My fascination for all things haunted continues. This time Lake Lanier is my haunted focus. Specifically the Lady of the Lake.
A little background history on Lake Lanier.
Lake Lanier was created in the 1950s and a lot went into creating this lake. Over 700 families had to relocate, old mills, old bridges, and precious farm lands that had been passed from generation to generation had to be given up in order for the lake to happen. The lake swallowed up those properties as the water began to fill up the lake.
Lake Lanier was constructed to provide navigation, flood control, hydroelectricity, and water supply for Atlanta. There are ongoing battles between Georgia, Florida, and Alabama for use of the water in Lake Lanier. This lake covers 38,000 acres, and the normal above sea level is 1,071. Sadly there have been a lot of deaths on the lake as well. So now onto the Lady of the Lake.
The Lady of the Lake wears a blue dress. She appears to be missing both of her hands. She spends her time wandering up and down the bridge outside of Gainesville on Dawsonville Highway. The Lady on the Lake's story is paramount in this area.
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| Delia Parker Young |
The lady in the blue dress was Delia Parker Young. She and her friend, Susie Roberts were headed out on the town for the night but things did not go well for them. Their destination was the Three gables (road house) in Dawsonville. The pair could be traced from Three Gables to a gas station. It is said that they sped away from the gas station without paying. A few miles away from the gas station, skid marks could be seen along the road close to the bridge on Dawsonville Highway. It appeared that their car had crossed over the center line and skidded off the side of the road into the lake.
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| Susie Roberts |
The lake was searched extensively but no luck finding the car or the either of the two women. In fact, it was not until 18 months later when a man fishing under the Dawsonville bridge discovered one of the bodies that just happened to float up where he was fishing. The body had both hands missing and her left foot was minus two toes.
A positive identity could not be made because the woman had dentures and no fingers for fingerprints since her hands were both missing. The body was laid to rest at the Alta Vista Cemetery in an unmarked grave.
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| This is the image of the car found in Lake Lanier. Photo from The Times. |
They discovered the same Ford-type car that the ladies were driving back in 1958 with the body of a female still inside.
The body was later identified by the Roberts family as being that of Susie Roberts. This was 32 years later!
The unmarked grave of the other woman was replaced with a new headstone for Delia Mae Parker Young based on the discovery of Susie Robert's body.
Even though both women were finally given a proper burial, Delia is still seen wandering on the bridge in her blue dress. She is described as lost in the dark and searching. She is searching but for what? Her hands, her friend, or her way back home? I guess we will never know but it makes for a good story.
Be careful on this lake. There are reports that the lake is cursed, and there is no telling what or who might be underneath the murky water.......................
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