The legend of the lake springs from seeds of truth. The ghost village of Fabbriche di Careggine, featured in The Water Children is no myth. Founded in the 13th Century, it was once a bustling community. In 1941 work started on the construction of a dam that would harness the might of the Edron River, providing hydroelectric power for the region. With its completion in 1953 the Edron valley was flooded, drowning the deserted village. But folk tell of one inhabitant who remained in her little cottage, the beautiful Teodora, that Lake Vagli became her watery grave. Feared by the villagers, she was thought to be a witch. It is said that this young, lovely sorceress had worked her charms on Anselmo, a man much older than her who became her husband. When he went foraging for firewood in the treacherous mountains, an icy storm blew up. He stumbled and broke his leg. Teodora awaiting his return did not raise the alarm. She knew that if he had been injured his only hope was rescue. He was discovered frozen to death. When the lake was first drained in 1958, as it is every ten years, they searched for her bones. They dug for them in the mud, but found no trace of the enchantress. She is forever the lady of the lake, a siren haunting the silvery depths.