Arizona’s London Bridge

Posted: 02.01.2021 | Updated: 10.27.2025

The famous London Bridge is the centerpiece of Lake Havasu City, Arizona. Yes, the London Bridge!

Lake Havasu is a planned city, and founder Robert McCulloch thought that his town wouldn’t be complete without an attraction. So, he bought the old London Bridge and moved it across the pond. The bridge is among the top tourist sites in Arizona.

It’s also one of the state’s most haunted places. Keep reading to learn more about the Arizona London Bridge hauntings. And when you are ready to explore Arizona urban legends face to face, book yourself a ghost tour with Phoenix Ghosts!

Why is the Arizona London Bridge Haunted?

Some say that when Robert brought the London Bridge to Arizona, he also brought over the centuries of violence and death attached to the bridge. From the Great Fires of 1212 and 1666 to the numerous drownings and accidents, to the severed heads displayed on the bridge by the Crown, Lake Havasu’s London Bridge is cursed.

• Drivers and pedestrians who cross the bridge might see misplaced characters from 19th century England walking along the roadway.
• Others have been followed home by dark energy after crossing the span.
• Historians say that there’s a good possibility that human remains are buried within the bridge and its granite bricks.

For all of these reasons, London Bridge is considered extremely haunted.

How did London Bridge get to Arizona?

The London Bridge has been demolished and reconstructed numerous times, going all the way back to the beginning of the millennium. The reiteration of the bridge bought by McCulloch was built in 1871.

By the 1960s, London city officials realized they needed a new London Bridge. London was growing, and the current bridge was unable to withstand the increase in vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The City of London auctioned the bridge in 1962. Robert McCulloch was the highest bidder.

Robert McCulloch, owner and founder of the McCulloch Motors Corporation, was building a dream town in the Arizona desert. McCulloch wanted to build a town of opportunity that would attract young professionals.

He called the town Lake Havasu City, and he wanted a major attraction that would bring tourists. Seeing that the old London Bridge was up for auction, McCulloch bought it for $2.5 million.

Robert had it shipped to him from London. Workers broke the bridge down into granite bricks and shipped them across the Atlantic to California via the Panama Canal. The bricks were then trucked into Lake Havasu City. There, a construction crew built the bridge with a reinforced steel frame to give it the necessary strength to withstand traffic.

The end result was a bridge exactly as it was in London, down to the brick. Almost everything on the bridge is original, including the bricks, streetlights, and railings. Engineers added tunnels for maintenance and joints to allow the bridge to expand and contract with temperature changes.

The Bloody History of the Old London Bridge

The area of the Thames where the London Bridge spans today has had a crossing since about the year 50 AD. Construction of the first iteration finished around the year 1209. The bridge back then supported numerous buildings, with at least 120 to 200 dwellings. This increased the fire hazard, and the load on the arches, many of which had to be rebuilt.

The London Bridge caught fire numerous times during this era. The fire of 1212 was the largest of the early fires, as the century saw many across the city. Both ends of the bridge caught fire simultaneously, trapping residents in the middle. Those who weren’t killed by the fire died when they jumped into the Thames and drowned.

Rebellions in 1381 and 1450 destroyed more homes on the bridge, and the northern end of the bridge was destroyed in 1633 when it caught fire again. The Great Fire of London in 1666 destroyed the bridge further. Luckily, the fire 30 years prior created a gap that prevented this fire from spreading. However, the bridge again caught fire in 1725, destroying even more dwellings.

Tudor Era and Beyond

During the Tudor Era, the homes on the bridge were seven stories high and hung around 7 feet over the edge. Traffic was a nightmare. Floodwaters also became a major issue, creating havoc for boaters. Many crews died when their boats capsized while trying to navigate under the arches of the bridge. “Shooting the bridge,” as it was called, turned out to be an incredibly foolhardy move.

The bridge was also a place for the monarchy to set an example for those who opposed them. William Wallace was a Scottish knight who fought in the First War of Scottish Independence. His head was the first to be boiled, tarred, and displayed on a pike on the London Bridge.

Over the next 300 years, countless other criminals and “enemies of the state” would have their heads cut off and stuck on a pike for all to see. Guy Fawkes and Oliver Cromwell were among them. In 1598, a German tourist claimed to see about 30 heads on display on the bridge’s front gate. The practice fell out of favor sometime in the 1700s.

The second and third iterations of the bridge were a lot less gruesome. No major incidents occurred on the second London Bridge, which stood from 1871 until 1967. However, construction workers found multiple sets of human remains, including children, under the bridge while it was being dismantled in the 1960s.

In a process called immurement, people were buried alive under the bridge while it was being built as a ritual to ensure the bridge’s longevity. The current London Bridge, completed in 1972, was equally uneventful until the 2010s. Two terrorist attacks occurred in 2017 and 2019, taking the lives of at least eight people.

Ghosts of the London Bridge

Since its completion in 1967, the London Bridge in Lake Havasu City has been haunting residents and tourists. During the grand opening, folks witnessed a group of four women in Victorian dress walking along the bridge. Most thought it was a publicity stunt done by the city until the women mysteriously vanished into thin air.

It’s fairly common to see characters from old London on the bridge, wearing period clothing. The apparitions usually disappear when one gets too close. One common apparition is the ghost of a woman in a black dress.

She usually is seen walking quickly across the bridge, clutching her purse. Some have seen her jumping into the water at night. Interestingly enough, she never hits the water but disappears right before impact.

Centuries of death from fires, rebellions, and drownings may be keeping numerous spirits attached to the bridge. The ghosts of criminals and England’s perceived enemies might also be wandering around, still angry about having their heads on display over the bridge’s gates.

People often feel the presence of a dark energy follow them while crossing the bridge. Sometimes it follows them home. Some say it’s from the ritual sacrifices made under the bridge while it was still in London. The bodies of women and children were buried alive under the bridge. Their spirits may be angered that the bridge was moved and their resting place disturbed.

The light posts may also be a source of bad energy. The metal used to make the light posts was melted down from the cannons of Napoleon when they were confiscated after his defeat. Those cannons were used to kill thousands on the battlefield. Even lights on London Bridge are stained with blood.

Even More Hauntings

One of the creepier stories of the bridge are from two Lake Havasu residents who claimed to hear voices while walking home one night. A mother and son heard strange, angry voices encouraging them to jump off the bridge as they crossed the river. The mother suddenly felt nauseous, and both had an incredible sense of uneasiness and fear that lasted for months. Other Lake Havasu City residents have had similar experiences.

Drivers notice dark and ominous figures floating above them. These shadows sometimes follow them as they drive across the bridge, only to leave them alone when reaching the other side. Some visitors say they’ve had unseen entities bump into them.

Workers and pedestrians often hear blood-curdling screams coming from under the bridge and within the tunnels. The tunnels are closed to everyone except maintenance personnel and engineers. The source of the screams has yet to be found.

Haunted Arizona

London Bridge is just one of many haunted places in Arizona. The sometimes dark history of the Grand Canyon State makes it a hotspot for ghosts, haunted houses, and UFO sightings.

Feeling brave enough to visit such haunted places in person? Book your Arizona ghost tour today with Phoenix Ghosts and prepare yourself for a fun and spooky adventure!

Discover authentic hauntings in more than 150 cities: Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok for more ghostly content. Keep reading our blog for more bone-chilling stories from the Valley of the Sun.

Sources:

• https://www.golakehavasu.com/london-bridge/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdF6jNisp9Q&t=553
• https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/kenwood/history-stories-kenwood/old-london-bridge/
• http://www.weirdus.com/states/arizona/ghosts/london_bridge/
• https://seeksghosts.blogspot.com/2013/07/london-bridge-ghosts.html
• https://www.travelchannel.com/shows/ghost-adventures/photos/ghost-adventures-london-bridge