Wednesday, October 29, 2014

The White Lady of Wopsy

Overlooking Altoona on Wopsononock Mountain
     To continue with the last couple blog themes of women in white, I felt it was time to write about the White Lady of Wopsy. This legend comes from the Wopsononock, aka Wopsy, mountain west of Altoona, PA. It was one of the first ghost stories I was made aware of growing up. Chances are most people living near Altoona have heard some variation of the tale also. Stories about the White Lady started around the mid 19th century and now a few different versions exist. Sometimes she is also referred to as the White Lady of the Buckhorn, named after an adjacent mountain she is often seen on.

     Wopsononck mountain during the turn of the 19th century was a popular attraction. At the top of the mountain, there once stood a 3 story and 60 room hotel-resort. At the edge of the mountain a 4-story observation tower looked out over the valley of Altoona. The resort also featured its own railroad line that would accommodate picnickers, and sightseers up and down the mountain. In 1903, a forest fire started and took the hotel with other small cottages and vacation homes. A few years after the fire, the railroad and lookout tower were dismantled due to poor funding and lack of interest. Stories of a woman in white really started to spread after the resort was gone. To visit the site of the old resort, follow Wopsy road from Altoona and make a right-hand turn onto Look Out road. The area now is filled with radio and TV towers.
 
     The White Lady of Wopsy is seen as a beautiful young woman wearing a long, white, flowing dress. Sometimes she is seen holding a candle or lantern and always seems to be searching for something. The story goes that her and her newly married husband are traveling the roads on Wopsy mountain by horse and carriage, maybe from the old resort, and are victims of a horrible accident. In a lot of the tales the accident takes place during the colder months. Her husband dies in the wreck and she dies shortly after wandering the mountain due to exposure.

     Other variations explain that their baby was in a carriage with them when they wrecked. Sometimes the baby is said to have been thrown out of the carriage rounding devil's elbow. Devil's elbow is a sharp turn on Wopsononck mountain that has had many accidents throughout the years. Some believe the White Lady died searching for her lost baby in the woods along the Buckhorn and Wopsy mountains and is doomed to keep looking. Yet another story explains the husband was decapitated and the woman died while looking for her husbands head.

     Some speculation is made that the White Lady actually lived on Wopsy mountain. Possibly even an old cottage left from the Resort. Local hunters and thrill seekers have reported finding an old abandon house on the mountain, but no exact location is known. The White Lady is said to haunt the old house as well.

     Many people to this day still claim to see a woman in white roaming the roads along the Buckhorn and Wopsy. People have reported seeing her reflection in their rear-view mirror. Others have admitted to offering a young woman a ride along the mountain roads. She normally smiles and fades away. Reports have taken place at no particular time of the year. The stories are so well known, even a local bar is named “The White Lady Tavern”. So be alert if you are ever traveling the mountains late at night west of Altoona.

2 comments:

  1. I have seen that woman a few times. We used to use Wopsy as a party place and the lights used to spell out ALTOONA. The first time I seen her I told My friends laughed at me. So when I seen her again I never said anything to them. I used to tell my mom growing up of the ghosts walking in the cemetery , she said quit talking nonsense. But growING up I learned not till day anything. The White Lady of Wopsy is there and yes she is searching but no one knows the true story. To me she is looking for a child because her looks just shows like motherly despair.

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  2. I have seen that woman a few times. We used to use Wopsy as a party place and the lights used to spell out ALTOONA. The first time I seen her I told My friends laughed at me. So when I seen her again I never said anything to them. I used to tell my mom growing up of the ghosts walking in the cemetery , she said quit talking nonsense. But growING up I learned not till day anything. The White Lady of Wopsy is there and yes she is searching but no one knows the true story. To me she is looking for a child because her looks just shows like motherly despair.

    ReplyDelete