The Legend of the Lady in White

It was a dark night, and all that could be seen from the windshield of the car was the thick white fog typical of Maine in the United States. High beams do nothing for you while you're driving through the fog. As a matter of fact, it works against you. The young couple had just gotten married and there was little that could bring them down after celebrating their honeymoon, not even a drive through the thick fog down Brownsville Road. Suddenly, the car lost control on approaching one of the bridges. The tires screeched, breaking the damp in silence of the night, the couple's car swerved off the road and crashed, and the silence that followed. Now that the car's engine was off, they looked at each other to agree on the next steps. Thankfully, they both seemed okay. The woman's now husband told her that he would go get help, and she agreed. Please, he said, remain in the car while I find someone to help us. And so he stepped out into the road, squinting his eyes to spot any headlights moving through the darkness, until he finally flagged someone down and made his way back to the crash site on Brownsville road, but to his surprise, when he got back, his new bride was gone. He searched through the back seats in the nearby areas, still nothing. To this day, no one has figured out what happened to her. However, this doesn't mean she's gone. Urban legends are used as warning, sometimes to stop those who would otherwise get into trouble by staying out too late at night or the consequences that come from speaking to strangers. But there are tales that have been told for generations that have one underlying factor, spirits appearing to unsuspecting witnesses who must now joined the rest of those with another tale about ghostly women. My name is Edwin. Here the Dark Knight. The story of the Lady in White of Brownsville Road and Millanock at Maine is one of the most common tales told among the locals. During an interview with Kayla Mcinness, a person local to the area, she said that she heard the story of the woman in White from some of her friends. Just as expected, she was intrigued by the story and wanted to find out more, but also mentioned another little known part of the tale. According to Kayla, a possible reason that this woman haunts the area is because shortly after she died, a thief stole her wedding ring. She now roams a dark road searching for it, or perhaps something more sinister, to seek revenge. If you want her to show up, the legend says that you must bring her a necklace. If you're lucky, she'll appear. This story, that takes place in the foggy lands of Maine, is fairly recent, but still it follows a similar pattern, the ghost of a woman seeking revenge. Where does this story come from? Another very popular version of the story of the White Lady in Maine is that of a newly wet couple that was on their way to the Wapson on a cotel. They were arriving by carriage and we're going down Wapti Road. We're approaching a place known as the Devil's Elbow, which is a very dangerous curve. As her carriage rounded the curve, they lost control. Unfortunately, neither of them survived. The husband's body was never recovered from the crash. But now a woman's apparition can be seen on the side of the road holding a candle, lurking in the darkness as she searches for her husband. There is a statement on a form about this scenario where people claim that she appears as a hitchhiker ghost and always stops young men to see if they are her husband. But the story of the ladies in white do not stop there. A common tale is that of a young woman in a long dress that appears to need help on the side of the road. One of these supposed sightings comes from the nineteen seventies, where a man was driving and caught a glimpse of a woman on the side of the road. Her dress was white and simp similar to one that would be seen in a typical prom However, this man did not stop because he was too afraid. You're driving down a road checking the radio. Something's wrong. You were listening to one of those automatic playlists that DJ's put on at night. Suddenly the signal was gone. You reach for the light inside of the car to find the buttons to find the station again. You were going to miss the best part, but your eyes latch on to a distant image on the side of the road, the woman. Even in the darkness, you can see that her dress is stained. She might need help. You turn the radio all the way down as her silhouette appears on the side of your car. Now you roll down the window. Her thoughts must be elsewhere. She avoids making eye contact. She opens the rear door and steps inside, hardly making any noise at all. You ask her where she's going and if everything is all right. She simply looks down, avoiding the mirrors. Perhaps you'll drop her off at the closest payphone and make it easier for her to get help. You know of a place not too far from here. You avoid making conversation now the situation has gotten too uncomfortable. Instead, you reach for the radio and flick it on. The loud pop scares you as a signal comes back. You look out at the rear room mirror and apologize for the noise, but to your surprise, the woman is gone. Confused, you pull over to the side of the road to get a closer look. You look behind the seats, but there are no signs of her ever being there. Oh wait, there is one right where she was sitting as a white rose. This is another story that circulates around the woman in white saying that she leaves a sign to let people know that she was there, but In terms of proof that the ghosts exist, we have a real scenario from nineteen thirty two. There was a steam shoveled operator hard at work trying to help clear a railroad crossing in that area. At a certain point during the completion of his task, he stumbled upon the skull of a woman. He got it checked out and it was determined that it had belonged to a young woman in her twenties. The skull was dated to be one hundred years old. Her identity remains unknown. The area where it was found is now the west end of Glenn Mary And at the bottom of Elbow Hill. Did this prove that the legend of the Lady in white who roams in the dark with a candle be true? It was nineteen o two in Roanoke, Virginia, the place previously mentioned in another episode about the Patrick Henry, a haunted hotel, when a beautiful and mysterious woman in a black dress and a black turban covering the lower part of her face terrorized the local men, well, specifically married men. She would appear as they were walking home alone at night, call them by their name. She would whisper in their ears. There's a real clip from the Roanoke Times of a man's encounter with her. I will read it verbatim. The most recent instant is that of a prominent merchant of the city, who, on the night after payday, having been detained at his store until after midnight, was making his way home, buried in mental abstractions, when at his side the woman in black suddenly appeared, calling him by his name. The woman was only a couple of peep behind him, and he naturally increased his pace. Faster and faster he walked, but in spite of his efforts, the woman gained on him, until, with the greatest of ease, and without any apparent effort, she kept alongside him. Where do you turn off, she asked of him. He replied, in a hoarse voice, twelfth Avenue. Here he was aware she had a hand upon his shoulder. He tried to shake it off, but without success. You're not the first married man I have seen to his home this night, she spoke in a low and musical voice. Reaching the front gate, he made certain she would leave him, but into the yard she went. This was a little more than he bargained for. The merchant admits that he was a nervyman, but that in spite of his efforts, he could not help being at least a little friend to us. The suddenness of the thing is the way he expressed it. Later that same year, there were other eerily similar accounts about a woman fitting a close description taking place in West Virginia and Nebraska, but the spirit never returned to Roanoke. There are two theories behind this. One of them says that she is a woman scorned by love who seeks to tempt men and cause problems in their marriages. The other theory is that she is testing them and hoping to guide them on the right path back to their wives. Who are these women? What does this experience mean of next? I have a couple more stories that I want to share with you, including one that I heard directly from a witness account someone in my family. There is a story that talks about the hitchhiker in Greensboro that may have some validity. You see, her name was Lydia, a ghostly apparition who waits by an abandoned underpass. She appears as a teenager who asks the driver to take her to her mother's house in High Point. Once you get to her place, the young woman disappears. There was an author who explored this legend, someone who claims to have found the real identity of the spirit, a woman named Annie Lydia Jackson who lived in Greensboro at the age of thirty five. The investigation even found her death certificate to any gravesite. Still, as you drive along that road, look around the place where she roam shouldn't be too hard to find. The underpass is lovingly known as Lydia's Bridge. Before I was born, my dad used to work as a truck driver, delivering bottled goods in between distribution centers. Some of these trips would take him and his driving partner through the dark roads of Arizona late into the night. You shared an experience with me that I found fitting for this episode. He was driving along looking at the same old, boring double yellow lines. It's nothing else around for miles. Up ahead was a small patch of brush and trees, and he knew the path very well. The other driver and himself were joking around when up ahead the road he sparted a woman in a white dress. He hit the brake suddenly as the woman's image got closer to the windshield. One stopped. The other driver wiped away the coffee from the dashboard, asking what had just happened the woman, He said, didn't you see the woman in the middle of the road. They stared at each other in silence. There's no woman there. Many tales of ghostly women in white have circulated for generations, and some theories have surfaced as to what it could mean. This could be an omen of death or something less sinister, perhaps a warning to drive safely, though some carry a more historical or paranormal feel to them, such as the theory that these ghosts are spirits searching for help or justice for their untimely deaths. Take the time right now to think about what you would do if you were driving by yourself alone at night, and up ahead you see the blurred image of a figure standing by the road. Do you choose to stop? Do you choose to keep driving? You drive past her and breathe a sigh of relief. A little distance ahead, you look in your rear view mirror to make sure that she really stayed behind, But to your surprise, she's sitting in your back seat. This episode of A Dark Memory was written and produced by me Edwin Komarugas with research by Medelinguera. Some of these legends of ghosts by the side of the road are common in different cultures. We want to hear about them. Share a dark memory with us by heading over to a dark memory dot com and use a contact form who will respond to you for more. Be sure to tap follow on your podcast player. Until next time, Thank you very much for listening.