- Everyone knows a good ghost story.

Such tales are staples of our upbringings and our neighborhoods.

These varied bits of folklore are ways in which we engage with the troubled past.

During Halloween and all throughout the year, tales of ghostly occurrences and mysterious happenings invariably drift into our popular consciousness.

With its rich history spanning multiple centuries, Pennsylvania certainly does not lack legendary stories of the supernatural.

One of the most persistent of these tales revolves around the so-called White Lady of Wopsy.

(eerie music) (upbeat rock music) Ghostly women in white are the stuff of legends all over the world.

In Europe, their appearances have been associated with spiritual healers, graveyard haunts, magical elves, pastoral mystics, soothsayers, and forbidden romance.

In other corners of the globe, ladies in white are frequently depicted as vengeful apparitions who prey upon lost children or unsuspecting travelers.

(eerie music) Unsurprisingly, Pennsylvanians have claimed to see their share of otherworldly ladies in white in at least one dozen of the Commonwealth's counties.

A woman in white is said to gaze upon visitors from her window perch at the old Jarrettown Hotel outside Philadelphia.

In Wilkes-Barre, some suggest a figure in a white dress roams the upper halls of the county courthouse at night in her longstanding quest for justice.

In the eastern portion of the state, a spirit in a white gown supposedly hovers over the former waterways of the Pennsylvania Canal where she drowned.

Perhaps you've heard similar lore related to your own hometown.

One of these legends is set in the mountains of Blair County, up the winding roads beyond Altoona.

The tale goes something like this.

(eerie music) In the 1960s, a young couple involved in a forbidden romance decide to break away and elope.

Perilous conditions combined with haste to embark on a new chapter together, the couple met their end when their car skidded off the road.

(eerie music continues) In the years since the tragedy, motorists have reported picking up a silent hitchhiker, a woman in a white dress.

Before the automobile departs the mountainside, the female passenger vanishes.

(eerie music continues) No record of such a crash in this vicinity can be easily found.

So how did this haunted tale begin?

(eerie music continues) The celebrated story first appeared in a Halloween 1973 issue of the "Altoona Mirror" which stated, "The White Lady of Wopsy wanders the misty wooded lookout area atop Wopsononock Mountain, seeking revenge.

Neither man nor woman is safe as the ghost floats on the dark, mysterious mountain breezes, venting her wrath on unsuspecting individuals.

(eerie music) The legend," the article continues, "claims that she was the victim of an auto crash and fire after being left waiting at the altar on her wedding day.

She avenges herself on all who see her three times by causing horrible death.

Some couples vow they have heard her scratch on the car roof."

The traits of this tall tale vary depending upon the storyteller.

(eerie music continues) In some renditions, the apparition committed suicide because of the death of her newborn.

In other instances, the bride hurled her carriage off the road with her husband on board after she learned of his infidelities on their honeymoon at the Wopsononock Resort, a real life luxury hotel that was destroyed by fire in 1903.

(eerie music continues) But the question remains, where did this story originate?

Even if one doesn't believe in the paranormal, questioning the roots of folklore lends itself to a fascinating examination of oral tradition, historical memory, and people's yearning to understand the great beyond.

So let's dig a bit deeper and seek out the genesis of this long-standing yarn.

Granted, several accidents have occurred on the perilous curves of the Buckhorn Road descending from Wopsy.

Perhaps the answer lies in period newspapers.

In this regard, one incident from 1926 stands suspect above all others.

(eerie music) Shortly after midnight on October 11th of that year, Margaret Gray and Chester Troutman, a World War I veteran, were presumably returning to Altoona when their large touring car skidded on the meandering highway.

(eerie music continues) In 2016, Gray's great-grandson noted that, according to family legend, she was supposedly running moonshine from Cambria County with Troutman.

Such activity on the remote mountain roads of Central Pennsylvania was not uncommon.

Near the aptly named Devil's Elbow where the White Lady presumably roams, their vehicle rolled down the ominous embankment on that night of October 11th.

(eerie music continues) Gray suffered a compound depressed fracture of the skull, among other injuries.

Admitted to critical care at the Altoona Hospital at 2:00 in the morning, her injuries were beyond repair.

She succumbed to her wounds at 11:10 that morning.

(eerie music continues) The Gray-Troutman accident is steeped in mystery.

First and foremost, the female passenger was married to another man, John Gray.

(eerie music continues) He was apparently not aware of her late night cruising with Troutman.

According to the newspaper reports, the family was under the impression that she had gone to Gallitzin to meet a woman relative.

(eerie music continues) Troutman, who suffered only minor abrasions and dizziness in the accident, later claimed to be returning Grey home that night.

(eerie music continues) Additionally, the circumstances of the wreck itself were unusual.

For these reasons, Troutman was brought up on manslaughter charges a week later.

According to court testimony, Troutman contended that he and Gray stopped and switched seats multiple times while descending the Buckhorn and that she was the one who lost control of the vehicle.

He claimed this, even though his initial hospital interview indicated he was passing another car at the time of the accident.

(eerie music continues) Regardless of this conflicting testimony, Troutman was acquitted of any wrongdoing by the jury.

Troutman married another woman in 1937 and likely tried to move on to the next chapter of his life.

He was highly involved in local veterans' organizations and lived until 1965.

Naturally, these were activities Gray could not enjoy.

(melancholy music) This unfortunate anecdote of lost love, death, and a possible miscarriage of justice represents all the ingredients of a classic ghost story.

Does Gray's spirit roam the woods in which she was mortally injured?

This episode can't claim to answer or promote that notion.

However, one can carefully speculate that she did have important tasks remaining in her incomplete life.

She left behind five children.

(melancholy music continues) Ghost stories like this one abound throughout the Commonwealth.

Share your favorite in the comments section below.

If you're interested in exploring the historical roots of more myths check out the book, "Supernatural Lore of Pennsylvania: Ghosts, Monsters, and Miracles" by Thomas White.

Until we see you next time on "Past PA," stay curious and watch out for those hitchhikers in white dresses.

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