The Woman In The Yard | Famous Female Ghosts

This Friday (March 28th) sees the release of director Jaume Collet-Serra’s horror thriller, ‘The Woman In The Yard.’ As one might assume, this chilling tale tells of a shadowy woman who appears in a family’s front yard, bringing dark messages and foreboding warnings with her. 

Scriptwriters have a deep history of real-life tales and fables to draw upon for inspiration. Ghastly stories of ladies in black and white are common throughout the United States. So, let’s dig into a few of them to celebrate the release of this stunningly scary film. 

Dig deeper into these goosebump-inducing tales on a ghost tour with US Ghost Adventures anywhere in the United States! 

What Are the Scariest Stories of Ghost Women?

Hollywood has long loved a leading lady since the days of silent film star Florence Lawrence. The Canadian-American actress Lawrence is considered the first movie star and the beginning of a glittering love affair with golden girls of the silver screen. 

However, our upcoming ghoulish gal in the garden tale continues a more recent trend of female horror antagonists and spectral ladies. In keeping with the early days of cinema, they’re all in black and white.  

• The Lady in White of Chatham Manor (Fredericksburg, VA)
• The Lady in Black at the Chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Albuquerque, NM)
• The Lady of Stow Lake (San Francisco, CA)
• The Lady in Black of Fort Warren (Boston, MA)
• Resurrection Mary (Chicago, IL)
• The White Lady of Union Cemetery (Easton, CT)

The Lady In White Of Chatham Moore

Fredericksburg, VA

This 1771 colonial manor house hosted several US presidents over the years. However, it’s a more frequent special guest that causes concern and fascination. 

Local fables tell of a young English woman sent to Fredericksburg, Virginia, to stay at Chatham Manor and be cared for by Chatham owner William Fitzhugh. Her father had sent her across the Atlantic to end her romantic entanglement with a young man deemed well below her social standing. 

Unbeknownst to her father, the young Sir had also traveled to Virginia for love, secretly meeting her at the manor, with plans to meet once again and run away together. The ears of a servant caught their whispers, and this eavesdropping minion rushed to inform a distinguished guest of the manor. 

George Washington himself. Washington felt the correct course was to ship the heartbroken girl back to her father in England. Despite being exiled from her love, she defiantly vowed to return. This would be a journey she would never make. 

Beginning on the night of her eventual death, June 21st, 1790, this phantom figure, dressed in a long white colonial gown, is said to have taken the ‘ghost walk’ in search of her lover. This solemn walk is repeated every seven years on the same night. Credit where credit is due: Heartbroken but punctual. 

The Lady in Black at the Chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Albuquerque, NM

The desert city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, nestled in the bosom of the Sandia Mountains, is home to some quirky oddities. Perhaps none more quirky than the Lady In Black and the Chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe. 

Constructed in 1976 as a convenient place of worship for Sagrada Arts students, this unique adobe desert structure may not seem out of place on Tatooine if not in New Mexico. Much like the fictional desert planet, this modest construct is home to a dark presence.

Visitors to this makeshift place of worship have described the apparition of a ghostly woman in black. This dark figure is seen praying or meditating before vanishing into the ether. Old Town in Albuquerque was historically a place of turmoil and violence, not the tourist-friendly destination it is today.  

Some believe this woman may have been a victim of this chaotic age or even a long-gone grief-stricken relative bound to the chapel in search of peace. She also might be Sith. Look out, Alderan. 

The Lady Of Stow Lake

San Francisco, CA

In 1908, a man visiting San Francisco crossed the Golden Gate Park bridge when a distraught young mother blocked his path. The woman was frantically in search of her infant child. The encounter was so disturbing that the man reported the incident to the police. The story even made its way into the San Francisco Chronicle. 

Where fact meets fiction is now in the cauldron of history, but this woman’s tale has solidified with time, as have her sightings within the park. The local legend says a young mother was chatting to another on a bench in the park. 

Her infant was in a stroller next to her. As the pair conversed, unbeknownst to the mother, the baby and carriage had begun slipping towards the park’s Stow Lake. Frantic and panicked, the woman noticed too late. The baby was gone. She made one last attempt to save her child, wading into the waters before disappearing from sight and entering history.  

In a macabre twist, it is said that should you wander through the park and utter the words, “White lady, white lady, I have your baby,” she will appear before you and ask the same question she asked over a century ago: ” Do you have my baby?” If you answer yes, it is said she will haunt you for the rest of your days. She’s probably Sith, too, so be careful. 

The Lady In Black Of Fort Warren

Boston, MA

Fort Warren. Boston, MA. 1861. Confederate soldier Samuel Lanier was imprisoned within the Fort after being captured in battle in North Carolina. Samuel’s wife, Melanie Lanier, then made it her life’s mission to free her husband from Union’s clutches. 

In an incredibly daring and audacious plan, Melanie, with the help of local Confederate sympathizers, dug for weeks to tunnel under the Fort. The plan was to have her husband hum a tune every day so that they could locate his cell and free him. The sound of the pickaxe on stone ultimately alerted soldiers, and the plot was foiled. 

In the ensuing capture of Melanie Lanier, a struggle sent a Union soldier’s pistol to the ground. A shot rang out as the pistol landed. The single round killed her husband, Samiel. The distraught Melanie was arrested for espionage and sentenced to hang.

Dressed in a black robe, It is said she was buried on the same grounds where she had witnessed the death of her husband. The black-robed apparition of this mourning vengeful figure is seen on the arched entrance to the Fort. At the same time, one soldier even claimed to have broken his ankle while fleeing from the terrifying figure of the Lady In Black. No Great Escape here, then. 

Resurrection Mary

Chicago, IL

It is said that in the late 1920s or early 1930s, a young woman was struck by a car and killed while hitchhiking on Archer Avenue, Justice, IL. 

Many have claimed in the decades that followed to have taken pity on a pretty blonde girl who hitchhiked alone in the darkness, particularly near Resurrection Cemetery, where it is said Mary was buried after the tragic hit and run.

While polite and unassuming, the end result is always the same. Sometime before reaching their destination in Chicago, the driver turns to say something to Mary, only to find that she has completely vanished into the night. 

Intriguingly, local paranormal investigators believed they had uncovered the mystery identity of this chilling ghost girl on the road. They claim Resurrection Mary is, in fact, the ghost of Anna ‘Marija” Norkus, who was struck and killed by a car in 1927.

The White Lady Of Union Cemetery

Easton, CT

Off-duty fireman Glen Pennell drove his pickup truck to the site of a malfunctioning transformer in 1993. Planning to help divert traffic away from the danger, a police officer colleague rode in the passenger seat. 

The transformer exploded as Pennell and his passengers approached the scene near Union Cemetery. Pennell recalled the sky burning bright pink while the initial blast pumped out so much electricity that the hair on his arms stood up. 

No sooner had the explosion taken place than his police officer colleague yelled, “Look out!” as their attention was drawn sharply to the figure of a woman in a white Victorian gown in the middle of the road. Pennell stamped on the brakes to no avail. 

 “When I hit her, it was like hitting a brick wall. The whole back end of my truck went straight up into the air,” recalled Pennell. 

The shock of the moment set in as the shaken occupants exited the vehicle to check the victim’s condition. But, there was nothing. No blood. No clothes. No body. Nothing. 

Pennell would find that his experience was not unique. Many locals have encountered ‘The White Lady,’ who describes this spectral figure on the stretch of road near the cemetery. I bet his insurance company loved that story. 

Two-Tone Terrors Of Tinseltown

If you venture out to see ‘Woman In The Yard’ and are pondering the lore of ghostly women, remember a key sentiment from the works of Michael Jackson; “It don’t matter if you’re black or white.” Very likely one of the two, though.

To learn about some of the most haunted places in the U.S., book a ghost tour with US Ghost Adventures. Make sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. To read about other haunted locations nationwide, check out our blog. 

Sources:

• https://www.travelchannel.com/interests/haunted/articles/haunted-easton-cemetery
• https://www.chicagohistory.org/resurrection-mary/
• https://historicaldigression.com/2012/10/17/fort-warrens-lady-in-black-debunked/
• https://www.sfgate.com/sfhistory/article/san-francisco-ghost-stories-white-lady-stow-lake-12247189.php
• https://www.visitalbuquerque.org/abq365/blog/post/albuquerques-most-haunted-places/
• https://www.legendsofamerica.com/va-chathammanor/
• https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/florence-lawrence