New York City has a way of breathing life into things that don't exist. You’ve heard the stories about the alligators in the sewers or the mole people living in the deep subway arteries. But a few years back, the internet became obsessed with a different kind of monster: the Central Park troll. People were posting blurry TikToks and grainy photos of something "living" under the bridges. It looked like a hunched, mossy figure. It looked like something out of a Nordic myth dropped right into the middle of Manhattan.
It was fake. Mostly.
Actually, it depends on what you mean by "real." If you're looking for a biological creature with a taste for goats and a hatred of sunlight, you’re out of luck. But if you’re looking for the story of how a specific art installation and a series of viral hoaxes turned a 150-year-old bridge into a paranormal hotspot, that's where things get interesting. New Yorkers love a good scare. We’re also surprisingly easy to prank when it comes to the sprawling, 843-acre backyard we call Central Park.
Why the Central Park troll keeps coming back
The legend didn't just appear out of thin air. It’s deeply tied to the architecture of the park itself. Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted designed those bridges to feel like escapes from the city. They used rough-hewn stone and dark, damp underpasses.
One specific location—Denrock Bridge—is usually the "home" of the creature. It’s a rugged, schist-stone arch near 77th Street. It looks exactly like the kind of place a troll would live. In the early 2000s, there were sporadic reports of a "homeless man in a ghillie suit," which is likely the grounded, human reality behind the myth. But the modern version of the Central Park troll is a creature of the digital age.
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The Art and the Hoax
A huge part of this legend stems from actual physical objects. Artists have, on several occasions, placed "troll" statues under the bridges as unsanctioned street art. In one famous instance, a hyper-realistic sculpture appeared under a bridge in the North Woods. It was made of resin and synthetic hair. People lost their minds. By the time the Parks Department removed it, the "sighting" had already been logged on a dozen paranormal forums as proof of the supernatural.
Then came the "found footage" era of social media.
You've probably seen the videos. They usually feature a group of teenagers walking through the park at night with a flashlight. The light hits a pair of glowing eyes—usually just bicycle reflectors or a clever bit of CGI—and everyone screams. It's classic campfire storytelling, but it's optimized for the algorithm. These videos rack up millions of views because they tap into a primal fear: that even in a city of 8 million people, you can still be alone with something dangerous in the woods.
The weird history of "monsters" in Manhattan
To understand why the Central Park troll stuck, you have to look at the park’s history. It’s not just a lawn. It’s a constructed wilderness. When they were building it in the 1850s, they moved more dirt than they did for the Panama Canal. They created hills where there were none. They built "caves" that they later had to seal up because they were too dangerous.
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The most famous was the Central Park Cave (also known as the Ramble Cave). It was a real geological feature near the Lake. In the early 20th century, it was a major attraction. But it also became a magnet for trouble. After several reports of "frightening individuals" and at least one high-profile incident involving a runaway, the city filled it in with dirt and blocked the entrance in the 1930s.
When you seal up a cave, the imagination fills the empty space. People started saying that whatever was in the cave didn't leave—it just moved deeper.
Modern sightings and the "Ghillie Man"
Honestly, the most credible "troll" sightings are usually just sightings of people who don't want to be found. Central Park has always been a refuge for the unhoused. Some of the more eccentric residents have been known to use camouflage to avoid park rangers.
In 2018, a series of reports came in about a "shambling green creature" near the Loch in the North Woods. It turned out to be a performance artist who was literally covered in living moss and ferns. He wasn't trying to scare people; he was "connecting with the urban ecosystem." But to a tourist walking their dog at 6:00 AM, that’s a troll. No doubt about it.
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The psychology of the urban legend
Why do we want there to be a Central Park troll?
There’s a concept in urban studies called the "enchanted city." Basically, our modern lives are so mapped out, so GPS-tracked and satellite-imaged, that we feel a subconscious need for mystery. We want there to be corners of the world that aren't on Google Street View.
- The Bridge Effect: Bridges are "liminal spaces." They represent transitions. In folklore, they are almost always guarded.
- The Scale of the Park: Central Park is big enough to get lost in. If you stay off the paved paths in the Ramble, you can genuinely forget you're in New York.
- Viral Feedback Loops: Once a story starts, it feeds itself. Every weird noise or rustle in the bushes becomes "evidence."
How to find the "Troll" (The Realistic Version)
If you're actually going to go looking for the Central Park troll, you're not going to find a monster. But you will find the locations that birthed the myth. It's a great way to see the more rugged, less-visited parts of the park.
- Start at the Ramble Cave site. It's near the 79th Street Transverse. You can't go inside anymore, but you can see the stone steps that used to lead down to the water. The atmosphere there is heavy, especially on a foggy morning.
- Visit Denrock Bridge. This is the quintessential "troll bridge." Look at the way the stones are fitted together—it looks like something out of a fantasy novel.
- Explore the North Woods. This is the most "wild" part of the park. It has a waterfall (yes, a real waterfall) and the Loch. This is where the most recent "creature" sightings have happened.
You should probably leave the flashlight and the "ghost hunting" apps at home. The real magic of the park isn't in a fake monster; it's in the fact that such a wild, strange place exists in the middle of a concrete desert.
The Central Park troll is basically a mascot for the park's secrets. Whether it's an art project, a man in a moss suit, or just the wind whistling through a schist archway, it reminds us to keep our eyes open. New York is weird. It’s always been weird. And as long as there are dark bridges and deep woods, there will be stories of things living under them.
Actionable Insights for the Curious
- Check the Artist Registry: If you see something "supernatural" in the park, check the NYC Parks "Art in the Parks" listings first. Most "monsters" are actually temporary installations.
- Timing is Everything: To experience the "troll" atmosphere without the crowds, head to the North Woods on a weekday morning before 9:00 AM.
- Respect the History: Remember that many "scary" locations in the park have complex histories involving the displacement of communities like Seneca Village. The real history is often more haunting than the legends.
- Report, Don't Record: If you actually see someone living under a bridge who looks like they’re in distress, call 311 instead of reaching for your TikTok camera.
The park is a living thing. It changes every season. The legends change with it. Today it's a troll; a hundred years ago it was a "wild man." Who knows what it'll be in 2050? Probably a haunted drone. Regardless, the bridges will still be there, waiting for the next story to take root in the shadows.