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Lake Crescent

The 12 mile long lake on the northwestern part of the park is said to be a stunning destination, but with haunted depths. There are many mysteries about the dark waters of the lake, often thought to be 1000 ft in popular belief. Some of them have been cleared up, like the true depth is actually 596 feet.

The tales about Lake Crescent are old, like when the Klallam Tribes 10 000 year old oral story told about how they were fighting against the Quileute people and the Mount Storm Mountain got angry and threw a boulder at them to stop their fighting, splitting the valley in two, forming both Lake Southerland and Lake Crescent.

Read More: Check out all of our ghost stories from Haunted Lakes

According to legend, the lake never gave up on those that died back then and ever since, and for many generations the natives didn’t want to go near the lake. Although there actually is some truth to the story, there really was an earthquake at the time of battle that split the valley, is there also some truth to the legend about the lake holding on to its dead?

In 1929 a couple driving along the lake went missing and the case remained a mystery for decades. That was until 2002 when they found their 1927 Chevrolet under the surface of the lake. Although still, no bodies have shown up.

But the most famous story is about the Lady of the Lake and the stories behind the true mystery of Hallie Latham Illingworth, the dead the lake gave back.

The Death of Hallie Latham Illingworth

**Hallie Latham Illingworth:** Thought to be the spirit haunting Lake Crescent.

In 1937, the Lake Crescent Lodge and Tavern was a gathering place for those seeking respite amid the park’s breathtaking lakes. It was here that Hallie Latham Illingworth, a beloved waitress, lived and worked. Originally from Kentucky, she had found herself ensnared in the tumultuous web of her marriage to Mr. Monty Illingworth, a beer truck driver. Her latest of her three marriages.

Unlucky in love, she had moved in search of a better life, but only found her early end of it. Both heavy drinkers, they often fought and the fights often ended violently. She would often show up to work with bruises, broken teeth and told her coworkers about how he choked her.

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On December 22, 1937, Hallie at the age of 35 mysteriously vanished, just five months after they had married. Mr. Illingworth, quick to deflect blame, asserted that she had eloped with another man, a sailor from Alaska.

Three long years passed before the secrets hidden beneath Crescent Lake surfaced. Monty had already gone to Long Beach in California with his new wife, whom he married the year after. She was the former roommates of Hallies sister and it was said they had gotten together before she disappeared.

**Lake Crescent Lodge**: The place where Hallie Latham Illingworth used to work and also thought to be haunted by her ghost.

The Soap Corpse in Lake Crescent

But Hallie had not disappeared, not forever. She was dead, and closer than anyone had thought. In 1940, the lifeless body of Hallie Illingworth washed ashore in the near freezing water temperatures and was discovered by two fishermen.

Investigations showed how she had been tied to rocks before being dropped in the lake rolled up in a blanket. But as the ropes decomposed, her body floated up to the surface.

There were several strange things about this case, least of all how her body and particularly her waxy and soapy skin had been preserved all these years although her features had faded. This almost perfectly preserved body because of the cold waters and minerals of salt and calcium in the water known as saponification or Ivory soap even showed evidence of being beaten and strangled.

Her name was not identified until 14 months after the discovery as there were more than one woman gone missing in these parts the last few years and the public named her corpse the Lady of the Lake.

Her estranged husband, now implicated in her murder, faced arrest and charges that would forever tie his name to this tragic episode. He served nine years in prison for this until he was paroled in 1951.

Despite the legal resolution, the ethereal presence of Hallie’s spirit lingers along the tranquil shores of Crescent Lake. Park rangers and intrepid guests have reported eerie sightings—a ghostly figure of a woman, clad in a bygone era attire, her green dress from when she went missing and found, meandering along the water’s edge. The mournful cries that echo through the stillness of the night speak to the anguish of a life cut short and a love lost to the shadows.

The Ghost of Lake Crescent

As the Lady in the Lake, Hallie Illingworth’s ghostly apparition continues to wander the edge of Crescent Lake, a silent testament to the enduring power of tragedy and the spectral threads that bind the past to the present in Olympic National Park. It is also said she is seen gliding over the surface of the water.

Some even claim to have seen the ghost of Monty rowing over the lake to drop Hallie’s body into the water.

It is also said her ghost is still haunting the Lake Crescent Lodge and Tavern where she used to work. Guests and staff tell about how they hear her walking up and down the stairs and that lights flicker, doors bang shut and the music turns on louder and louder.

Some have even claimed to have seen her sit down on a table as she is smoking, perhaps even speaking to them.

The Mysteries of Lake Crescent

The story of the Lady of the Lake is still told on the campsites of hikers taking the Spruce Railroad Trail around Lake Crescent.

An underground stream is running between Lake Crescent and Lake Sutherland, and it has never really been explored. Some experts believe that the stream is hiding bodies of more missing people, but until then, the lake keeps it people.

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References:

The Lady of the Lake – Hallie Illingworth • Morbidology

Spooky National Park Experiences this Halloween

12 Haunted National Parks | Shaka Guide

The Hidden History of Olympic National Park’s Lake Crescent – THE OUTDOOR SOCIETY

The Lady of Crescent Lake | It never gave up its dead until…

True Crime: The Lady of the Lake – HistoryLink.org

The Lady of the Lake: A ghost story

https://seeksghosts.blogspot.com/2014/07/washington-state-lady-of-lake.html

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Lady of the Lake at Gotts Point in Lake Lowell

20. October 2022 Mirror 1 Comment

The Ghost of the Lady in the Lake at Gotts Point

One of the ghosts that are said to sit under the surface of the water is that of a girl that drowned in the lake in the 1970s when she was water skiing at Gotts Point. She has later been dubbed Lady of the Lake of Lake Lowell to some when telling the legend of her ghost that are sometimes spotted by swimmers or those that walk along the shores.

**The Lady of the Lake:** at Gotts Point in Lake Lowell there are tales that a woman is haunting the lake after drowning. Her ghost have been dubbed the Lady of the Lake.

The reports include sounds of her gasping for air out in the lake late at night as well as seeing her sitting on a rock along the shore, but disappearing when you get close.

Her name as well as hard evidence of a girl actually having drowned at that time and place has not surfaced, but considering that many people drown in these parts every year when the summer comes and people are drawn to the water, a ghost of a drowned one doesn’t sound as far fetched at all.

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Lady of the Lake in Durand Eastman Park in Rochester

18. November 2020 Mirror Leave a comment

The Legend of Lady of the Lake in Rochester

Before the 1900’s, the area surrounding the Durand Eastman Park was a swampy place and not the nice and curated park we see today. It was farmland and small farms was around the lake with a few families living in the area. The lady that has been roaming the place since the early 1800’s is said to have been the wife of one of those farmers, farming this swampy land.

**A walk in the park:** During the day, the Durand Eastman Park *is a pleasant place for a walk. But at night though remember there is a ghost story about Lady of the Lake in Rochester// Photo: DanielPenfield*

Lady of the Lake in Rochester’s name, according to written accounts and oral storytelling, her name was Eelissa. She appeared in different shapes and forms. Sometimes she was told to be an old and ugly woman. In other variants of the legend, she is a youthful spirit of the lake, almost more like the mythical fairy from the stories than a real woman.

Through the generations the story has been passed down through the locals, the story about this Lady in White or Lady of the Lake that has been haunting the park since the early 1800s has taken some different roads along the way. But the main overview remains the same.

Read Also: The Enchanted Forest of Brocéliande for more about the myths about the Lady of the Lake from the Arthurian Legends.

In one of the variations of this ghost story, Eelissa had an abusive husband that left her for another woman when he got tired from her. In her jealous rage, she killed them both when she realised she would be alone. It is said that this is why she is haunting the Durand Eastman Park, mistaking young couples for her husband and mistress.

Legend has it that she is a dangerous ghosts, still blinding by rage and keeps slaying them, again and again for revenge. This variant of the legend about the scorned woman turned deadly is a classic take on a ghost story to tell around the campfire, but it is certainly not the most famous take on this legend.

The variation retold the most about the Lady of the Lake in Rochester, is that the Lady of the Lake is a grieving mother more than a scorned woman. The ghost of her is seen around the beach of the park, looking for her daughter she lost. In some variation, the daughter ran away with a lover and away from her overprotective mother to live their life in peace. Left all alone she haunts the place waiting for the return of her daughter.

In other versions the daughter was brutally raped and murdered close to the lake. The mother was unable to go on after this when the culprits got away without punishment. The grieving mother looks for remains of her daughter to this day, as well as those who did her harm. In some variations of the story, she is accompanied by two ghost dogs, helping her in the search.

No matter how the story is told, one thing is a binding link: She still have an enormous mistrust in men, even in the afterlife. Perhaps because of the abusive husband, perhaps because of the man stealing her daughter away or because of the rapist and murderers that took the life of her daughter. Who knows really, perhaps it could be all of them?

She is therefore rumored to attack men that in some ways are: ‘hindering’ her mission and interrupting her search. So if you are a man taking a stroll in the Durand Eastman Park, beware so to not be hindering anyone.

The Castle Housing the Lady of the Lake in Durand Eastman Park

In the Durand Eastman Park, the ruins of a stone wall is hidden among the trees. It is called, the castle. The Castle is a common place to gather for parties and retelling of the legend of Lady of the Lake in Rochester. It has over the years also become a part of it. Whispers that it is actually a part of the Lady of the Lake’s house when she was alive, or that it used to be an insane asylum or even a cannon wall.

Read Also: Check out all of our ghost stories about Haunted Castles.

But in reality the castle is just the remains of a dining hall that used to be there. Before the Great Depression this was a place people in the Durand Eastman Park could get some refreshments while strolling among the trees after it was built in 1911. But over the years after vandalism, even arson and the passing of time, this wall is all there remains of the building.

The Castle in the Park: In Durand eastman park, there is something that look like a castle that has become a part of the woman in white in Rochester.

Investigation The Lady of the Lake in Rochester

The blogger for The Rochester Subway, spoke to a Jenni Lynn that owns the Rochester Candlelight Ghost Walks that includes the ghost story about the Lady of the Lake in Rochester. She told that they had teamed up with local physic, Shelly Phillips to investigate the Lady of the Lake in Rochester once to get to the bottom of the matter. Could they possible find out anything about the ghost supposedly haunting Durand Eastman Park?

They had used several different equipment, including divining rods, EMF-detectors, temperature readers as well as noise monitors. According to Lynn, Phillips was able to stand behind the legend that Eelissa’s daughter ran away together with a local farm boy and that this was the true origin story of the legend.

Lynn also says she spoke with the local police, The Irondequoit Police Department to try to get some hard facts that could perhaps shed some light on the matter. According to her, there have been many reports to the police regarding the Lady of the Lake in Rochester and that people claimed to have seen her. These reports is maybe including even the police officers themselves when they have been patrolling the Durand Eastman Park.

**Lady of the Lake:** In Durand Eastman Park there are rumours about the ghost of a lady in white walking around the lake in search of her lost daughter.

It is worth noting though, the police department themselves have not confirmed this, and the stories about the Lady of the Lake in Rochester is for now just that, stories.

But then, there must be some historical records of this, right? Eelissa is such an uncommon name, and the place is well documented. But according to town historian Patricia Wayne, there are no such records, documents or proof that can verify the story. Even so, every year, reports of sightings every year comes in of people claiming to have seen the Lady of the Lake in Rochester.

The Lady in the Tree in Rochester

Telling of these ghost stories varies throughout the time, and sometimes there’s things that happens that gives new life into old stories. One thing that literary blew some new life into the story of The Lady of the Lake in Rochester though, happened in 2017. A forceful wind was storming around the Rochester area, awakening the ghost once more.

Read Also: The Haunting in Pasir Ris Park

According to Democrat and Chronicle this storm seems to be the first that broke the story online when the wind ripped apart a chunk of wood from a tree in the Durand Eastman Park. It left in splintered in the form of a skull like female, that many believed to be the ghost of the Lady of the Lake in Rochester, centuries after the legend was born, reminding everyone that she was still here.