens, we kissed at the apex of the arch as viewed the (rather green looking) stagnant stream below, then finished crossing and went our way.
The first time we heard of the rumor was while touring the Christopher Wren Building a little later. The student guides told my new bride and me the following:
"If you cross Crim Dell Bridge with your partner you will end up with a long marriage with him/her, but if you cross alone, you will end up alone the rest of your life."
The alumni magazine article had the following version:
"If you kiss someone on the Crim Dell bridge, you'll end up married to him/her."
The magazine article also adds that this rumor is "unverifiable, but nobody's taking any chances."
The article also adds a couple 'corollaries':
- Should you kiss someone on the bridge and later change your mind, you have to throw your former beloved off the bridge in order to break the curse.
- And women shouldn't walk across the bridge alone, lest they be doomed to a life of spinsterhood.
Indeed, it appears that nobody is taking any chances. The path to the bridge was covered in leaves and looked like it had been at least days since someone had traveled on them, despite it being located in the heart of the campus. The bridge is a beautiful wooden arch bridge specifically for pedestrians.
The alumni magazine article talks about the possible origins of the legend. The bridge was built in 1967 and replaced an plain wooden bridge during a redesign of the Crim Dell into a nice wooded walkway along a stream in the 1960s. No one knows when this rumor was started, but it possibly was from a magazine article about the bridge that quoted this rumor (no mention in the alumni magazine about which magazine that would have been).
So, we kissed and did not know about the legend. Technically, it does not apply to us since we are already married - or does this add to the years of marriage? So, fellow waymarker, be warned before you take on this legend! If you do take on the challenge of this legend, post a note several years later to say what happens!
Sources:
Wikipedia (Crim Dell Bridge):
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visit link)
William & Mary Alumni Magazine (The Legend of Crim Dell and Other Campus Rumors):
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visit link)
FlatNews.com (Crim Dell: 43 Years of Tradition and History):
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visit link)