North Georgia has plenty of ghost stories, but one of the most talked about is the Lady of the Lake at Lake Lanier. The legend goes back to 1958, when a car carrying two women went off a bridge and into the water. One of the women, Delia May Parker Young, didn’t survive. Locals say her spirit never left. And I’ve looked for her spirit every time I’ve been on one of the roads where the accident is said to have happened.
Some say the crash happened at or near the Dawsonville Highway bridge over Lake Lanier, citing skid marks near that road before the car disappeared into the water. Others place the incident on State Route 53 near the Jerry D. Jackson bridge, but there’s also a version that says they were crossing a Lanier Bridge when the car went off.
I’ve yet to see her, but truth be told, I don’t drive around the lake at night too often, and for reasons I don’t understand, ghosts don’t like to haunt during the day.
People claim to see her along the shoreline, drifting in a blue dress, especially on nights when the fog settles low over the water, so mostly when the weather’s changing. Others say she walks the bridges where the accident is claimed to have happened, only to disappear before anyone gets too close. Some even believe she lingers near the roads leading to the lake, like a figure that fades into the mist before headlights get to close.
Over the years, my husband and I have taken our kids along that stretch of road, hoping we might spot her. We never have, but the drive always carried a strange hush, especially in the car, but that’s because we told them they had to be quiet because Delia May Parker Young didn’t like children, and she wouldn’t come out if they were loud and acting crazy. I admit, I would have liked to use that story at home sometimes, but that would have scarred them for life!
We always came home without a sighting, but the memory stayed with us. That’s what makes these old legends so powerful. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, the story clings to you when you stand on that road or look out over the lake at night. You leave wondering if maybe, just maybe, the Lady of the Lake was there all along, watching from the shadows and waiting for someone new to tell her story.
