White Lady
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A White Lady is a type of female ghost purported to appear in many rural areas, and who is supposed to have died or suffered trauma in life. White Lady legends are found around the world. Common to many of them is the theme of losing or being betrayed by a husband or fiancé. They are often associated with an individual family line, as a harbinger of death. When one of these ghosts is seen it indicates that someone in the family is going to die, similar to a banshee.
Generally, the aspects of this phenomena are that the ghost is female, dressed in late era Victorian garb, seen driving along a rural road, and associated with some local legend of tragedy.
United Kingdom
"White Lady" is a common name in Great Britain for a female ghost, sometimes that of a nun. In popular medieval legend, a White Lady is fabled to appear by day as well as by night in a house in which a family member is soon to die. According to The Nuttall Encyclopaedia, these spirits were regarded as the ghosts of deceased ancestresses.
Castle Huntly, Scotland, is said to be haunted by a young woman dressed in flowing white robes. There are various stories concerning her history, one of which is that she was a daughter of the Lyon family who occupied the castle in the 17th century. When her affair with a manservant was discovered, she was banished to a high tower overlooking the battlements. Unable to endure her suffering, she threw herself to her death from the tower. The ghost of the White Lady has been seen a number of times over the years, often on the grounds surrounding the castle. She has also been seen in the room in which she was imprisoned.
The White Lady of Willow Park is native to a small, heavily-wooded park of Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside, in northwest England. She is thought to be the tormented spirit of a bride who was drowned in the lake by her husband on their wedding night. Variations on her method of death include being bricked up in a cave and hanging herself in the kitchen.
Muncaster Castle in the county of Cumbria is reputed to be one of England's most haunted houses. The vengeful ghost in white of Mary Bragg, a foul-mouthed local girl who was murdered by being hanged from the Main Gate by drunken youths in the 19th century after they had kidnapped her for a joke, is also referred to as the white lady. The white lady has been sighted in Chadkirk, Manchester floating across the canal.
Roughwood Nature Reserve in the Black Country also has had a high number of paranormal incidents, including sightings of a woman in a white period dress, drenched in ichor from the lake where it is rumored her body was abandoned. Local myths suggest this is the spirit of Pauline Kelly, who with her daughter Evelyn disappeared in the mid 1800's. The local community has a Halloween tradition involving dressing in white dresses, as well as a joking rhyme.
"White Lady, White Lady, Come get your baby"
This rhyme came into being after stories involving the kidnapping of the child after the death of Mrs. Kelly, which keeps her rooted to this world.
There is also been seen a White Lady Ghost in Sidcup at the local foots cray meadows it is seen every night and is slow walking its very bright white colour , the story is that her husband died in the war and every night she walks the meadows scattering flowers for her lost loved one . In the local church there is a diary of hers with the final words being: "I will see you soon" It is rumored she commited suicide in the meadow right after she wrote this.
Germany
A White Lady was first reported to be seen in the Berliner Schloss in 1625 and sightings have been reported up until 1888. This castle is the residence of the kings of Prussia and so the Lady has been linked to several historical figures:
- the guilt-ridden countess Kunigunda of Orlamünde, born landgravin of Leuchtenberg (Oberpfalz), who murdered her own children
- the unfortunate widow Bertha of Rosenberg from Bohemia, overthrown by the heathen Perchta
- the Hungarian princess Kunigunda of Slavonia, who first married king Ottokar II of Bohemia and then one of the lords of Rosenberg
United States
A local legend tells of the White Lady of Acra, the ghost of a woman who died on her way home from her wedding night in the 1800s. Although no one has come into contact with her, many older people claim to have seen her especially on the abandoned dirt road she is rumored to haunt.
Branch Brook Park in Newark, New Jersey, is home to the legend of the White Lady of Branch Brook Park. Two conflicting stories are told about this ghost. In one version, the lady was a newlywed who was killed along with her husband on her wedding night when their V8 Ford Mustang skidded out of control and crashed into a tree in the park. In another version, the couple were on their way to a prom when their limousine crashed; the boy lived but the girl died, and she is allegedly still looking for her prom date. The White Lady of Branch Brook Park was also known in Newark's Roseville section, which borders the park, as Mary Yoo-Hoo. For many years the tree in question was along a sharp curve in the park road and part of its trunk was painted white, but it has since been cut down completely. It was said that on rainy or misty nights passing headlights produced a ghostly image crossing the road. There is some evidence that the details of this legend have been borrowed or blurred into other legends. Annie's Road, in particular, is thought to be a rehosting of this legend.[1]
The White Lady who haunts Durand-Eastman Park in the Rochester, New York, area is believed to be the spirit of a mother whose daughter was kidnapped and raped. There are also other variations of the story. One variation of the story is that the white lady's daughter went on a walk with her boyfriend on the beach. The daughter never returned and the police never found any traces of her. The mother searched with her two dogs for her daughter. Finally the mother committed suicide by jumping off a bridge. It is thought that the white lady and her two dogs still wander the area looking for her daughter or other woman in trouble.[2]
The gold rush ghost town of Bodie, California, is home to many ghost stories. One involves "The White Lady," a woman who was affianced to a miner from Bodie. On his way to trade his gold for cash, he rented room #19 at the Bridgeport Inn in nearby Bridgeport and left his fiancée in the safety of the inn, as he felt it too dangerous for her to accompany him on his journey. Unfortunately, the miner was robbed and killed on his way to claim his fortune. Upon hearing of his demise, distraught and unsure of what to do next, the White Lady hung herself in her room. An apparition of a woman dressed in white (possibly in a wedding dress) is said to walk the halls of the Bridgeport Inn to this day, waiting for her lover’s return.
"The Ghostly Sphinx of Metedeconk" by Stephen Crane recounts the tale of a White Lady whose lover was drowned in 1815:
In the afternoon and early evening, a female spirit in a white dress wanders around the graveyard of Charleston's Unitarian graveyard. She is known as the "Lady in White" by the locals. She is said to be the spirit of a woman who died at about the same time that her husband died as his ship sailed for Boston, Massachusetts. Neither of them knew of the other's demise. She was buried in the Unitarian cemetery while he was buried in Boston [1], where his spirit allegedly haunts that graveyard. The ethereal "Lady in White" searches the graveyard eternally for her husband.[3]
Union Cemetery in Easton, Connecticut is arguably one of the most haunted cemeteries in the country. The most well-known haunt is a spirit known as "The White Lady". The identity of the spirit is not known, but sightings of her didn't occur until the late 1940s; meaning she must have died sometime before then. She is also said to haunt the nearby Stepney Cemetery in Monroe, Connecticut.[4][5][6]
Another tale of a White Lady is the Headless Bride who haunts the Old Faithful Inn at Yellowstone National Park. She is said to have been murdered by her ambitious new husband. After she fell in love with the servant, they went on a trip to Yellowstone. However, the young man managed to gamble away the money, and when the women asked her father for more money, and he refused, the husband beheaded his wife and fled. They say she haunts only the Old House, since that was the only part when she was alive. Every night around midnight, she descends from the Crow's Nest. Then, she turns, and you see tucked under her arm, her head! She is dressed in her old wedding gown. After she looks around sadly, she realizes her husband has not returned for her, and sadly disappears.[7]
In Santa Cruz, California, a White Lady has been reported to be seen wandering the forest near the cemetery at night. Rumor has it that a man drugged his wife on their wedding night, then burned down the house while she remained unconscious inside. The White Lady or "White Witch" now haunts the blackness in her wedding dress. She is known to move about loudly and approach those nearby. According to accounts, she is dangerous.[citation needed]Some say the White lady is a native American spirit, whose vengeance is on those who poison the forests and streams.
In Fremont, Nebraska, an unknown woman is said to haunt Barnard Park, sight of the graveyard when the town was first settled. She and her husband died during their first winter in the town and burried at the cemetery. When the cemetery was moved, however, only her grave could be found and only her body was moved. She is said to walk the park on snowy nights wearing a white gown, waiting for someone to find her husband's body and place it next to her's.
In Mukilteo Washington there have been many alleged reports of a white lady or Lady In White sightings just off of Clearview Drive in the forest or on the road near the treeline. When night falls on Clearview Drive if you are going around the curb slow enough rumor has it she might try and hitch a ride and then disappear suddenly as if to trick travelers. If you are taking the turn swiftly she will stand in front of your car pointing and then again disappear as soon as you reach her. There have been anonymous reports of crying and screaming around the waterfall area of Clearview Drive. On a few alleged accounts she sometimes would throw unexpected things at the vehicle or the windshield such as branches bricks and one account of a shoe, sometimes set mangled animals in the road there has even been a few reports of deer ripped up as if they were eaten. However many people aren't aware of The White Lady of Mukilteo rumor has been spreading and people now heed warning. Resident Jeremy Rollands of One Club House Lane (Next to ClearView Dr.) staded in the Mukilteo Beacon "Go Down Clearview Drive half past Eight P.M. There aint no comin back she'll find ya, she can smell your blood and fear."[8]
Brazil
Called Dama Branca or Mulher de Branco in Portuguese, the Brazilian Lady in White is the ghost of a young woman who died of childbirth or violent causes. She appears as a pale woman in a long white dress or a sleeping gown. Though usually speechless, the Lady in White will occasionally, in a sad voice, recount to witnesses her misfortunes. The origins of the myth are not clear, Luís da Câmara Cascudo's Dicionário do Folclore Brasileiro (Brazilian Folklore Dictionary) proposes that the ghost is related to the violent deaths of young white women who were killed by their fathers or husbands out of honour revenge. The most frequent reasons for these honor killings were adultery (actual or suspected), denial of sex, or abuse. Monteiro Lobato in his book Urupês describes a young woman starved to death by her husband because he suspected she was in love with a slave and only gave her the stewed meat of his corpse for food.
The Lady in White usually haunts houses, but sometimes is found around them as well.
Portugal
A Portuguese video featuring a White Lady is available on the Internet. The video was reportedly found at the scene of a fatal car accident, near Sintra, Portugal. In the video, a woman and two young men are taking a car trip to the mountains. One passenger records the trip with a video camera.
While driving along the road, the travelers spot a strange female hitchhiker, whom they pick up. The passenger with the camera focuses on the hitchhiker, who seems strangely quiet, but says her name is Teresa (Teresa Fidalgo), and states that she hasn't been the same since her accident. She then points out a spot on the road where she says she died.
She suddenly turns to the camera and screams, showing her face, which is now apparently badly scarred and bloody and vanishes immediately. The car, according to reports, flipped on its side, killing two of the travelers. According to the text at the end of the video, police investigating the accident found that a girl named Teresa Fidalgo died in a car accident in 1983 at that very spot.
Many viewers claimed the video was a fake and regarded it as an imitation of The Blair Witch Project.[9][10] The producer, David Rebordão, admits this, explaining the story's fabrication on his website.[11]
The Czech Republic
The best-known White Lady of the Czech Republic is the ghost of Perchta of Rožmberk at Rožmberk Castle. Perchta of Rožmberk (c. 1429–1476) was a daughter of an important Czech nobleman, Oldřich II of Rožmberk. She married another nobleman, Jan of Lichtenštejn (John of Liechtenstein) in 1449, she died. The matrimony was quite unhappy. One of the reasons might have been the fact that Perchta’s father had been quite reluctant in paying the agreed upon dowry. During the married life Perchta had written many letters to her father and brothers with colourful descriptions of her unhappy family life. Some 32 of these letters had been handed down.[12] [13]
Slavic Mythology
In Slavic Mythology, a Rusalka was a female ghost that died violently, usually young women who committed suicide because they had been jilted by their lovers, or unmarried women who were pregnant.
Philippines
The White Lady of Balete Drive, in Quezon City, is a ghost who appears as a long-haired woman in a white dress. According to legend, she was raped and killed by Japanese soldiers during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines in World War II. Most of the stories that have come out about her were told by taxi drivers doing the graveyard shift. In other instances it is said that when solitary people drive by Balete Drive in the wee hours of the morning, they tend to see the face of a woman in white in the rear view mirror for a split second before the apparition disappears. Some accidents on this road are blamed on the White Lady.
Many sources have declared this legend was actually manufactured by a reporter in the 1950s, and also possibly a combination of multiple stories from the area.[14]
Malta
The White Lady is the name of a female ghost that lives in Verdala Palace in the small forest of Buskett, Rabat, Malta[15]
In popular culture
The pilot episode of the TV series Supernatural features a hitchhicking White Lady who murders adulterous men that dare give her a ride home.
See also
References
- ^ Weird NJ Stories, The Lady in White
- ^ The White Lady: A New York Ghost Story from American Folklore
- ^ http://www.njhm.com/metedeconk.htm from source Stephen Crane: Uncollected Writings Edited by: Olov W. Fryckstedt Uppsala, 1963
- ^ Ed and Lorraine Warren with Robert David Chase Graveyard. St. Martin's Press, 1992
- ^ Joseph A. Citro Weird New England. Sterling Publishing Co., 2005
- ^ Cheri Revai Haunted Connecticut. Stackpole Books, 2006
- ^ Tammy Walquist, "Yellowstone Author Fascinated by Ghost Stories",Deseret News, http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650197204,00.html
- ^ Tammy Walquist, "Yellowstone Author Fascinated by Ghost Stories",Deseret News, http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650197204,00.html
- ^ Movie of a myth - a strange supernatural happening
- ^ YouTube video GHOST in a real car accident - English Subtitles.
- ^ The Ghost Girl of Sintra video is a FAKE! The author confirms this claim
- ^ Perchta of Rozmberk - the White Lady of Bohemia, Jan Velinger, Radio Prague D- http://www.radio.cz/en/article/50216
- ^ Doc.PhDr.Anna Skýbová,CSc., Listy Bílé paní, Prague 1985.
- ^ Ellayn De Vera & Charrissa M. Luci, "Balete Drive:White Lady, Haunted houses and other myths"
- ^ http://www.medinaproject.net/malta/pages/poc.php?ID_POC=255&ID_Lang=1