Maid of the Mist: A False Legend , Part ll

In Part l of this post, an overview is given of the controversy that surrounds the tale of  “Maid of the Mist” better known as Legend of Lelawala.

This controversy started in the 17^th century when this tale was used to falsely represent the Haudenosaunee/Iroquois culture.

The natives took offense for this tale stated they practice human sacrifice to appease one of their Gods. It also misrepresented the actual positive role woman take in their culture.

The first tale below-- Legend of Lelawala was told for years to tourists as they rode on the  “Maid of the Mist” boat tours around Niagara Falls. It was represented as being a true reflection of the Haudenosaunee culture.

The second tale below-- The True Maid of the Mist is a legend that actually represents the Native Haudenosaunee people, their culture and what is important to them.

Legend of Lelawala

Long ago, the peaceful tribe of the Origiaras lived beside the Niagara River.

Members of this tribe began to die for some unknown reason. It was believed to stop these deaths they must appease the Thunder God Hinum, who lived with his two sons below Niagara Falls.

At first, the Indians sent canoes laden with fruit, flowers, and game over the Falls but members of the tribe continued to die.

The Indians then began to sacrifice one beautiful maiden of the tribe each year that was selected during a ceremony.

One year, the chief’s daughter Lelawala was chosen. On an appointed day, Lelawala appeared on the riverbank above the Falls. She wore a white deerskin robe and a wreath of woodland flowers in her hair.

She stepped into a birch canoe and plunged over the Falls to her death. Her father, heartbroken, leaped into his boat and followed her.

Hinum’s two sons caught Lelawala in their arms. They both desired her, so she promised to accept the brother who told her the reason why her people were dying.

The younger brother told her it was a giant water snake that lay at the bottom of the river. Once a year this monster snake grew hungry, and at night it entered the village and poisoned the water. This snake then devoured the dead.

Lelawala appeared as a spirit before her people and told them they must kill this serpent. Indian braves then mortally wounded the snake on his next yearly visit to the village.

As he returned to his lair on the river, the snake caught his head on the side of the river and his tail on the other, forming a semi-circle that became, Horseshoe Falls.

Horseshoe Falls

Lelawala later returned to the cave of the God Hinum, where she reigns as the Maid of the Mist.

The True Maid of the Mist

The elders tell this story to the next generation.

At one time the Six Nations were one with the world. They talked with the earth, the sky, the moon, and the stars. They knew the plants and animals were their brothers.

Because of this, they knew themselves.

The Thunder God taught them about what is and what will be. Because the people knew these things, they were at peace, filled with love and understood the wholeness of the world.

But as time passed the people forgot. They did not listen anymore when the stars and animals talked to them. As they forgot, their oneness with the world and each other was lost.

The people no longer heard the words of the Thunder God.

Now the people were selfish, mistrustful and jealous of each other. They felt resentment and hate.

The Maid

A young girl who lived among the people near the Niagara River one afternoon lay under a tree in the hot summer sun. She fell asleep.

As she slept an old woman passed by. This woman saw a snake-like creature crawl underneath the young girl’s dress.

Sadly, the woman not caring did not wake the young girl to tell her what she had seen.

The girl became a young woman still not knowing what had happened that summer afternoon.

She fell in love and married, but it didn’t last long for her husband died. She then met another man and married, but he too died before they could start a family.

The young woman found happiness again and married for the 3^rd time but alas this husband died as well.

She was confused and afraid. She felt there must be something wrong with her.

But there was no one she could confide in for the people were disconnected from each other--they were further down the path of selfishness and mistrust.

Embarrassed and with no one to turn to for help the young woman decided to kill herself.

One night she put a canoe in the river above Niagara. She climbed in and pushed out into the rushing current. Her boat followed the rapids over the edge of the Falls.

Base of Falls

But she did not fall to her death. Instead, she felt her canoe gently lowered to the base of the Falls. Here she heard voices and whispers in the darkness.

She felt hands drawing her out of the canoe. She was taken behind the Falls where she saw many people. They were the Thunder Beings. They told her what had happened to her as a young girl.

They brought medicine and they built a small fire and as the smoke arose around her a tiny slithering creature dropped out of her dress and crawled away.

Now made too powerful, she could not return home immediately.

The Thunder God adopted her, and she lived with them for four years. They taught her the teachings of the Creator.

She was then told she could return home. She married again and was able to have children.

She shared the Creator’s teachings with her people. They now remembered and listened. They were again able to live in peace and “became one” once more.

In Part l of Maid of theMist: A Lie I share the origin of the false tale.

Is Moss Beach Distillery Haunted?

Moss Beach Distillery is located on the coast just 30 minutes south of San Francisco. Frank Torrez originally owned the building “built to look like a house” in order to deceive the authorities.

During Prohibition in the 1920’s Frank’s Place was the most popular speakeasy in California--silent film stars often came to drink the illegal booze served.

After Prohibition, the place continued as a restaurant--today Moss Beach Distillery is a favorite spot to eat for both locals and tourists. Besides good food, it provides an added attraction--it has a very famous but controversial ghost.

According to legend in the 1930s, a beautiful young lady named “Cayte” * who was married, fell for a piano player who worked for Torrez. Cayte had an affair with this man who was believed to be of questionable character.

Shortly after this affair began, an unknown assailant killed Cayte on a nearby beach. Since many witnesses have seen Cayte’s ghost. 

She is known as the Blue Lady because she wears a blue dress. She is seen roaming the cliffs around Moss Distillery’s beach-- many feel she still searches for her lover.

Her ghost has warned children to stay away from the edge of the cliff.

Since the 1930s, Cayte has also made her presence known in this restaurant. Staff and patrons have seen her apparition numerous times in this building. For years she made appearances in a mirror located in the original Ladies’ Room. This restroom has been torn down and remodeled in more recent years.

Her ghost sometimes moves items. Glassware is found misplaced, and one witness saw a checkbook levitate. Wine cases have been placed behind doors blocking people's entrance.

Two staff members, Byron Whipp and Patty Mckeller have reported seeing several items fly through the air.

One late Sunday night as they were doing the closeout paperwork, they stood at the top of the stairs in a wait station. Several leather books used to deliver checks to customers suddenly flew off the shelf, they were stacked on. They hovered in mid-air, then they dropped to the floor.

Flabbergasted, these two tried to re-create what they had watched in disbelief by knocking the books off the shelf, in various ways, but they never stopped in mid-air. 

They concluded that an unseen entity grabbed the books off the shelf and then held them before they dropped.

Another phenomenon that has occurred is the disappearance of various women's earrings. They are later found by staff all together in one place.

Other common occurrences include: Doors inside the restaurant are often found mysteriously locked from the inside and phone calls are received with no one on the other end.

This activity became so well known, that the owner started to receive complaints from patrons if nothing unusual happened while they ate. In response, he decided to install various “haunted effects” around the restaurant that was similar to the ghostly activity experienced at his restaurant.

Little did he know that this decision was to cause a hullabaloo ten years later.

Moss Beach Distillery today.

Unsolved Mysteries did an episode about the Blue Lady, and Loyd Auerbach a well-known parapsychologist ** began investigating the Moss Beach Distillery haunting in 1991.

The TAPS team from Ghost Hunters did an investigation for their television program in 2008. The premise of their show was that they had discovered these “haunted special effects”, and felt the owner of the Distillery was trying to dupe them into believing the restaurant was haunted.

Some fans of the show began to demand that the owner of the Moss Beach Distillery be brought up on charges of fraud.

I will not second guess what Ghost Hunters motive was, but here are a few facts.

The computer-driven “haunted effects” the Distillery installed were never kept secret. A lot of patrons who ate at the restaurant knew about them--they were and are considered a part of the entertainment while eating at this spot.

Also, several television shows long before the TAPS investigation had discussed these effects.

Loyd Auerbach who helped with the set-up of these haunted effects in the late 1990s, actually talked to a producer from Ghost Hunters a few days before the team did their investigation. He asked this man if he knew about the “ special effects.” The producer told him they knew about them.

Here are just two videos that mention the special effects.

So is this haunting real?

Loyd Auerbach points out that this haunting was observed by 100’s of witnesses since the early 1930s. He goes on to state, that there are many documented cases of this haunting in the 65 years before the “ haunting effects” were installed in the Distillery.

He points out, he did investigations in the building before these effects were installed. He actually has had several personal experiences in this restaurant, which included a ghost walking right through him.

View of the beach from the restaurant.

He considers the Moss Beach Distillery to be one of the more active places he has investigated. He also points out that Cayte does not make as many appearances-- as she used to--so it is a matter of being in the restaurant at the right time.

* According to Loyd Auerbach’s A Paranormal Casebook the real name of this ghost was Elizabeth Claire Donovan. She and her husband moved to the Bay area from the midwest. Soon after arriving in San Francisco she left her husband because he beat her.

She did become involved with Frank Torrez’ piano player. According to physic, Annette Martin who investigated the Distillery with Auerbach, the ghost likes to be called “Cayte.” She stated that her estranged husband tracked her down in Moss Beach, and upon finding out about her affair killed her in a jealous rage.

** In my post entitled, Parapsychology: Information all Ghost Hunters Should Know I share more information about Auerbach’s work.