THE STORY
Reported Haunting
Near the remains of old Cedar Street in Safe Harbor Park, five members of one family reportedly watched a featureless white face repeatedly peek from behind a tree. They could see no body, person, or animal associated with it, and the strange figure eventually disappeared without explanation.
Safe Harbor Park occupies much of the site of the former Safe Harbor Iron Works community, a nineteenth-century company town that once contained dozens of homes, shops, taverns, churches, and streets that have largely vanished. One of those former roads was Cedar Street, traces of which remain near the present park and arboretum. A modern ghost account shared with Uncharted Lancaster involves a woman named Donna and four members of her family. After a picnic at the park, all five reportedly noticed something peering from behind a tree on the uphill side of the former Cedar Street. They described it as a pale or white human-like face without clearly visible eyes, mouth, or other features. The face repeatedly withdrew behind the trunk and then appeared again, hovering only a few feet above the ground. The witnesses watched the phenomenon for several minutes and reported seeing no person, animal, or other obvious source. When it finally disappeared, they could find nothing behind the tree. Unlike many older Lancaster legends, the White Face story represents a modern multi-witness encounter rather than a traditional ghost tale, and the identity or nature of the reported figure is unknown.