'The Lady of the Lake'

Lovely Lake Crescent,

Easily one of the most beautiful,

natural water reservoirs,

I have ever seen—

located in Olympic National Park,

in the Pacific Northwest.

As I took stroll around,

it took my breath away,

with it's deep,

crystal-clear water.

But I learned its bloodied history too.

for a criminal,

it became a cadaver dumping ground.

Let me share the story of

'The Lady of the Lake'.

a dead body that surfaced

and led to penalty,

for the absconding culprit.

A woman named Hallie

worked at a lakeside tavern.

She fell for a man—

a beer truck driver.

Domestic violence ensued,

and one day in 1937,

Hallie vanished.

The man roamed free

until the corpse surfaced,

three years later, in 1940.

The body was wrapped in blankets

and tied with rope.

It was not rotted or blaoted,

but perfectly preserved.

It was called “Ivory Soap” corpse,

for the fatty acids had become soap.

The cold depths of the lake,

prevented decomposition,

and the calcium salts,

converted the tissue.

The ropes frayed with time,

and the body floated up.

The culprit feigned innocence,

but eventually confessed

and was jailed for a decade.

Even after death,

the victim rose up

to punish the killer!

I wonder what else

this lovely lake has seen!

So much human ugliness,

likely hidden beneath,

its surreal beauty.