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Who are some famous Women in American Folklore?

 

Read folktales about strong women, witches, legendary heroines, female ghosts and spooks, and some curious girls who get themselves in trouble! These are the women of American Folklore.

 

Legendary (and infamous) Heroines

 

Strong Women

 

 

Witches

 

 

Female Ghosts

 

  • The Ghost on the Tracks
    Engineers, beware! There is a flirtatious female ghost abroad on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad.

     

  • The Grave
    A woman haunts her burial ground.

     

  • La Llorona
    The ghost of a woman searches the river banks for her sons.

     

  • La Mala Hora
    A woman meets a spectre on her way to a friend’s house.

     

  • The Lady in Lace
    A beautiful ghost walks the shores near Pebble Beach, California.

     

  • The Lady in Red
    A murdered woman haunts a Nevada hotel.

     

  • The Llorona, Omen of Death
    Two young men see the ghost of the Llorona as they drive home one evening.

     

  • Lost!
    A prospector lost in the mire is lead to safety by a beautiful ghost.

     

  • Milk bottles
    Day after day, a woman comes to the store for milk and leaves without paying.

     

  • Ocean-Born Mary
    The ghost of a beautiful woman haunts the house where her pirate-husband was murdered.

     

  • The Screaming Tunnel
    The ghost of a young girl trapped in a burning house haunts a tunnel near Niagara Falls.

     

  • The White Lady
    A ghost rises out of Durand Lake to hunt down her daughter’s killer. (New York)

     

 

Curious Girls

 

 

Folktales featuring Women

 

 

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