Recently the RIT skeptics investigated a local ghost legend here in Rochester: the White Lady.

Various versions of the white lady story exist, but the central story is about a mother whose daughter goes missing one evening during the middle of a walk. The mother goes looking for the daughter with her two dogs, but does not find her. Subsequently the mother commits suicide and haunts the park, in some versions attacking men.

Local legends claim that one of her favorite haunts is an old stone wall called "The White Lady's Castle." What the wall is actually from differs from story to story, but according to the Irondequoit town historian, it's from an old refectory (dining hall).

The RIT skeptics volunteered to appear in a documentary by a local film maker about the legend. We traveled to the "castle" and investigated. Our main reference for the legend was the book Spooky New York by S. E. Schlosser. We demonstrated that the particular version retold in the book wasn't true because it claimed that Durand Lake was visible from the top of the hill that the castle sits on. It isn't. There are other inconsistencies with what the book describes and the actual layout of the location. This only demonstrated that one version of the story was not true in full, not that they entire ghost hypothesis was wrong.

Since the ghost lady is said to rise from the mist off Durand Lake, we tested the lake water for luminescent bacteria, which might cause people to see lights which combined with mist might account for ghost reports. We did not find any luminescent bacteria, but we did find that the lake was filthy.

A preexisting photograph claimed to show the ghost. One of our members was able to recreate the photograph with about five minutes of work. The original photograph was of extremely poor quality and did not constitute good evidence.

We noticed a tendency of mist to raise off Lake Ontario over the road that separates Lake Ontario from the "castle." It is possible that headlights passing through the fog could be mistaken for a ghost.

One very plausible possibility did present itself. The location is known to be used by youths as a location to go and neck without parental supervision. The explanation that horny teenage males invented a ghost story to scare their female companions and perhaps draw them a little closer at night is very likely, especially since many people have reported first hearing the story in high school.

Ultimately, the story isn't particularly harmful, but it does people out to a beautiful natural setting. Besides, who doesn't enjoy a good ghost story?