White Lady

A New York Ghost Story 

retold by

S. E. Schlosser

In the early 1800s, the White Lady and her daughter were supposed to have lived on the land where the Durand Eastman Park -- part of Irondequoit and Rochester -- now stands. One day, the daughter disappeared. Convinced that the girl had been raped and murdered by a local farmer, the mother searched the marshy lands day after day, trying to discover where her child's body was buried. She took with her two German shepherd dogs to aid in her search, but she never found a trace of her daughter. Finally, in her grief, the mother threw herself off a cliff into lake Ontario and died. Her dogs pined for their mistress and shortly joined her in the grave.

After death, the mother's spirit returned to continue the search for her child. People say that on foggy nights, the White Lady rises from the small Durand Lake which faces Lake Ontario. She is accompanied by her dogs and together they roam through the Durand Eastman park, still searching for her missing daughter.

The White Lady is not a friendly spirit. She dislikes men and often seeks vengeance against the males visiting the park on her daughter's behalf . There have been reports of the White Lady chasing men into the lake, shaking their cars, and making their lives miserable until they leave the park. She has never touched any females accompanying these unfortunate fellows.

 

A high school girl and her date have a close encounter with the White Lady in Spooky New York by S.E. Schlosser.

 

Comments
mario:why r u haunting this place
white lady:so that i will find my daughter
luigi:uh mario we should go

Posted by: Anonymous | July 14, 2010 07:47 AM

I lived in Farmingdale, New York and witnessed the lady in white after walking home at 12:30am, after working the late shift at Adventureland Amusement Park. This occurred on August 11, 1996. I was walking down Alexander Avenue when I noticed a dense white cloud lowering down from a tree. The dense cloud dispersed and formed into a white lady with long white hair and long white gown. She was floating and I could not see anything below her knees. She was also transparent. She looked at me, moved her left hand towards me, then turned, floated across a front lawn, and started to make a digging motion as if she had a shovel in her hand. Then she would briefly stop and look at me, then make the same motion again. The pattern continued until she eventually faded. My dog was barking and woke up my mother. She witnessed the same experience from her viewpoint at our home's front door. I think this woman is a guardian angel, contrary to what others have said about the lady in white.

Posted by: maggie | July 17, 2010 06:54 PM

The previous post made by Maggie is inaccurate. The amusement park in that area, and the only one in Monroe county is Seabreeze Amusement Park. Also, there is no Alexander Avenue in that area. Farmingdale, NY has no White Lady.

Posted by: Dennis | July 26, 2010 12:29 AM

Maggie is perfectly accurate. I live on Long Island, NY. Farmingdale is in new york and the amusement park is about 3 miles from Farmingdale. It is Nassau County, right on the border of Suffolk County. Either get a new atlas or research ALOT better.

Posted by: tony z | August 12, 2010 02:16 PM

Author's note: The White Lady story retold here is a ghost that is supposed to haunt Durand Eastman Park in Rochester, New York. There are multiple ghosts throughout the USA that have been dubbed "the White Lady" (for obvious reasons!) I hadn't heard about the Farmingdale spirit before. Thanks for sharing, Maggie.

Posted by: S.E. Schlosser | August 13, 2010 05:42 PM

wow!!!!! very INTERESTING!!!!! ^o^ and not scary at all.i [DO NOt believe in ghost..]

Posted by: jessica acosta | August 23, 2010 06:04 PM

hii i know the white lady well.. used to when i was a little girl she used stroke my head and say its okaii i will help you and when i would scream my mum would run in and say "GET OUT OF MY HOUSE NOW SHE IS MY DAUGHTER GO PLEASE" and then she would cry and then when i was asleep again she would say the birds will come and get me.ONE DAY: my nan gave me a clown and it was really scary and we put it up on the wardrobe and it was high up and it was in a box and when i was at play school and my mum and her friend was downstair it was pushed of the wardrobe and then it was put in the bin and it was every day that it was either legs was out or a body was out and then it would end up back in my room so my mum got a priest in to bishop it out and ever since then i have had no harm whats so ever!!! :(

Posted by: Hollie | August 28, 2010 10:09 AM

@tony z
I live in Irondequoit (the town where this is) and yes there is an adventure landing but it is no where near the lake. There is, however, Seabreeze Amusement Park right near the White Lady area. And those counties you named are far away from the white lady. Irondequoit is in Monroe County. Finally, there is no Alexander Ave in Irondequoit. The only road near the lake in this park is Lake Shore Blvd.

Posted by: Mike | September 7, 2010 02:13 AM

this story is from the philipens there was a lady that was trapped in a hut that was burned down by peeps that dident like her and huants there and if u c her its a sighn of u going to die

Posted by: josue | September 10, 2010 07:05 PM

maggie and tonyz
would you say me more about
white lady please i am waiting

Posted by: bidisha | September 12, 2010 12:15 AM

@hollie: wow. we have an urban legend about that in my country. though its about a lady who takes children away. she will come back and ask if you'd like to follow her in a place where it is "perfect" a little too perfect. but always say no because the worse will come.

Posted by: jcruz | September 24, 2010 07:58 AM

this story is so scary i wouldn't like to meet her

Posted by: kaitlin | October 4, 2010 08:02 AM

OMG ..I was born on 11 aug in 1996.......scary ...

Posted by: lancey | October 5, 2010 04:37 PM

This story is true. I grew up in Irondequoit, NY and have experienced the White Lady myself!!! But the dog that accompanies here is not part of the original lore.

Posted by: Anonymous | October 8, 2010 02:15 PM

I can remember the first i saw her

Posted by: chantal | October 8, 2010 02:17 PM

is this white ghost really real-people say she is but im not so sure...

Posted by: anonymus | October 9, 2010 08:50 AM

I have read some of the comments and most likely the many ladies in white are not identical with the Lady in White of this story. Ghosts often appear in light colors and white dresses and night gowns were (still are) a common garment. We can say it's a popular clothing amongst ghosts. However, if the digging ghost was at the same location it's more than possible that the ghost is actually not hostile to anyone. If the story is true she tried to get the witness digging up that spot for some reason. Perhaps the body of her daughter or of her own is buried there. Also she can be a totally different White Lady, it's very likely that other women had died in a tragic way in that area. Parks and woods in or near towns are hot spots of crime, even if the victim was murdered elsewhere their bodies are often dumped in such areas. There are places in Massachusetts famous for such activity, both earthly and paranormal.

Posted by: Herne the Hunter | October 10, 2010 07:25 PM

SCARY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: Anonymous | October 16, 2010 03:28 AM

I have been doing a lot of trail running in the park, and recently visited her house for the first time. I stood in the foundation and looked out over the lake. I had a very powerful inner feeling of sadness. I hope to learn more about the family and what really happened.

Posted by: Shannon Dotts | October 21, 2010 10:00 AM

this is so stupid i have the white lady and from my viewpoint she is very pretty

Posted by: Joe Freyer | October 27, 2010 08:25 PM

hahahahahaha! this is funny!

Posted by: Anna Kate | October 29, 2010 08:42 AM

ok. the white lady in the story is located in irondequoit ny a suburb of rochester ny. Durand park is on lake ontario right near seabreeze amusement park. you have your white ladies mixed up

Posted by: Anonymous | October 29, 2010 11:44 AM

OOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH SO SCARY I'LL NEVER WANT TO SEE HER

Posted by: Anonymous | October 30, 2010 02:07 AM

white lady

Posted by: Anonymous | October 30, 2010 05:09 AM

omg

Posted by: anna | October 30, 2010 09:17 AM

I live In irondequoit a couple of miles away from Durand Eastman park. Last Year Around This time of year i was walking down in Durand park with a few of my friends late at night around 1:30am 2 am in the morning. we sat down next to a tree in the park that the locals call it the white ladies tree. its down a hill next to zoo road. we sat there and meditated for awhile it was silent. My friend started asking random questions. and all of the sudden his phone started beeping like when u press the numbers. but he was not pushing any buttons. everyone's cell phone's battery bars dropped from a full bar to one bar. then my friend continued asking her questions like are you mad that were here. some of the other guys were saying that they killed her daughter and she's next and a bunch of stuff. he then asked for her to give us a sign like a sound of trees breaking or sound of some sort or flicker of a light. all of the sudden the tree next to us lit right up with the brightest white light that I've ever seen. we all ran up the hill thinking that the police were there. we came back down a few moments later to realize there was no car or police. my one friend to this day thinks it was a car or van that made that light. we try explaining to him that it couldn't have been a car or van even with its high beams. we tested it the next night with my friends car and his dads van.

Posted by: Matthew | October 30, 2010 10:12 PM

yall need to get a lifeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: Nate | November 1, 2010 08:50 PM

does this white lady have TWIN sis?

Posted by: Anonymous | November 2, 2010 04:43 AM

really good story!!lucky im a female good luck guys=}

Posted by: scarysilly | November 4, 2010 01:57 PM

wow!!!!it is so cool story

Posted by: Makosia | November 6, 2010 03:42 AM

i once saw her. she was walkig past my window. i also heard barking, but there is no houses near my house. i also saw my sister sleep walking towards her, but when i woke her up, the white lady was gone

Posted by: Anonymous | November 9, 2010 03:14 PM

its a cool story and very interesting too.
Posted by: Anonymous | November 28, 2010 12:42 AM

This was one of the weirdest stories i have heard

Posted by: Who knows | November 30, 2010 03:22 PM

i play a game called white lady
Posted by: Anonymous | December 6, 2010 01:11 PM

WOW this story is scary someone should help the white lady find her daughter so her spirit will cross over

Posted by: madison | December 16, 2010 12:19 PM

creepy

Posted by: Anonymous | December 20, 2010 04:06 AM

I don't want to go there!

Creepy......

I hate to see ghosts!

Posted by: Anna | January 8, 2011 12:54 AM

wow thts kinda scary.. i wnna go to where ever shes at nd see her!!

Posted by: Sheila LeeAnn | January 14, 2011 07:14 PM

While I was reading this my tv remote fell of my bed scared tha crap outta me

Posted by: Skye | January 19, 2011 11:04 PM

Okay....look I live no where near any of these places i live in Ohio, but my daughter saw what she described and drew a picture of the "white lady." My daughter is 7 and has had the sight since she was 2. I cannot see these spirits she sees but I can feel them. When she saw this "white lady" my daughter asked her what she wanted and she just pointed at my daughter. Of course my baby girl was petrified!!! My daughter told her to go into the light, "white lady" disappeared, but shortly reappeared with a child whom looked identical to my daughter!!! My baby girl was hysterical, so I just said to her baby lets pray, as we prayed my daughter screamed..."Mommy she is coming for me!" I said..."What do you mean is she coming over here?, Just pray baby!" I sat straight up in bed and screamed at this "white lady" STAY AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER LEAVE MY HOME YOU ARE NOT WELCOME!!! She never would go away...until the sun came up. Im not really sure what in the world to think, but especially since all the legends are from other states/countries...Any info you can share would be very helpful. Thank you!

Posted by: Crystal | January 21, 2011 02:47 PM

OH MY GOD NOOOOOO NOT THE POOR DOGS! oh and poor lady but. OH THE POOR LITTLE DOGGIES :(

Posted by: nick | January 24, 2011 07:40 PM

I hate to see ghosts

Posted by: thomas | February 1, 2011 02:15 PM

we love ghost stores weeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: lolly nicky | February 3, 2011 05:44 PM

.....AHHHHHHHH!!! WTF GOSH CALL THE POLICE NOT KILL YOUR SELF! GOSH WHATS WRONG WITH PEOPLE
Posted by: gabrielle | February 3, 2011 05:53 PM

I could care less about the lady I feel bad for the dogs I am an animal lover and would jump in front of a car to save a dog

Posted by: Alice | February 10, 2011 08:15 PM

that poor women. all she wanted was her daughter

Posted by: rachel | February 27, 2011 01:51 PM

i was supposed to go see where the white lady is but we didnt and i was a little freaked out to see where she is

Posted by: isaiah | March 3, 2011 06:21 PM

cool!

Posted by: aurora | March 5, 2011 08:13 PM

Never seen her. Like to though.

Posted by: Victoria Fear | March 10, 2011 04:01 PM

There's a book called "The lady in White", but I think that there's nothing to do with this story, wich is really scary.

Posted by: Karol | March 18, 2011 11:39 AM

so scary ! but nice story about a mather and her daughter.

Posted by: MARIAM | March 18, 2011 11:48 PM

wow Crystal, i should bb watchin out since im a guy. a frend of mine said she saw a lady in white walk up to her during midnight but suddenly vanish

Posted by: Javier | March 20, 2011 06:04 PM

i don't beleive these kind of stories.

Posted by: Anonymous | March 23, 2011 05:38 AM

We have a white lady here in Sweden too. I think she is in Stockholm. ^^

Posted by: Karro | April 6, 2011 02:16 PM

scary!!!!!

Posted by: Anonymous | May 12, 2011 10:29 AM