Harmony Grove

June 3, 2009 | Comment icon

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Image Credit: Nancy Bradley

In the 1960s high school kids drove through the forest looking for her. You were considered a sissy if you did not do it. Some drove the wooded area pretending bravery, anxious to scare their dates. Most, however, secretly hoped they would not see her.

Elfin Forest back then, (also called Harmony Grove), was a densely populated forest area with winding curves along its small and hard to access road. I remember folks talking about it being nothing more than a part paved, mostly dirt road, and the area was considered spooky to say the least. Situated between the junction of Hwy 15 and 78 between Escondido and San Marcos in Southern California, stories were passed from generation to generation of an entity that haunted the area they called the White Lady. As far back as I can research, the story had been told and eagerly talked about since the 1920s.

Moving on to the late 1970s, Elfin Forest area had not changed much. It was still dense forest, and if you got off the road, you better know your way back because it was easy to get lost. A few feet ahead and you could depend on loosing track of the road. It was one fateful night around that time that a date took me through the area, all the while reciting the legend of the spooky White Lady. When he got far enough into the woods to think he could frighten me, he stopped his car, reached over me to open the door on the passenger side and recited "Put out or get out!" Refusing to comply, I casually got out of his car and watched him and his car disappear into the night. Angry but defiant, (These were the days before everyone had cell phones) I was more concerned with facing a hungry mountain lion on the two mile walk back to the main highway in stilettos than a possible encounter with the White Lady. Not surprisingly, that foolish lad called me several times after the incident wishing a repeat date, which proves once again that there are people out there that are just plain arrogant as well as a little touched in the head!

But that is another story. Still, he deserves credit, as it was just this incident that made me curious about the legend of the White Lady. The stories of who she was and how she got there, how she got her name and how her life was ended, has taken many a turn. Some say she is a friendly ghost that touches you on the shoulder as she smiles and disappears. Others say she shows up mostly in the daytime. Some state that she had a lover that scorned her and she hung herself to spite him. Others say her lover died in the war and, again, with this story she hung herself in grief. Some say she rides a black stallion. All stories have two things in common. They all place her in a flimsy white dress or nightgown that flows down to her ankles. All say she appears to float about 15 inches off the ground.

So it was about this time that I became interested in seeing her. Being psychic anyway, I was interested in finding her true story, and wanting to know why she chose not to move on to the other side. Interested also in the teachings of Spiritualism, I joined the Harmony Grove Spiritualist Association which is right in the woods along the same road. This was a decision I have never regretted to this day, as I learned much there, as they were an open minded group of people seeking truth. Many members and staff lived right on the premises and some had stories to tell about their own encounters with the White Lady. Some told of seeing her walking through the campground, or they spoke of her spirit gliding through their cars as they were driving somewhere.

It was soon after that we moved to Northern California, and thoughts of the White Lady came to temporarily rest as I took up other ghostly stories to write about and explore. She lay dormant in my mind until just last weekend when we had the opportunity to visit Escondido and San Marcos again. Could she still be there? What was the area like now? I enlisted the help of Robert Reppert, owner of Gold Rush Ghosts Paranormal Investigations who just happens to be my husband, to accompany me on the journey through Elfin Forest. The date was set for Sunday, May 17th, 2009 for you factual history buffs. We stayed and explored the area by car for several hours, driving up and down the path-like street, looking for any sign of spirit activity. I can tell you from that investigation that clearly, yes, the area is still haunted, and yes, the White Lady still appears. Where she came from and her story however is still a mystery for me today, as she did not talk to me, meaning the sightings most likely involve a ghostly imprint of a time when she was there. The person, the entity, the actual White Lady, whatever her name, is probably no longer there. But these are just my preliminary findings from the time I spent there. I challenge anyone interested to please go looking for themselves. From our findings however, I must believe at this point that she indeed hung herself, and the residue of that event remains.

The area looks today much the same as it did those many years ago. There are more homes along the path now and some homes can also be seen dotted in the trees, so we were very quiet not to disturb. Had there been more time, I would have gone door to door to see what the inhabitants of the area encountered, if anything, concerning ghosts in Elfin Forest. Likely they would have told me "nothing"! For one thing, most people do not want a bunch of people invading their home space looking around. I can understand boundaries.

We drove down to the spiritualist camp, and it also looked mostly the same. The little cabins were still there, very inviting. The Spiritualist Association was founded in 1896 to further the teachings of spiritualism. It is something any inquisitive mind interested in communication with spirits should think about exploring. Unfortunately, but not unexpected, no one I remember from the 70s was there, so we did not dally, but turned right around and after a happy look, left the compound. I can tell you it was a journey into yesterday that I totally enjoyed, feeling peaceful and grateful to have been able to have been a part of it at one time.

Further down the road we got into the mode of serious ghost watching, looking for signs of spirits or ghosts, most particular the White Lady. We had noted a few lizards scurrying along the path earlier in the day and as night came, strange lights coming on and off that turned out to be nothing more than new homes in the distance. Not strange at all, but bitter disappointments for a paranormal investigator. Not one for patience, Reppert was willing to give up about two hours into our journey. It was as we were driving out of the forest that we were drawn off the path to something seen in a tree, not far off the road. Know full well that at night trees can be very deceiving. It has been many a time that people have called our Gold Rush Ghosts paranormal office wanting assistance for a ghostly encounter they thought they saw at night in the trees, which upon investigation turned up nothing but shadows. Still, both Robert and I saw something up in a tree, and it looked distinctly white in color, moving about. It was not near any houses, signs, or scattered lights that could have obstructed our understanding of what we saw. Robert kept driving until he found a reasonable site to turn around. I reached around to the back seat of the car for paranormal equipment, an EVP and EMF meter. I put the camera on the console between Robert and I close enough for him to grab and snap anything that he might see of interest. We came to the turn in the road leading to the abnormal sight. Robert pulled over and got out of the car, camera in hand. I exited with both the EVP and EMF equipment. Readings would follow with no voice on EVP and a high reading of 6 on the EMF meter.

In the tree was something flowing and white. It hung from a large tree behind the ones you will see in the picture. Whatever it was, it appeared to be hanging limply, and at first sight I though it possibly a dummy placed there by someone playing a joke about the old legend, wanting folks to think it was the White Lady. As the image soon disappeared, it was clear this was not the case. We waited for fifteen minutes hoping to see it again, but whatever it was did not return. We left the forest hoping to have gained something on film. The following is what we were able to capture. Everyone involved in psychic and paranormal work should know and embrace that their work be open to interpretation and alternative explanation of findings from a logical, clinical, and intellectual standpoint. That is what truth in paranormal and psychic work is all about, that is how we grow in knowledge and understanding.

At this point from my own logical, clinical, and intellectual perspective, I cannot tell you for certain that it was the image of the White Lady we were able to capture. I do believe her ghostly memory hangs from a tree. Were we frightened? No, just curious and maybe a little sorry for her if it was indeed her, and mostly anxious to provide proof of her ghostly impression. Will we go again when we have more time? Absolutely, and next time we will bring the TV crew of Investigating the Unknown. This is a very interesting case of ghostly phenomena, and could prove to be a natural ghost encounter for our audience. All in all we were very happy with our findings, preliminary as they were. Will keep you posted on updates. We expect to return to the area soon.

Copyright 2009 Nancy Bradley.

More about Nancy and Gold Rush Ghosts Paranormal and their television show Investigating the Unknown is on her Webs: http://www.nancybradley.org and http://www.goldrushghosts.com Comments (5)

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