If you've heard San Francisco's most famous ghost story, it was probably some iteration of this:

In the years before the 1906 earthquake, a beautiful young woman lived in the city with her infant child. One day, the woman decided to take her baby to Golden Gate Park for a jaunt around Stow Lake. While on their walk, the woman spotted a friend, and the two sat down on a bench to catch up.

After a few minutes, the woman turned to check on her baby. To her horror, the pram was no longer beside her. In a panic, she ran around the lake, screaming for her child. The last anyone saw of her — alive — was when, in a moment of horrid realization, she ran into the lake.

For the last century, people on foggy nights have reported seeing a distressed lady in a white gown stalking the rim of Stow Lake. Some say she approaches them, begging them to help find her baby. Others have only heard her moans. The story is so famous that Golden Gate Park even has a page dedicated to the legend.

It's a classic, haunting ghost story, so it's no surprise the tale has resonated with locals, and ghost hunters, for over 100 years. But is there any truth to the legend of the White Lady of Stow Lake?

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The first mention of a phantom in Golden Gate Park is a front-page Chronicle story from Jan. 6, 1908. The article tells the tale of Arthur Pigeon and his automobile full of female party-goers. The vehicle was seen speeding through the park late at night before being apprehended by mounted police. Inside, the officer found a car full of terrified people, white as a proverbial ghost.

San Francisco Chronicle/Archives

Pigeon told the officer they'd seen a "thing" directly in front of their vehicle, "clad in a luminous white robe, and holding its arms extended as though to stop the progress of the machine."

"It was a thin, tall figure," Pigeon explained. "It seemed to shine. It had long, fair hair and was barefooted. I did not notice the face. I was too frightened."

The bemused officer asked if the party had previously visited "beach resorts [that] might produce ghosts or spirits." No, insisted the group. Very well, the officer said. Then you'll have to show me where the ghost was.

The women "shrieked" at the suggestion, leaving poor Arthur Pigeon to escort the officer back to the spot where he'd seen the apparition. Of course, it was gone.

"Captain Gleeson of the Park Station was informed of the affair," the Chronicle wrote, "and gave orders that any ghost answering this description is to be arrested on sight."

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San Francisco history before the 1906 earthquake can be difficult to verify. The fire destroyed the city's police and coroners' reports, along with thousands of personal records kept by families. So if there was a police report about a woman and her baby drowning in Stow Lake, it's likely long gone.

Newspaper crime stories and death notices give a more complete, and surprisingly deadly, picture of Golden Gate Park in the late 1800s. The park, with its many dark corners, was a common spot for suicides. So common, in fact, that the San Francisco Call ran a Sunday feature in 1900 called "The Park Suicides."

"The park, with its luxury of trees, shrubbery and green grass, seems to appeal strongly to the troubled philosopher who seeks to rid himself of what he deems a burden," the Call wrote.

San Francisco Call/Archives

The story, accompanied by a complete list of suicides in the park since 1890, found that one in every 12 suicides in San Francisco took place there. The methods ranged from poisonings to self-inflicted gunshot wounds. There's only one suicide-by-drowning, however, and that death was later ruled a homicide. If the White Lady of Stow Lake died there, then it must have been after the 1900 article was written. Surely a suicide that dramatic would have warranted a mention.

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If any single anecdote gave life to the ghost of Stow Lake, it is this small item in the July 10, 1906 Call.

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Mary Cook and Nellie Gillighan, both 12-year-old earthquake refugees living the park, reported to police that they had "seen the naked body of a baby floating in Lloyd Lake," a pond near Stow Lake. Police made a full investigation but saw no sign of a body. Just in case, they planned to drag the lake. There are no subsequent newspaper articles on the subject, so that search must have come up empty too.

Coupled with the park's reputation as a suicide spot, the legend writes itself: A beautiful woman and her infant child, a tragic death in the park, a spirit that can't find peace.

But for those who believe in ghosts, there's no shortage of candidates for who could be the real lady of Stow Lake. The 1900 "Park Suicides" story offers tales of at least four women who took their own lives in the park, including one who name was never discovered.

"Who she was, where she came from and what her troubles were will never be known," the Call wrote. "For she was among the unidentified."

Katie Dowd is the SFGATE managing editor. Contact: katie.dowd@sfgate.com | Twitter: @katiedowd