White Lady (ghost)

A White Lady is a type of female ghost dressed in all white reportedly seen in rural areas and associated with some local legend of tragedy. While White Lady legends are found in many countries around the world, they are most prominent in parts of Great Britain, Ireland and the United States. Common to many of these legends is the theme of loss or betrayal of a husband, boyfriend or fiancé.

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 Encyclopedia, these spirits were regarded as the ghosts of deceased ancestresses.

The White Lady (also known as the 'Running Lady') of Beeford, East Yorkshire resides on the "Beeford Straight", a stretch of road between Beeford and Brandesburton. Motorists have reported her apparition running across the Beeford Straight toward the junction of North Frodingham. Anecdotal tales also report a motorcyclist picking up a female hitchhiker on the same stretch of road. A few miles later the motorcyclist, upon turning around, noticed the passenger had vanished. In one instance, a car crashed into a tree killing 6 people. It is rumored to be her curse.

Another legend tells of the White Lady jumping off the Portchester Castle while she was carrying a child she didn't want. Her spirit is said to haunt the castle to this day.

Another legend says that she died in an automobile accident in 1983. She hitchhikes along the road she died on and when the people in the car come near the crash spot blood appears on her face and she points and screams at the spot where she died. The car with her 'soul' in it will crash and kill everybody and everything inside it.

The White Lady of Acra (New York City) is a legend of a young woman dressed in all white supposedly seen at night along the road she last traveled on or near the cemetery not far from her fatal accident.

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.

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