The White Lady
The legend of The White Lady first appeared in Germany around the year 1486 (Kirtley 1960, 157). The details are similar to the legend of La Llorona appeared much later in a poem in the year 1552 (Kirtley 1960, 157). The story involved a widow who murdered her children believing a wealthy Count wouldn't propose marriage to her because of her two children (Kirtley 1960, 157).
Eventually, the legend changed to include details that are more familiar in the story of La Llorona. A young woman falls in love with a nobleman. She becomes pregnant and he leaves her to marry within his class. Distraught, the young woman kills her child, and riddled with guilt, she kills herself. She becomes the White Lady, destined to wander the earth looking for her child and luring young men to their deaths (Kirtley 1960,158). The new details reflect the concern with the moral values in the society that believed in the legend. The legend of the White Lady also exposes the emerging differences between the classes occurring in Europe at the time.