History & local legend
A woman carrying a lantern is said to walk Route 402 south of Porters Lake in Pike County. The tradition describes her wrapped in a shawl, the light still burning in her hand as she follows the road after dark.
A version circulating by 2000 explained her wandering as the aftermath of a broken heart. It supplied no name for the woman or her lover, leaving the personal tragedy as part of the roadside legend. The remembered setting is the southern approach to the lake, where the highway crosses its outlet and continues through the surrounding woodland.
Sources
- The Hauntings of Pennsylvania, The Pocono Ghost, archived June 16, 2000, Route 402, shawl, lantern and broken-heart tradition
- Pike County Natural Heritage Inventory, 2011 update, Porters Lake and Pickerel Lake and Route 402, Porter Township
- PennDOT bridge inventory, SR 402 over outlet of Porters Lake, BRKEY 29886
