Visit This Lake In The South And You Might Spot The Spirit That Haunts It

When you have a trip on the calendar, you're likely looking forward to the activities, events, and attractions you'll enjoy upon arrival. There are many tangible aspects to travel that are exciting, but in some places, it's more about the moments you can't quite touch or fully explain that make your trip unforgettable. White Rock Lake in Dallas, Texas is one of those destinations.

Visitors and locals alike head to White Rock Lake year-round to stroll around the water, bike, or picnic with family and friends. By all accounts, it's a fantastic addition to any Dallas itinerary. It's also a lake with a haunted reputation that sometimes offers visitors more than they bargained for in the way of paranormal experiences.

Spanning 1,015 acres in East Dallas, White Rock Lake has a history dating back to 1911, but according to For the Love of the Lake, it didn't earn official city park status until 1929. While the scenic lake setting has long been appealing to visitors, it's the ghostly woman many have claimed to see in this area that leaves them reeling with questions. Stories of a woman around the age of 20 appearing near the lake at night looking for a ride home have been reported for years. She's been spotted so many times that many simply refer to her as the "Lady of the Lake."

While there are plenty of spine-tingling tourist attractions to discover across Texas, the frequently-spotted apparition of the woman at White Rock Lake might be one of the most intriguing. Reports of ghostly encounters at the lake go back as far as the 1930s. According to a NBC 5 Dallas-Forth Worth report, several young women tragically drowned at White Rock Lake during this timeframe and throughout the 1940s. Among them was a 19-year-old by the name of Halee Gaston, whom many locals suspect may be the very spirit still haunting the area to this day.

While there are slight differences in the experiences lake visitors have with The Lady of the Lake, the basics of the encounters are eerily similar. Many claim to see a young woman in a nightgown flagging them down on the lakeside road at night. When they stop to see if she's okay, she asks for a ride to an address located nearby in the area. In some situations, it's reported that the young woman says she was in a car accident with her boyfriend at the lake. She typically settles into the back seat and begins to cry, but as soon as the driver reaches the requested destination, the woman disappears. Oftentimes, the only evidence she was ever there at all is water that remains on the floor or the seat of the vehicle.

White Rock Lake is open to the public year-round from 6 a.m. until 11 p.m. daily. This means visitors have plenty of time to explore and savor their lakeside surroundings. If you're looking to spend an afternoon hiking or biking, there are more than 9 miles of trails to discover around White Rock Lake. The Dallas Arboretum sits on the lake's southeastern shore, and there are plenty of picnic areas, pavilions, and piers to enjoy during a lake visit too. It's a popular place for bird-watching and Dallas Paddle provides kayaks and stand-up paddle boards to rent right on-site.

While the daytime adventures at the lake are always worth your while, the opportunity to meet The Lady of the Lake for yourself means sticking around until after dark. The best way to boost your chances of a paranormal experience is to book a spot on a ghost hunting tour with the team at Haunted Rooms America. Their White Rock Lake ghost tours runs from 8 p.m. until midnight on select evenings and are hosted by paranormal investigation experts.

The experience includes detailed instruction on spirit-detecting technology like dowsing rods, radio spirit boxes, and electromagnetic meters. Participants can then utilize these tools to try and connect with spirits that might remain in the area, including the Lady of the Lake. It's a tour that's ideal for a curious traveler with an open mind and a passion for the possibility of paranormal encounters.