PORT NECHES — As the tales go, Sara Jane Road in Port Neches is haunted by the ghost of Sara Jane and her baby; in other versions the story is about a mother and her baby, named Sara Jane. And that is the where the similarities in this local haunting end.

• One legend has it that while Sara Jane's husband was off fighting in the Civil War, the lonely woman and her child were keeping the home fires burning in their house along the Neches River.

When rumors spread that Union soldiers would soon ravage the area, Sara Jane is believed to have hidden her baby — tucked away in a wicker basket — under a wooden bridge near her home. She then returned to the house where legend says she hanged herself from a Cypress tree in the front yard.

Local residents say they have seen the ghost of Sara Jane haunting the Southeast Texas roadway. Others believe that you can still see a light flickering at night as Sara Jane continues to search for her baby with the help of an oil lantern.

• Another story has a young mother pushing a stroller carrying her baby, Sara Jane, across a bridge when the carriage tips over and the baby is spilled into the rushing waters below. As the mother frantically searches for her baby, she cries out for her child.

Her moans and cries for Sara Jane are allegedly still heard on eerie Southeast Texas nights.

• Very similar to the above story, one tale focuses on a young mother driving a horse-drawn carriage down the roadway at midnight, many years ago.

She had her baby daughter, named Sarah Jane, in a basket beside her. Heavy fog had descended and when she crossed the middle of the bridge the horse spooked and the carriage overturned — throwing the baby into the water. Sara Jane was never found.

The tale goes on to say on Halloween night when it’s dark and foggy you can hear the mother calling, “Sara Jane, Sara Jane”, looking for her baby.

• On a more sinister level, one local legend pegs Sara Jane as a baby murderer. The tale includes the mother throwing her child into the river and being hung at the very site of her crime as a punishment.

• Local author and historian W.T. Block told a newspaper reporter a few years back that Sara Jane was actually his mother, Sarah Jane Sweeney Block. The Port Neches resident also reported that his mother had three children — none of which died in the murky waters of the Neches River. Sarah Jane Sweeney Block, according to her son, lived to be 99-years-old and did not die by the noose. The tale, according to Block, is false as this Sarah Jane lived a ripe, full life.