OR, another “damsel in distress-wearing a white gown- ghost lady looking for a ride in the foggy night” story.
It seems everywhere you go there is a ghost story about a distraught young lady dressed in some sort of gown, most often white, looking for a ride in the middle of nowhere. Sometimes she is going to her wedding, sometimes she just stares straight ahead until she vanishes into thin air. Sometimes there is a warning. The stories are always similar to one another with no real indication as to who this young lady actually is. Such is the case with the Lady in White.
It’s usually in the wee hours of the morning (of course) and a lone tired driver is on the highway either struggling to stay awake or just plain old spooked by the mass amount of fog that often times accompanies a stay in the State of Maine.
A woman appears from out of nowhere on the side of the road, looking lost and worried. The less then trusting people zoom by thinking “Nope, I’ve heard this story and don’t need to be involved in any ghostly shenanigans.” Other people see the opportunity to help the damsel in distress and pull over to help in the hopes that they won’t get murdered.
Before you become the latter…here are some safety tips.
Tip #1 Call the police to help the stranded young lady as you zoom on by.
Tip #2 If you must pull over, lock your doors and only crack your window for conversation. Let her know the police are on their way to help her.
Tip #3 If you are not worried about being murdered and insist on letting her into your car then at least get some information from her. The mystique behind these ghost stories are too much. Ask for her full name, where she lives, what the dress is all about, what year it is etc. Wouldn’t hurt to get all of this recorded too. Am I asking for too much? Probably. But you’ve just let a stranger in your car, what have you got to lose?
Lets get on with it.
Route 26 in Poland (yes, again) is said to be where The Lady in White roams aimlessly in the afterlife, trying to get a ride to her wedding. It is not clear how she managed to become stranded on the side of the road in her wedding dress on her big day, but there she is, just looking for a ride.
The details change as ghost stories often times do. Route 26 is a long stretch of road and there isn’t any definitive area on route 26 that is claimed as the location of the ghostly sightings. Sometimes this lady was murdered just before her wedding (bummer) and other times it is a young lady who died in a fatal car crash on her way to prom in the 1930s.
This is why you have got to ASK QUESTIONS if you let her into your car. Maybe take a picture too. WE NEED ANSWERS PEOPLE!!
Anyway. Other people say it is the ghost of Mary Knight (aha! A name to this ghostly passenger!) Mary was nearly decapitated by her loser husband in 1856 at their home on Route 11, not far from Route 26. Coincidentally enough, a church on route 11 is where the ghost wants to go. Mary was asleep at the time so maybe the white dress is actually that of a nightgown spectators see when they pull up alongside the mystery woman looking for a ride.
This ghost story has even been documented by local police, who happen to be called in to help distraught drivers who gave “Mary” a ride. When they arrive at the scene the driver is always visibly shaken and rambling on about a young lady in a dress looking for a ride to church before issuing a warning.
I will admit that as much as I believe in spirits and ghosts, I don’t believe everything I hear either. This particular story, however, had me gazing out my hotel window all night while I was staying at the Presidential Inn at the Poland Spring Resort-which coincidentally enough is haunted. I didn’t see anything from my hotel window that faced 26 or from my car while I traveled the highway several times that weekend. But I’m willing to give it another shot. After all, I was distracted by my current locations permanent guests.
Not only do I promise to get a photo of “Mary” but I will have my tape recorder and interview sheet ready to go.
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