Is the lake pictured on every iPad secretly CURSED by the ghosts of disabled babies who were thrown into its waters because they wouldn't survive?

Members of Paiute Tribe claim dark secrets are concealed in the lake

Pyramid Lake, in Nevada, is used as the default iPad screensaver

It is home to the myth of the 'Water Babies' who were, according to legend, thrown into the lake



It is famous the world over as the picturesque setting of the default iPad screensaver.

But while the beautiful Pyramid Lake, in Nevada, may look tranquil, legend has it the spirits of sick children and a heartbroken mermaid lurk beneath its waters.

Members of a Native American Paiute Tribe, who have lived by the 350 foot sink for centuries, claim dark secrets are concealed in the depths of the lake.

The beautiful Pyramid Lake, in Nevada, is known the world over as the default iPad screensaver - but some claim dark secrets are concealed in its depths

Members of the Native American Paiute Tribe, who have lived by the 350 foot sink for centuries, believe the lake is haunted by the ghosts of disabled and premature infants thrown into it

According to the myth, the lake is haunted by the ghosts of disabled and premature infants thrown into it.

Visitors have reportedly heard the cries of the 'Water Babies', who were hurled into the lake because they would not survive the harsh desert climate.

It is also said to be home to a mermaid who married a member of the tribe but became embittered after being banished from the village.

She apparently swore revenge on anyone who came too close to the water's edge, and locals warn of the dangers of straying close to the shoreline.

The saying goes: 'If you hear them you will have bad luck, if you see them you are dead.'

Landscape gardener Simon Robinson, 37, spent a day by the lake because he is a 'big iPad fan' and wanted to see where the shot was taken.

The lake provides the picturesque setting for the default screensaver on the iPad

Mr Robinson said: 'I'd heard it had was one of the most spectacular desert lakes in the world.



'I only heard about the legend when I was filling my car with petrol and the Native American woman at the garage asked me what had brought me there.

'She said they have a few Apple fans coming through and she always tells them the legend of the "Water Babies" and the mermaid.



'She said she didn't believe herself, but enough people in the area had heard or knew people who had heard strange childish voices by the lake.

'It happens especially in spring.

The lake is also said to be home to a mermaid who married a member of the tribe but became embittered after being banished from the village

'She added it was easier to wind up the older tourists than the Apple fans, who were more likely to "believe in machines than the supernatural".'



He also spoke to a fisherman going out on the lake on a boat.



Mr Robinson said: 'When I asked, he said that of course he had heard of the legends and he knew that fisherman drowned each spring.

'But he put it down to bad weather conditions and the fact that the lake gets very deep very very quickly after the shore.

'He believes that fisherman come up, drink beers, get drunk, loose their footing and fall into the 350ft deep lake.

Members of a Native American Paiute Tribe say the lake is haunted by the ghosts of disabled and premature infants thrown into it. Pictured is the 23rd Annual Las Vegas Paiute Snow-Mountain Pow-Wow, hosted by the Las Vegas Paiute Tribe in 2011

'He did joke that it could be a mermaid who had a taste for drunken anglers.



'The Mermaid legend is thousands of years old going back to a time when the tribe settled the area.



'But the origins of the Water Babies legend is in dispute.



'Some claim it could actually be a white pioneer legend that denigrate the so called "savagery" of the local tribe that has sometime become associated with the tribe themselves while others deny it.



'The jury is still out really. Whatever the truth, it's a stunning place.'

