I started elementary school at age 6 in 1966. I attended Westwood Terrace
in San Antonio, Texas. While I was there, I heard many local urban legends.
Later I found that anyone who had gone to school in San Antonio had heard
of the Donkey Lady...

Now the way I heard it, back in the fifties, a young woman had been in a fire.
(My wife says she heard the Donkey Lady had lost two childen in that fire,
and that her husband had started the fire). She was left horribly disfigured.
It was said that when her face healed, all the skin had something of a drooped,
baggy appearance. Her fingers had all fused together, leaving dark stumps, or
hooves. Disfigured and totally insane, she stayed mostly in the rural areas
of Bexar (pronounced "bear") County and terrorized anyone who approached her.
As children, when we could stay out late on Summer nights, we would all describe
what we thought she looked like, and we were absolutely positive she waited in
the darkness for us to seperate so she could pounce on a lone victim, ripping
and chewing... well you get the idea.

Most of the Donkey Lady stories have faded into memory, but one was a little
hard to shake. One of best my friends told of a cousin who was with his father
and brother on a weekend outting. They were going to camp and do a little fishing
in an un-official county park. The group pulled up to a weed infested area off a
dirt road and began to make camp. The two boys had the task of unloading the pickup
truck while the father found a suitable spot for the tent. While unloading the truck,
one of the boys heard a rustling in the weeds just ahead of the truck. He told his
brother, who in turn called out to their father to come to the truck. The three of
them watched the tall weeds beneath the oaks away from the road bend under the weight
of what was apparently a large animal. Then they heard an odd snorting sound. And
a high snarl. The father, not recognizing the sounds coming from the "animal",
decided they probably ought to find another spot to set up camp. The three of them
quickly threw the tent, sleeping bags, and gear into the back of their truck. While
packing up, the father watched out of the corner of his eye, as the weeds shook nearby.
The prowler moved away from the trees and began heading for the general area of the road.
The father urgently whispered for the boys to get in the truck-- fast! All three of them
were in the truck in a flash and the father started it up. He put the truck in gear and
was just pulling out in the road when something fast and large burst out of the weeds
and ran at the front of the truck. A second later, a horrible apparition bounded up onto
their hood and began shrieking at them through the glass. It was the ugliest thing any
of 'em ever saw. They swore it looked like a donkey, but it was mostly human. It screamed
at them more as the truck continued to move away from the weeds and into the road. It used
its deformed hands to punch at the windshield and broke it many places. The father hit the
brakes. The thing slid off the hood and onto the dirt road. Throwing the truck into reverse,
the father floored the gas pedal and put some distance between them and the .. thing.. and
backed into the weeds off the road. He then put the truck into first and stepped on it again.
That thing was coming up on them fast. They said it almost looked like a wild animal with an
incredible look of rage and hatred in its eyes. Dirt sprayed up from the road at the beast
as they pulled out, slowing it down just enough for them to get away...

The Donkey Lady supposedly had finally dropped back and headed into the weeds. After the
story was told, and my friend let it be known that he thought it was a nice story but,
well, it was a nice story, the cousin took him outside and showed him the truck.
The windshield was almost knocked out. The hood was dented and its paint was scuffed and
scraped.

And two decades later, I had something to tell you about.
 
 

I grew up in Memphis until about age ten, and then finished school in
San Antonio.  I had heard about the Donkey Lady the whole time I was
growing up in Memphis, and then heard about her again in San Antonio.
However, the stories I heard in Memphis had little to do with her origin.
In Memphis, there was this one cliff in the woods that those daring enough,
would drive out to.  Then, you were supposed to turn off your lights and
wait to hear the sounds of the Donkey Lady's goulish "heeee hawwwww."  Just
as you heard it, you were supposed to turn on your car's headlights in time
to catch a glimpse of her.  Also, there was even a phone number you call to
hear a recording of the donkey lady. . .I don't remember calling the number,
but I remember people talking about it. . .Years later in San Antonio I heard
stories similar to those you've told.

Melanie would like anyone who has more information about the Donkey Lady
to write her. If you would like to contact her, feel free to write to
Chickenskin and I'll forward your mail to her.

Thanks for writing, Melanie!--tbs
 

The following comes to us from an e-mail I received from "Airborne". All names have been changed.
 

    The tales that I have on the Donkey Lady are not directly related to me, however they were relayed to me through friends in highschool. These are people I have known all my life, and have no reason not to believe them.
 

      One night in late 1987, while at my best friends house, four fellow companions showed up. Bored and looking for something to do, we suggested they visit the "Donkey Lady Bridge". This local was only a short drive from the house,(5 or 6 miles) and was a local favorite amongst late night stories. They agreed and were soon driving out of sight.
 

       About six hours later,their vehicle returned to our driveway with only one occupant. Assuming he had taken the girls home and was ready to party in S.A., we went out anxious to greet him. What we found at the car was something I'll never forget; The windshield was busted, the front dented, and there was what appeared to be blood all over the hood. We immediately ran to the drivers door to see if John (not his actual name) was allright. However John was just sitting there staring out the windshield with a blank expression on his face. After several minutes of consistent badgering, we finally got him to talk.
 

         He, Lisa, Terri, And Jill (their names are changed also) arrived at the bridge. They began to honk their horn and call for the donkey lady. (according to legend this is how you are supposed to get her attention) After about fifteen minutes of not seeing anything, they decided to go into the woods and look for her themselves. What happened next was truly unbelievable, and if I hadn't know John all my life and seen the car I would not have believed it myself.
 

         While walking in the woods, John said he got the feeling they were being watched.  He immediately stopped and told everyone to be quiet.  Looking around and evaluating the situation, he discovered in the distance what appeared to be two eyes staring at them off in the distance.  These eyes seemed to be reflecting from the moonlight and were of a color that was said to be indescribable.  Immediately the girls panicked and began to run back to the car.  John was quick to follow, and soon after he turned away there was a horrible scream from the direction of the eyes.  He described it as almost being a cry from an intelligent animal.  To afraid to turn around, he picked up his pace as he ran to the car.  When he got there the girls were already inside screaming at him to get in and leave.  As he was trying to find his keys, he was there was the sounds of what seemed to be a horse running in their direction.  Starting the car, he slammed it into gear and put it to the floor.  Suddenly, a figure appeared in the road in front of them.  To afraid to stop, John collided with the figure.  It hit the hood of the car and rolled over the roof.  Looking in his rear view mirror, he said he thought the figure got up and continued to pursue them.
 

        After hearing this and seeing the condition of the car, Steve and I, immediately felt this deserved a second look.  John told us that he would never return to that bridge again, but if we wanted to risk our lives to go right ahead.  Grabbing two flashlights and a pair of shotguns, (that was the biggest weapon Steve's father had) we jumped in my pickup and made way for the bridge.  As we drew closer, we slowed down, and turned on the many off road lights my truck had.  These lit the road and the woods to the side of us as if it were day time, giving us an outstanding view of the bridge as we approached.  The first thing we noticed as the bridge drew close were the numerous amounts of blood on the road.  However, these were the only signs of evidence we could find.  Upon investigation of the woods by foot, (and shot guns) we discovered what seemed to be several tracks of a small horse (unshod) leading to the road.  After several hours of looking and not finding anything else, we returned to the house.  By this time John had already found his way home, and we laid in bed, to excited to sleep.
 

        To this day, none of the four individuals involved in this story have returned to the bridge.  Did John actually see and strike the Donkey Lady that night, or was it merely a stray pony startled by their presence?  All I know is that something was there that night and it did scare our friends half to death.
 

P.S.  The Donkey Lady bridge is the bridge that crosses Elm creek via Applewhite  Rd., approximately four miles North of Loop 1604 on the South side of town.
 

Airborne, that's quite a story! Thanks for sending it in. There has been quite a lot of
mail centered around the Donkey Lady. With the above contributions, it easy to understand why!---tbs
 
 

          I JUST FINSHED READING THE STORIES ON THE DONKEY LADY YOU HAVE POSTED ON THE WEB SITE , AND I'M SHAKING RIGHT AT THIS MOMENT. YOU SEE DURING THE FIRST WEEK OF FIESTA, WHICH IS ABOUT 3 WEEKS AGO. MY HUSBAND AND I INVITED HIS 16 YEAR OLD BROTHER FROM ARIZONA TO COME DOWN FOR FIESTA. SO ME , MY HUSBAND JUAN HIS BROTHER JOHNNY AND MY BEST FRIEND LIZZETTE WENT TOTHE CARNIVAL AND HAD A GOOD TIME , IT WAS ABOUT 12A.M. WHEN WE DECIDED TO TAKE JOHNNY TO THE GHOST TRACKS . AFTER LEAVING THERE MY FRIEND LIZZETTE ASKED US IF WE EVER HEARD OF THE DONKEY LADY'S BRIDGE. WE SAID NO WE NEVER BEEN THERE.

        SO SHE TOLD MY HUSBAND TO DRIVE THE TRUCK AND SHE WOULD GIVE HIM DIRECTIONS ON HOW TO GET THERE. I GUESS SHE WAS TO SCARED TO DRIVE OVER THERE.  SHE TOOK US DOWN 410 ALL THE WAY DOWN APPLEWHITE ROAD TO A ONE WAY BRIDGE. WE WERE ALL
SKEPTICAL, AND WE WERE DRINKING AND JUST HAVING FUN, WHEN SHE TOLD US TO TURN OFF THE LIGHTS AND JUST SIT THERE AND WAIT, THE WHOLE CAR WAS SILENT AND LIZZETTE GOES "DO YOU HEAR THAT" IT SOUNDED LIKE A HORSE RUNNIG IN OUR DIRECTION AND IT KEPT GETTING LOUDER AND LOUDER AND WE WERE ALL SCREAMING AT JUAN TO GO AND HE WOULDNT. TILL FINALLY IT SOUNDED REALLY CLOSE SO WE TOOK OFF BURNING RUBBER AND ALL. I'M SO GLAD WE LEFT WHEN WE DID I DONT KNOW WHAT WOULD OF HAPPEN IF WE STAYED THERE. I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT I THINK IT IS TRUE ABOUT THE DONKEY LADY, I'M JUST GLAD I DIDN'T MEET HER LIKE THE OTHER PERSON DID.
 
 

I grew up in San Antonio and heard the stories.  I have my own.  I met the lady that people refered to as the "Donkey Lady".  She was a recluse and she may have been a nut but she told me she was the "Donkey Lady" so make up you own mind if she really was (although she was very lucid when I spoke to her).

I was riding my horse and came across a beautiful appaloosa colt tied up.  A woman came out of the bushes when I was petting the colt and said she had seen me riding around and was watching me pet the colt.

She was very old (this must of been around 1980ish) and took me to her "house" made up of garbage bags and plywood.  She told me her house burned down and her husband died and she had no where to go.  She had donkeys, horses, skunks, and several other animals.

We sat and talked and she brought out an old photo album of herself and her husband.  They had ridden horses for years and ran a dude ranch or something such many years before.  We spent several hours together and she was very kind.

I went back and brought her some muffins as she liked sweets and talked again.  I went back once more and she was gone.  I never knew what happened to her.  I'd like to get the story on the woman her called herself the "Donkey Lady".  She seemed to have lived a great life but with a sad end.

Not very "chickenskin" but there is usually a truth behind an urban legend.

Perhaps this is the story of the true Donkey Lady.  This account was sent by "D".  If you would like to write "D", please send an email to texasair@htcomp.net .
Thanks, D, for a warmer embodiment of this mysterious person.  --tim
 

IN SUMMER OF 2000.ME, MY HUSBAND AND HIS COUSIN O.J. WENT TO SEE THE DONKEY LADY.EXCEPT WHERE WE WENT TO WAS A TINY GRAVE YARD WHERE YOU CAN DRIVE AND OUT.WELL BEYOND THE GRAVE YARD THERE WAS A KNOCKED DOWN FENCE ANS SOME GARBAGE...WE THREW ROCKS AND HONKED THE HORN AND HEARD NOTHING.SO WE JUST SAT THERE ON THE HOOD OF THE CAR...WAITING ..THEN ALL OF THE SUDDEN WE HEARD A DONKEY HEE HAW! I WAS SO SCARED(WE ALL WERE)WE RAN IN THE CAR AND REVERSED OUT OF THERE.IT WAS SO SCARY.
THE DONKEY LADY (WHERE WE WENT)WAS WAS NEAR ROOSEVELT ON THE SOUTH SIDE..   DO U WANNA KNOW WHAT ELSE?...WE HEARD HER DURING THE DAY TIME!

This was delivered to us on May 22, 2002.  It's nice to see she's still maing the rounds!  Thanks to FantasyG123@aol.com  for this cool story! --tim

I lived in San Antonio from birth to 15 and I think I knew about the Donkey Lady all that time.  My friends were a bit older and they of course knew more than I did about stuff like that.  I only knew that she would yell at you in a "hee haw" fashion if you called her and bothered her.  I never knew that she had a bridge or that people knew where she lived until today.  Anyway, my friend had the phone number and she called it and had me listen.

The sound coming from that telephone made me hang the phone up immediately.  A horrible sound of a donkey being tortured or worse.  I think I called the number myself a few times after that, one time I even tried to scare my mom with it but she seemed unfazed.

I would like to hear from anyone who remembers calling on the phone first hand, not my friend's friend did.  I had forgotten all about the Donkey Lady until I found your website but boy, chickenskin describes the feeling to a T.

Thanks so much for the compliment!  In order to send an email the author of this segment, please click here .  This story brings back memories... I also was able to listen in one of these weird phone calls.  The number was fairly popular when I was in Junior High School. Thanks for the memory!
 

5 MONTHS AGO ME AND MY FRIEND HEARD ABOUT THE DONKEYLADY STORY.  SO WE DECIDED TO GO AND SEE IF THIS STORY WAS TRUE.  WE HEARD THAT SHE RUNS AFTER YOU IF U SEE HER SO WE WENT PREPARED WITH 2 SHOTGUNS.  SO WE WENT TO THE BRIDGE AND WE SAT ON THE HOOD WAITING FOR ANYTHING UNUSUAL TO HAPPEN.  SO WE WAITED FOR ABOUT 1 HOUR AND SAW NOTHING SO WE DECIED TO LEAVE.  AS I STARTED MY CAR WE HEARD THE GALLOPING OF A HORSE.  WE DID NOT THINK ANYTHING OF IT UNTIL WE SAW THE EYES OF IT.  AS WE SAW THE EYES MY FRIEND TRIED SHOOTING AT IT BUT THE SHOTS HAD NO EFFECT.  SO I PUT THE CAR IN GEAR AND LEFT BUT IT STARTED TO CHASE AFTER US AND IT KEPT UP.  SO I WAS GOING ABOUT 60 AND THEN IT WAS STILL BEHIND US SO WE DECIDED THAT WE WERENT GOING TO LOSE IT SO WE USED THE NITROUS BUTTON AND THAT GAVE US ENOUGH BOOST TO LOSE IT SO AFTER THAT DAY WE HAVENT GONE BACK TO THAT BRIDGE NOT EVEN TILL THIS DAY.   -ERIC HERNANDEZ

Thanks for story, Eric!  I don't think I've ever heard of anyone shooting at her. With her temperament and speed, it's probably a good thing she wasn't the one with a gun!  ;-)

I had an incident similar to the one Airborne submitted..

One weekend in 1989 some friends and I were driving around in the 1973
Impala one of them owned, as we usually did.  We were showing the younger
cousins of the driver, Todd, around; they had turned thirteen that year and
were being 'inducted';).

We decided to drive to Donkey Lady Bridge, partly since we had never been
there, partly to give them a good scare.  Any child (particularly
south/southeast side ones) that has grown up in San Antonio knows about the
Donkey Lady.  There was even a phone number you could call (225-LADY) to
hear 'her'. So they laughed and agreed to the idea.

We drove out to the bridge, turning off the headlights before we were
actually on it.  It is very eerie out there at night; it was much more
because of the almost-full moon barely lighting the bridge.  Todd started to
slowly advance across the bridge, when a figure appeared seemingly from
nowhere in the middle of it.  He stopped the car and we whispered
speculations as to who or what it was.

We were NOT expecting to see anything, much less this.  Todd placed the car
in gear again, and honking his horn, slowly inched his way toward the
figure..which promptly vanished.  The car was stopped again, and this made
us shut up.  Todd sat listening to our suggestions to back up or gun the car
to the other side when SOMETHING landed on the hood of the car. Everyone
screamed, and Todd slammed the car into reverse and floored it. The dark
figure rolled from the hood, and Todd didn't stop until we had reached the
main road and made our way to the Denny's on S.W. Military near IH 10.

Getting out, we all stared at the hood, which now sported two very deep
dents in it.  No one had an explanation of just where the figure had dropped
from to make those.  We went inside to eat, but just decided to call it a
night. Todd took his car to a body shop the next day, but had to replace the
entire hood: the dents were too deep to pound out.

Incidentally, I was 17 when this happened, and am 30 today..and I have never
been back out there.

Thanks, Backlash, for this story and the phone number!  If anyone would like to write Backlash, the address is hs_backlash01@hotmail.com
She has also contributed this story!
 

I found your website and enjoyed reading about the Donkey Lady....  I was born and raised in San Antonio.  I grew up on the near North Side, not far from Brackenridge Park, well away from the railroad crossing, Donkey Lady Bridge, and other such things on the South Side.  Anyway, I do happen to remember the number for the Donkey Lady, in response to the entry from Melanie Gray.  It was “KEEP IT 1”.  A classmate told me about it when I was in about the sixth grade (about 1976, when paranormal phenomenon was reaching a fever pitch).  Supposedly, when you called it, you could hear a donkey.  I tried it a couple of times but it was busy.  I never went out looking for the Donkey Lady or anything like that.

Thanks for preserving some of San Antonio’s fine urban legends!

Thanks your valued comments! They are very much appreciated!---tim
 

I read "D's" story about the "Donkey Lady."  I grew up in Windcrest (NE San
Antonio) and knew her, too.  Her name was Doc Anderson.  Her husband's name
was Oscar. In her younger hayday, Doc looked like a Hollywood star--another
Dale Evans. They used to rent a farmhouse with a little property behind
Windcrest, but they got evicted when they got behind in the rent.  My Dad
used to take us to her place to rent horses for a ride.  After she was
evicted in the 1970's, she and Oscar set up camp to the east in "Robards", an
unincorporated area.  They made a shack out of scaps of wood and tin.  They
had to haul water.  I personally hauled big containers of water for her in
the back of my truck several times.  They lived in a primitive manner, often
going hungry so they could feed their beloved animals.

Oscar died a few years later, and she was all alone.  I think the County
finally sent someone out to get her.  I don't think she lived too long after
that.

It's nice to know there were other people that showed her kindness, like "D".
 People tormented her and Oscar and stole their animals or killed them. She
and Oscar were old, stubborn, and vulnerable.  Their last years were very
hard, but that's the way she wanted things. She didn't want to end up in a
rest home.

Sheri  SMagTX@aol.com

Hi Sheri- thanks for the added insight to the Donkey Lady!  That was a touching perspective about her. Really nice. --tim.
 

I, of course, always carried with myself a certain amount of fascination with the Donkey Lady.  I had never seen her before, and I never really went out hunting her, either.  I didn't have the guts to be hanging around any dark bridges in the middle of the night, so my first and hopefully last encounter with her was a fluke.

At the end of my freshman year, I'd begun making friends with upper class men, I was occasionally invited to go driving with them, or go to see a late night movie.  One night in late January, when the weather was still frozen, a girlfriend of mine and a senior boy were going to meet some other friends to see a show.  The girl and I picked up our other friend, who lived out in the boondocks, past the tracks and the bridge.  We had to drive backroads to both get to his house and get to the theatre.

We had all been talking about the old books, "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark", books that were designed for children but still scared the living daylights out of us to this day.  We were already nervous when we took off down the road, out to the theatre.

The midnight road was lined with transients, sleeping in alcoves and packs along the road, which was very creepy in and of itself.  As we drove, watching out in the dark, a large animal, the size of a deer man came bounding out of the scenery, headed parallel to our vehicle.  Everyone in the car freaked out screaming, and the animal outside of the window did the same.  We sped up as fast as we could, trying not to hit Donkey Lady, so she couldn't rip through the windshield and kill us off quick.

Hailey  horseflie@hotmail.com

Thanks for the creepy story, Hailey!  You've grown up with this legend, like a lot of us, but you also got to see her!  Thanks! --tim
 

MY NAME IS INEZ, I HAVE LIVED IN SAN ANTONIO ALL MY LIFE AND EVER SINCE I WAS A LITTLE KID I WOULD ALWAYS HEAR STORIES ABOUT THE DONKEY LADY. I  WASN'T SURE IF I REALLY BELIEVED IT OR NOT BUT ONE NIGHT IN JUNE OF 2001 MY FRIENDS AND I WANTED TO SEE IF SHE REALLY EXISTED. SO AFTER A NIGHT OF PARTYING WE FINALLY HAD THE COURAGE TO GO TO THE DONKEY LADY BRIDGE. IT WAS ME AND 4 OTHER PEOPLE. WE WENT DOWN TO CREAK AND WAITED FOR SOMETHING TO HAPPEN. WE WAITED FOR ABOUT 30 MINUTES AND NOTHING SO WE STARTED TO LEAVE WHEN SUDDENLY WE HEARD THAT DONKEY NOISE. WE ALL LOOKED AT EACH OTHER SCARED WE STARTED TO RUN BACK UP TO THE TRUCK. AS WE  WERE RUNNING THE NOISE GOT CLOSER AND HEARD SOUND OF A HORSE RUNNING. WELL IT SOUNDED LIKE A HORSE. WE RACED BACK TO THE TRUCK AND SPED OFF. THAT WAS THE FIRST AND LAST TIME I WILL EVER GO THERE. I NEVER SAW HER BUT WHAT I HEARD WAS ENOUGH! HAD WE STAYED FIVE MINUTES LONGER WHO KNOW WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED.      MUCH LOVE~   INEZ

Hi Inez- Thanks for the story and description of the sounds!  That's scary!
If you would like to write to Inez, you can do so by sending an email to puertorico111@hotmail.com .
 

I was reading your stories about the "Donkey Lady" and I have a story for you! I'm 15 and I've lived in San Antonio my whole life. Well, last night (January 11, 2004) around 12:30 am a few of us decided to go to the Donkey Lady Bridge and check it out. There were 2 girls (including me) and two guys. My friend decided to stay in the car because she said something didn't feel right. So I stayed with her because I didn't want to leave her alone. The two guys proceeded to head into the woods leaving us wondering if anything would happen. We waited there talking for about 20 minutes and all of a sudden I told her to shut up and listen. There was the sound of hooves next to the car it stayed pretty loud for about 10 seconds then faded slowly towards where the guys entered the woods. We waited until we couldn't hear them any longer then we called their cell phones ... no answer and one of the said that they were unavailable..... We freaked out and called back about a minute later. She said put your seat belt on. we were about the drive into there to find them when they came running out, we unlocked the doors and sped off towards the main road..... we didn't actually see her, but I think it's better off that way! Please be careful if you ever go out there! Thanks!
PinkcheekedQT06@aol.com

I bet the phone outage caused some tense moments!  Thanks for this story, amd I agree- that's a place that you need to be careful around! --tim

I was born and raised in San Antonio lived there my whole life and experienced much of the paranormal there. From the famous train tracks to the insane asylum to La LLorona to the donkey lady. I remember being told a different version of the donkey lady story though and it goes like this.........Back in the 1950's or so there lived a young beautiful lady who was the lover of a man that was married to a very powerful witch(bruja). And I can't remember how long it went on before the witch found out. But the young lady was pregnant by then with the mans child. I think it is told that the witch turns the beautiful girls legs and feet into a donkey and leaves her top half the same. And when she has the child it is taken away from her and she goes completely insane looking for her child and the fact that she is not a beautiful as she once was...
---Purl Retiz, chevy_racer_gurl13@yahoo.com

Hi Purl- that's a new twist on this story.  Thanks for sending it in!--tim
 

i've lived in san antonio all my life and grew up very close to the donkey lady bridge.  i've heard many stories.  that drive down applewhite is/was very dangerous.  i've called the police so many times coming down that road late at night.  i've seen cars and "other" things on fire.  once, driving near the one lane donkey lady bridge, i saw a car speed away and noticed an old bag lady coming from the river under the bridge.  she looked disoriented and lost.  she was also wearing an eye patch and flagging me and my boyfriend down.  now come on, wouldn't YOU stop for a lost old lady?  no!  not in the middle of the night and on a road where even a drifter has no business being!  so i called the police.  i wonder to this day who that old lady was.  for those who are interested in the donkey lady and have yet to drive by the bridge should do so soon.  the area where she supposedly hangs out is where toyota is building their new plant.  that road will soon be no more.  the road they are building on applewhite bypasses the one lane bridge.  so all you ghost hunters and curious folks out there should visit this old "landmark" before it's no more.  i pass through the construction on applewhite everyday, and from the looks of it, construction is happening really fast out there!  get it while you can.  thanx for a great site tim!!  keep up the good work, stephanie.
OutOfTheDark77@aol.com

Hi Stephanie, and thanks for the new info! I guess you never know what you'll run across out there! --tim
 

The Donkey Lady's Phone Number

Having grown up in San Antonio, I used to actually call the donkey lady phone number. I am not sure what the prefix was anymore, I believe it was ***-**** or some other prefix from that area of down town, (check the phone book, try them all).  Yes, I actually used to call it and yes it used to actually work. I think it was an old line that had not been updated to modern equipment and would make strange noises. Here is what the call was like... ring... picks up... odd sounds that could be considered strange donkey sounds, but were more electronic,... then a rhythmic click that would not stop until you hung up that sounded like hooves on a road, but were again just electronic clicks. I used to call it back in high school in the mid to late 1980's. I remember trying the number a few years later in the early to mid nineties, but the line was fixed and the number may have even belonged to someone.  Michiel

When I was younger, the number was pretty active! Thanks for the story!--tim
July, 2005

A Visit to Donkey Lady Bridge

My incident with the Donkey Lady occurred in the Fall of 1997. I was a sophomore attending South San High School and back then, I did everything with my two best friends, Nadia and Dee. At the time, Dee was dating this really popular and cute senior named Henry and we hung out with he and his friends, who were also really cute. Now, I only tell you this to point out how stupid we were at this time in our lives, 15 years old and very impressionable. We would have done anything just to prove that we weren't a bunch of silly girls.
 
It was Halloween night and we wanted to check out some of the usual local haunts that we had heard about growing up. We met up at Nadia's house to get ready and we all out, we put on clog heels and everything! Henry was going to pick us up and we had no clue where we were going. We went first to eat at the Pizza Hut on Military and Zarzamora and then to the VillaMain tracks. But there were so many people there (duh, it was Halloween) that it wasn't even very scary; people were actually dancing in the back of their truck beds. We tried to get into the Aquaducts but the police were patrolling and we didn't want to get into trouble. We went back to Henry's house and he used to live right across the street from Palo Alto College. Several of his friends came by (Joe and Albert, who were brothers) and we were all bored, looking for something to do. I think it was Joe's idea to go to the Donkey Lady Bridge. I had naturally heard about this place and I remember my mom used to tell me to never go anywhere near it. However, us girls, who just wanted these guys to think we were cool, decided to go.
 
Henry's car was too small so we went in Albert's trunk which had a large cab and all 6 of us were able to fit in comfortably. Albert was driving, Dee in the middle and Henry in the passenger side. The rest of us sat in the back. First thing I noticed in that 5 minute drive was how NO ONE was in this area (quite different from the tracks.) We started that eerie drive down Highway 16 and took a left on Applewhite Road. It was pitch black and you could only see whatever was visible from the headlights from your car. The road began curving and with the darkness, the quiet and the lonely road, us girls were starting to get a little freaked out. That's when Albert thought it was be a great idea to play "Find the Car." We never heard of it but Joe said, "Is that really a good idea?" and they explained to us the way the game was played, which was invented by their grandfather. Their grandparents owned a ranch just outside Helotes and they used to play this game with their cousins. The premise of the game is to drop off some people in your car, drive a short distance then turn off your car and lights and drive a little more. The group is supposed to wait for you to do this (it's normally played in a field, hence, you won't hit anything) and then has to search in the darkness for the driver. I was a little more brave then my friends, but even I was doubtful this was a good idea.
 
As we drove across the bridge, we turned back to park with the front of the trunk facing north on the bridge. Albert begged us to play because it was be "so cool" to walk across the bridge in pitch black and try not to fall over the guardrails and into the creek (yeah, that sounds like a lot of fun!) We kept saying, "I don't know. That doesn't sound like a good idea." Albert said Joe would go with us if we were really scared but even Joe didn't want to do it! The guys finally pushed him out of the truck and we followed. Henry and Albert remained in the truck and shut and locked the doors. The four of us (me, Joe, Nadia and Dee) stood there on one end of the bridge and the truck began driving away. We were there about 5 seconds and saw the red brake lights getting smaller and smaller and got freaked out and ran after the trunk (so we didn't even play the game right.) As we chased the truck the guys kept driving to the other end of the bridge. Dee was wearing these HUGE shoes and one actually came off as we were running. I stopped but Joe and Nadia continued running. That's when I turned around to help her find it and heard a rumble behind this bush.
 
We found the shoe quickly and didn't waste much time as we tried to catch up to the group, Dee with one bare foot. The trunk stopped and we finally made it back into the cab. Albert kept the truck on but put it in park and was laughing his head off. I said, "Guys, let's get out of here. I think I just heard something." We were out of breath and Albert was ashamed at his brother for acting "like a little girl." We pleaded with Albert to leave already and that I had heard something. He told us it was all just our imagination, there was nothing out there. We continued begging him to drive off but he kept on laughing. He began honking the horn and we yelled at him to stop it and just drive. He didn't and kept on honking and exclaiming at us, "There is nothing out there! This stuff isn't real!" All of a sudden we heard a 'tu-ta, tu-ta, tu-ta,' a slow gallop sound. Henry said, "Wait, did you hear that?" Joe finally stopped honking the horn and we all became quiet, trying to listen. It came closer and closer and we were all frozen with fear and shock. Finally Albert, looking white, took the car out of park and peeled out of there but as soon as the truck began moving, a loud BANG sounded from the back right side, scaring us all.
 
We made our way over to this small gas station that sits just across on the west of Highway 16. We all got out of the trunk, the girls shaking with fear and my heart was pounding. We were trying to figure out exactly was happened and the guys were inspecting the trunk. That's when we went over to the back right side and saw a very deep and narrowed puncture just above the tire. It looked as though someone took a metal pipe and tried to strike the tire but missed. My friends and I starting screaming when we saw it. Then we looked down at Dee's foot, which had blood on it. Only it didn't belong to her, she had absolutely no cuts, not even a scratch from running barefoot and we wondered where it came from. We then realized that from the four of us who had been running back to the car, three of us jumped back in from the left driver's side door and Dee went into the right passengers side to climb into the front with Henry and Albert. We were absolutely terrified and shaking at what just happened and even Albert, who earlier was so cocky and annoying, looked scared.
 
The next day, Albert told his parents about the dent and exactly what had happened. They were furious at him...but not for the trunk. They were furious at him for going out to that place.

Jennifer, jj-rabbit@hotmail.com
Halloween 2007

Thanks for the detailed description of your encounter, Jennifer!  My understanding is that the bridge may be gone now. But the stories aren't!
tim

Returning to Donkey Lady Bridge, December 2008

Well it all started when my boyfriend wanted to see a ghost. He was born and raised in San Antonio knowing many legends and tried many times without success. The Donkey Lady bridge has had much hype since I can remember. We decided to visit. Along with my boyfriend and I, four friends came to try and see something we had never seen. We approached Applewhite Rd. which is scary all on it's own by the surrounding woods. When we got there around 1 am we parked and got out the car. We forgot flashlights but that didn't stop us from getting on that bridge. As we made our way down the bridge that was only lit by the moonlight, we stopped in the middle to listen for something, anything. Nothing happened so we decided to finish the walk down her bridge. As soon as our footsteps began, her hooves clicked on the bridge as dust went up in the air and something began to chase us. My boyfriend said "DON'T RUN." but the rest of us were to scared to see what could happen next. The six of us ran to the car and left behind the unknown. We all knew we had just experienced her presence. Next time, seeing her is enough belief to last us a lifetime.
nothingbutagee@gmail.com

Another fine tale submitted by a reader December, 2008. It goes to illustrate the enduring fascination for one of San Antonio's best known legends!

Do you have a Donkey Lady story? Share it!

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