The Lady In White

By Tammye McDuff

The Lady in White …

Everyone seems to have a story about a lady dressed in a white gown. And yes, I have my own.

My first real paranormal experience happened when I was 17.

One spring/summer evening, my Mother announced she was going to the grocery store. She asked if my sister or I would like to go with her. I said no and my sister said yes – and off they went.

As I recall this was around 5:00 in the evening.

As the sun set and it began to turn dark outside, I decided it would be a good thing to get my piano practice out of the way. The set up of the living room was situated so, that if I sat on the piano bench, my back would be toward the front door, to my left would be the hallway leading to the bedrooms ~ to my upper right was the family room and behind me the living room furniture, front windows and front door.

I was dutifully engrossed in practicing one piano piece ~ Beethoven, I think ~ and I was concentrating on trying to master one movement, playing it over and over again.

It must have been around 7:00pm when I [thought] I heard my Mother call my name, which usually meant she needed me to help with the groceries.

I will remember these circumstances for the rest of my life …. what I was wearing, the smell of the spring air, the humidity in the house, the sound of our dog barking, the fading sound of the piano notes as I released the petal …

Anyway, I turned around on the piano bench, thoroughly expecting to see my Mother and sister dragging in loads of grocery bags, after all, they had been gone for a couple of hours. As I turned, I heard my name called again ….. What I saw will give me chills for the rest of my days … slowly walking from the hallway entrances ~ across the living room to the couch ~ a very pretty lady wearing a white gown. As I watched her ~ she was watching me. Our eyes were locked.

I’m getting goose bumps even now, so many years later.

She was wearing a long flowing Victorian type dressing gown, I remember the sleeves were delicately and intricately embroidered and the back of the sleeve fell down almost to the floor. The bottom of her gown glided along the floor like ripples in a stream and the train of it obediently trailed behind her. The lady’s hair was a light brown, wavy and shiny, there was no part. It looked as if it had been pulled back with a clasp and it flowed slightly above her waist.

I was frozen as I watched her effortlessly cross the room, she turned as she reached the couch to look me straight in the eyes, and said “ I need you to hear me.”

“No! No! No! Nope!” I said as I almost fell to the floor, knocking over the piano bench, turning my back and running into the family room. With my back still turned toward the entity, I turned on the television for noise, sat down in a chair that had a high back and was resting against a wall. I sat there for another two hours [which seemed like an eternity] until my Mother and sister actually did come home.

My Mother took one look at me and quickly knew something was wrong. I was apparently ~ and yes she said it ~ as white as a ghost.

I often think about this and wonder what it was that my Lady in White had to say to me. I have never been back to that house to find out.