Carolyn and the Girl Under the Bridge
A bridge off the beaten path offers refuge, frozen in time, for young women who need to escape the horrors of their reality.
What are you reading right now?
I’m currently working my way through Saint Death’s Daughter by C.S.E Cooney and absolutely loving it! I also recently read Sick! Stories from the Goop Troop by Eric Raglin, Lor Gislason, and Shelley Lavigne, which was fabulous. In addition to that, and for a little peek at something that hasn’t come out yet: I finished Rae Knowles’s Merciless Waters a few weeks ago and am OBSESSED. That book inspired me in ways I can’t even unpack yet. It’ll release in November, and you’ve gotta get your hands on it if you like watery vengeance horror.
books/short stories/poems/publishing projects you have out in the world now.
I recently self-published my short story “The Open Vein” on my itch.io page, which was a lot of fun. It follows a young human bartender who works for an underground vampire bar in the city, and her tense relationship with a new patron. I also had a charity collection published with Ram Eye Press in June, called “three stories by dori lumpkin”! All of the proceeds go to support the Family Equality Council. That one has a whole lot of rural horror, bugs, weird religion stuff, and too many queer themes for me to count. It’s a very special collection, and I’m happy that Ram Eye was able to help me bring it into the world!
What made you decide to write a story for Cry Baby Bridge: A collection of utter speculation?
I absolutely adore a very specific theme, and the collections of utter speculation always make me smile. I think that writing stories in order to understand things we don’t know much about is so universal, and when we get the chance to provide our own explanations through fiction, it’s a very satisfying feeling. And honestly, the story of Carolyn came to me so quickly when I saw the prompt that I knew I had to write it!
Did you grow up with a cry baby bridge legend? Is it something that affected you or was it a new story for you?
The answer to this question is both yes and no. I was vaguely aware of one located near me in Saraland, Alabama (which is the one that served as my inspiration for my story, which has deeply southern roots), but I didn’t realize that it was part of my life until after I had written the story altogether. I texted my dad to tell him about the call and how excited I was, and he shared with me that he actually used to work near the Saraland Bridge, and would walk across it all the time! I think connections like that are so interesting, and like I said above, we all want to find answers to things we don’t understand. Why would you not want to figure out something that remains unexplained about your very own hometown?
Why do you think this legend is so pervasive? What truth do you think is behind it?
It isn’t really a surprise to me that this legend is so especially pervasive. I think that it makes a lot of sense that we want to explain something tragic or traumatic with the supernatural. Grief is handled in so many different and interesting ways, and the creation of urban legends like the cry baby bridge is just one of them. I’m not sure I can speak on the truth behind it, but what I can say is that I’ve very often seen the forests these bridges are found in to be a safe space, and that I’m no stranger to the tragedies that can happen around them. I’m unsurprised that people around the country and the world have also made this connection, and that it has manifested in such an interesting way.
What other projects are you working on? Where can we look for you next?
I’ve got so much work coming out this fall, you can find my piece, “Amoret” in The Deeps from Spindle House, I’ll have a flash piece in Divinations Magazine, as well as work in Crow & Cross Keys and more (and maybe a secret unannounced thing as well…)! I’m also working on a novella, currently titled “Where Drowned Saints Rise to Meet You”, which is the erotic horror swamp witch novella I’ve been yelling about on my twitter page. I’m hoping to have it solidly finished by October so that I can start sending it out places!
Find Dori at https://dorilumpkin.carrd.co
And on their social media @whimsyqueen on Instagram, Twitter (X?), Tiktok, Bluesky, and itch.io
LC W. Allingham 
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