Welcome to the first post of my new Legends and Lore series. After completing last year’s posts about the Native American moon names, I debated on something to take its place. Since I enjoy hearing stories about legends and folklore, I thought exploring them a bit more would be fun.
While somewhat similar to Mystery Monday, this series will feature either an urban legend or a bit of folklore. To kick things off, we’ll turn to an urban legend in my home state.
White Rock Lake is a reservoir located in the northeast part of Dallas, Texas. Construction began in 1910 to help satisfy a water shortage for the city’s growing population. After completion in 1911, residential housing began to spring up around the area. In the 1930s, the Dallas Park Board with the help of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), began developing the lake’s shores into a municipal park.
White Rock Lake as seen from the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens
Photo by Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0
During World War II, the U. S. Army used the CCC camp as an induction point for new recruits. In 1943, the barracks were used to house German prisoners of war.
Today, White Rock Lake and White Rock Lake Park serve as recreational areas, with more than nine miles of hiking and biking trails. There are also several picnic spots, areas for bird watching, and fishing piers. Motorized boats are prohibited on the lake, but sailing is popular there. The area is surrounded by major streets such as Mockingbird Lane, Buckner Boulevard, and Garland Road.
One of the many trails surrounding White Rock Lake
Photo by Eapender at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
But White Rock Lake is also the location of a popular Dallas urban legend known as The Lady of The Lake.
For many decades, people have claimed to see a pale-looking woman in her twenties roaming the area on moonlit nights in search of a ride home. Over the years, the urban legend gained so much notoriety that Readers Digest named White Rock Lake as one of the most haunted bodies of water in 2018.
Sailboats on the lake near sunset
Photo by Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0
Tales of the Lady of the Lake date back to the 1930s. According to the Dallas Morning News, the first written account was by Texas author Frank S. Tolbert in 1953.
Tolbert’s account was from a conversation with Guy Malloy, a former director of displays at Neiman Marcus in the early 1940s. Malloy claimed to have given a ride to a young girl while driving home one night. The girl told him she had been at a dance with her boyfriend and they were later involved in a car accident at the lake.
Malloy wrapped her in a raincoat and placed her in his back seat. When he arrived at her Gaston Avenue address, she had disappeared. The raincoat remained.
Other versions of the legend began to surface. In some accounts, the woman is wearing a wedding dress, in others, she’s dressed in a nightgown. Some say the woman drowned in a boating accident, killed herself at the lake, or that her ex-boyfriend drove both of them into the water after she told him she was marrying someone else.
In each account, the woman stands beside the road, waving at passing motorists. She often asks to be taken to an Oak Cliff address. Witnesses say she prefers to sit in the back seat because her dress is wet. The woman sobs quietly throughout the car ride but doesn’t say anything else. Upon arriving at the designated address, has disappeared. Sometimes she’ll dash frantically from the car.
The legend goes that motorists who return to the home to inquire about the woman are told she previously lived in the house but drowned in the lake years earlier.
In 2019, Elvia Limon, author of the Dallas Morning News article, and a friend went on separate ghost tours of the area. While neither encountered any spirits, they both had some interaction with dowsing rods. Limon stated the dowsing roads told there was more than one spirit at the lake, but less than five. However, she was unable to determine if one of them was the famous Lady of The Lake.
Her legend lives on.
37 Responses
My goodness, for a story to build and last for decades, it makes you wonder. Eerie for sure! Thanks for sharing, Joan.
It has certainly withstood the test of time, Gwen. I personally don’t know of anyone who has encountered the lady, but her tale is fascinating.
I love these sorts of tales. Very intriguing! Thanks for sharing, Joan 💕🙂
I’ve heard this story since I was a child and it always intrigued me. Hopefully, more of my folklore and legends stories will be equally interesting.Thanks for stopping by, Harmony!
I saw that title and thought “Arthurian legend” (which I love), but then I started reading. I’ve heard this lore before. Maybe from Supernatural? (Okay, definitely from Supernatural, but I think I heard it before that, too.) It’s a fascinating tale. Thanks for sharing its history.
I think there are probably several Lady of the Lake stories around. This one I’m most familiar with. I think the first time I heard of it, my Dad told the story. Glad you enjoyed it, Staci!
That’s a nice memory. Nice in the “Dad shared a tale” kind of way. Not in a “someone died” kind of way. You know what I mean.
It is a nice memory.
Rather spooky. The raincoat thing is especially freaky. I hope the poor girl, if she really did exist, is at peace now.
Yes, the raincoat is spooky. Like you, I hope she’s at peace now.
Very cool legend, Joan!. It reminds me of the woman in white who wanders country roads. She asks for a ride home, sits in the backseat softly crying, then disappears when she is taken to the address she specified. When the motorist knocks at the door and explains about the girl, they’re told she was their daughter but died in a car accident years ago on a back road.
I wonder if maybe that’s the Pennsylvania version of the Lady of the Lake from Texas. Either way, great story to start off your series!
I think these legends have different versions, depending on the part of the country. Sounds like the Pennsylvania story is very similar.
Ooooh, what a great one to start off this series! I have heard of the haunting of White Rock Lake, but never this much detail. Fascinating stuff! I absolutely love going to the Arboretum and the view from where the first picture was taken is one of my favorite spots. Thank you for sharing this tidbit!
I’ve heard this story since I was a child. I think my dad first told me about it. I thought about you when I found the photo taken from the Arboretum. 🙂
Exactly! I’ve only been to the Arboretum once at night, but this story makes me want to do that again. 🙂
That’s such a cool story. There’s bound to be some story fodder in that one.
Got to be some fodder there!
I love to read about legends and folklore. There is a movie titled Lady of the Lake from 1998 where a man falls in love with a ghost and travels back in time to save her from an evil knight! Have not seen it, but read about it many years ago.
I’m looking forward to more Mystery Monday each week.
Ooh, that sounds like a movie I’d love to see! Thanks for stopping by today, Karen.
Fascinating, Joan. Thank you for this terrific telling of the legend.
Guess this one intrigues me because it’s so close to home. Thanks, John!
😁
Mysterious and creeping and a bit sad, Joan. I felt for her… all those years of trying to get home. I hope she finds peace someday. Thanks for sharing this. Between you and Mae, the more of these I read, the more I believe there’s something real going on. 🙂
Diana, I certainly believe there are things that cannot be explained. I’ve always been intrigued by these types of stories.
I can’t imagine giving someone a ride and they disappear. Yikes! So many theories but you know there’s some truth in there somewhere. Thanks for sharing this, Joan 🙂
I know it would freak me out to have that happen! I’m content to hear stories about the legend and not be a part of it.
Enough people have given the girl rides, it makes you think there has to be something to this legend. But so many ghost stories are so sad. Makes you wish they could find their way “home.”
There always seems to be an element of sadness with all ghost stories, Judi. It’s like they have unfinished business.
What a fascinating legend. Great start to your series, Joan. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Jill. I hope readers will enjoy the new series.
Ooooohhhh – I can tell I’m really going to enjoy this series, Joan. What a fascinating, and kind of sad story.
It is a sad story, Teri. I’m glad you’re going to like the series. Hopefully, I’ll find lots of intriguing legends.
What a fantastic tale, Joan! I haven’t heard this one, so I’m glad you shared it! I like to think stories like this are true. That spirits do linger and choose people to reach out to. In a sense, it’s the spirit continuing to share his/her story. May they live on. <3
In most of the stories I hear, the spirits seem to have unfinished business. Glad you enjoyed the post, Mar.
[…] For your inflight entertainment today, we have a guest who will tell you all about a ghostly lady who haunts a lake in the middle of Dallas. Joan Hall’s entertaining post can be found HERE. […]
I am so behind, but loved this tale. I think I have heard it before, but not about the numerous people who have given her rides.
As they say, ghosts that can’t move on have unfinished business. It makes you wonder what her business is.
I recently wrote a short story in which a ghost had unfinished business. I’m hoping I did it justice. Thanks, Michele.