THE WHITE LADY LEGEND
Many people have told me of the "White Lady" who haunts Branch Brook Park on the Belleville/Newark border. There are those who claim to have seen this apparition near a white painted tree in the park. She is seen especially on rainy nights.

The story is rather creepy: There was a teenaged boy who was looking for a date for the high school prom. He met a girl who he immediately fell for, and asked her to be his date. The girl happily agreed.

The night of their date, they decided to take a drive through Branch Brook Park on their way to the prom. It was a raining heavily, and visibility was bad. The car suddenly began to skid out of control and crashed head-on into a tree. The boy was fine, escaping with only some minor scratches. The girl, however, was dead.

Today the tree that they crashed into is painted white in the form of a person. Witnesses have recalled seeing a lady in white next to the tree, who beckons them toward her on rainy nights. Perhaps she is still waiting for her prom date to join her. It’s creepy to me!
- Cheryl L.


WHITE LADY IN THE MIST
On foggy rainy nights in Branch Brook Park, Newark, rumor has it that a vision of a bride stands in front of a tree known as the White Lady Tree. The legend goes that she and her new husband were killed on their wedding night after crashing into the tree while returning from their reception. My parents told me their story of driving through the park on foggy nights to see this apparition. Mom said she saw it and proceeded to get the hell out of there as fast as possible. Unfortunately, the county put a new road through the park a few years back, and the tree is no longer adjacent to the road. I am not about to wander through there at night to find it.
- Cougar


In the following story one of our readers compares the popular White Lady legend with that of another of NJ’s infamous roadside specters – Totowa’s ghost of Annie:

WHITE LADY VS. THE GHOST OF ANNIE
I had to write you because your "Legend of Annie in Totowa" story has been stolen from the original story, which supposedly happened in Branch Brook Park in Newark! When I was just a little girl (45 years ago), I already knew of the story. The story is the same as what you told regarding "Annie," but this ghost is called, and always was called "The Lady in White." The story says that her and her groom were in their limo, riding through Branch Brook Park, toward their destination, to take wedding picture (the park has been a very popular place to take wedding pictures for many, many decades). Supposedly, the limo hit an ice patch and crashed into a tree, where the bride was killed instantly. This young "bride" can be seen, mostly in the evenings, and it has been said that her image appears on the tree where she was killed. Also, the story says that if you see her, you can actually see her wedding gown moving with the wind!
- Laynie