On January 3, 1870, workers began construction on New York City’s Brooklyn Bridge. Today, exactly 144 years later, the bridge is a beloved landmark. But is it also haunted?

Dozens of spooky stories surround the bridge which connects the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Some people claim to have seen shadowy figures flitting across the bridge while others have reported screams and the sound of splashing water. When alarmed pedestrians go to investigate, there is no evidence of a jumper. One of the creepier Brooklyn Bridge legends involves a headless specter that wanders aimlessly. The story is even more unnerving when one learns that a cable snapped and beheaded a worker during the bridge’s construction.

Considering the tragic history of the Brooklyn Bridge, the span’s haunted reputation is hardly surprising. Designer John Augustus Roebling suffered a crushed foot after a ferry pinned it to a piling. He died from tetanus infection soon after. Roebling wasn’t the first Brooklyn Bridge victim. An estimated 27 workers died during the bridge’s construction. Not only that, but when the bridge opened on May 30, 1883, rumors of a collapse caused a stampede which killed 12 people. The Brooklyn Bridge is also a common suicide site.

What do you think? Is the famous bridge truly haunted or is are the stories the stuff of folklore and legends?