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Naming it Goblins Gate

Legend has it that early explorer Charles A. Barnes stumbled upon this gorge on the Elwha River when he was on an expedition with the Seattle Press in 1989 and 1890. This was the first successful crossing over the Olympic Mountains done by the Europeans, and they were naming many landmarks still used to this day.

Barnes is also the one who named the place and the very name itself gives the place an eerie feeling. He described the gorge with the gushing waters like this: “…like the throat of a monster, silently sucking away the water.” And as a resembling “multitude of faces…with tortured expressions.”

The name came after witnessing haunting faces carved into the rocks at its edge, like goblins and monsters. Some speculate that maybe he had indulged a bit too much in Wild Turkey that fateful day. Some have speculated after that there is something strange about this place.

Olympic National Park: The lower parts of Goblins Gate from the river

The Mysterious Goblin’s Gate

As the turbulent waters of the Elwha River surge through the narrow opening of the gorge, these stone faces of Goblin’s Gate appear to beckon travelers toward the abyss of Rica Canyon.

Attempts to tame the Gate with a bridge have been met with eerie failure. The first bridge was swallowed by the river’s rage, while the second succumbed to a mysterious rot, disintegrating before it could fulfill its purpose. This type of defiance from nature that won’t be tames has also spurred a couple of legends of its own:

Could it be that unseen spirits guard the Gate, refusing passage to those who dare to cross?

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The Kusti Wrestlers Tell about Ghosts

Underneath The Howrah Bridge there are also wrestlers training in the three thousand year old tradition of Kusti. Their Kusti akhara, where they practice, is found on a clay pit by the bridge. The dedicated wrestler comes to practice at 4:30 with prayers and exercises as it is not only a sport, but a lifestyle.

These wrestlers have stories to tell as well about the haunting allegedly going on, both under The Howrah Bridge as well as by the different ghats along the river like by the Mullick Ghat and the Zanana Ghat.

Although a place to relax and enjoy the steady stream of the river popularly called Ganga or Kati-Ganga, the area under The Howrah Bridge is also thought to be haunted by the spirits of the people that lost their lives on the river. Some by accidents, some willing, perhaps even some unwillingly?

The Howrah Bridge of the Drowned

Some people claim to have witnessed phantom arms reaching out from the dark waters under the bridge as if asking for help, still trying to get out from the river they drowned in.

There are also stories passed around in the area about seeing a crying woman wearing white robes as she sobs by the river bank. It is said that those approaching the woman, trying to help her or the ghostly arm out of the water, become traumatized or perhaps worse, drown themselves.

Those wandering around the bridge and along the river below also claim to have heard the voices of women crying out and calling out their names in a ghostly tone, although no one is there.

The Haunted Ghats Along the River

As twilight descends and the cityscape fades into darkness, the bridge’s silent sentinel watches over the Hooghly River, its towering silhouette casting long shadows upon the water below.

Where the Kusti Wrestlers have been training for a long time and where the ghosts keep haunting the river banks under The Howrah Bridge, silently raising their hands just above the dark waters.