Aaron Mahnke

For those who are curious, the donkey lady is said to be a disfigured specter.

Her frame might be human, but her head and hooves resemble those of a donkey.

Where she came from, though, is a matter of fierce debate.

In one version of her tale, she lived with her husband and children on a farm not far from the Old Apple White Bridge.

Her husband was horribly abusive, and in an act reminiscent of the Amityville Horror, he snapped.

One by one, he killed his entire family, leaving his long-suffering wife for last.

When he finally burned the house down, she was still inside.

The fire disfigured her, but somehow she was able to escape.

Running to the river, she jumped in and was never seen again.

Well, alive at least.

But ever since, she has stalked the land, seeking to exact vengeance on her violent husband.

Some variations on her story do include an actual donkey, though.

In one, the family owns a donkey that a stranger beats.

He's ultimately chased off by the woman who lived there, but he returns later that night to burn the house down.

Even after the house is reduced to ashes, the woman, now disfigured, treats the donkey as her own child.

In another version, her donkey bites a child who taunts it.

When confronted by the village, the donkey lady blames the boy and the villagers, enraged, drown both the woman and her offending beast.

Whatever the variations, though, most of the stories typically end the same way.

A woman survives a fire in which she loses everything and then haunts the place where it happened, whether due to enduring pain or a bottomless desire for revenge.

As a result, locals have believed the area around the bridge to be haunted ever since.