Lady of the Lantern

There is an old wives' tale about the Lady of the Lantern; if you're by a river and you see a light, it is really considered best to turn and leave.

Summary

Once upon a time there was a woman whose husband, the head of the village near the mountains, went missing in the woods. Though everyone else stopped looking for him, assuming he had died in the fast running and cold river amongst the trees, she continued to search until one day she also did not return.
So sometimes people near water see a dim light bobbing along and draw closer to see a figure, pale and skeletally-thin, dressed in black and a dark conical hat with lacy black veils reaching almost to the floor, seeming to almost drift over the water. Under the veils is a dim lantern. If she notices you and you're a man, there's a chance that she will mistake you for her husband and approach with her lantern held out in a skeletal hand and the other reaching out for you. Anyone she reaches will be never seen again, sometimes drowned, sometimes dragged back to the spirit world with her.
For this reason, many villages near wetlands do not allow their men to wander unaccompanied by women at night or if it is particularly overcast, fearing they will be mistaken for her lost husband and snatched away.

Historical Basis

People almost certainly died often in the rivers, lakes and wetlands around Sin-Yung, and long-veiled hats like that like were common for mourners in Sin-Yung across centuries. However, as there are no definitive explanations of where this village was and when this occurred, it's hard to determine if any of these events occurred.

In Art

There are a number of tapestries and drawings depicting varying interpretations of the Lady, as well as a number of poems, songs and even a play about her apparently tragic life and demise.