Creve Coeur Lake Memorial Park in Maryland Heights has a haunted history centered on a Native American legend and its darker past during the Prohibition era. The park's name itself, which means "broken heart" in French, is derived from a tragic folklore tale. The most famous legend of Creve Coeur Lake tells of a romantic tragedy involving a Native American princess and a French fur trapper. A Native American girl, sometimes named Maton, fell in love with a French fur trapper. Her father forbade the relationship, causing the princess deep despair. Unable to bear the heartache, the princess leapt to her death from a cliff overlooking the lake, sometimes specified as the area known as Dripping Springs. According to some versions of the story, her father later cursed her spirit, trapping her in the lake as a punishment for loving a white man. The legend states that the lake then reshaped itself into the form of a broken heart. In one chilling account, the princess's tormented spirit is said to inhabit a demon-fish or serpent that lurks in the water and targets unfaithful lovers. The lake's sinister reputation also comes from its association with organized crime during Prohibition. During the early 20th century, the lake was a hub for gangsters, speakeasies, and gambling dens. One particular roadhouse on Upper Creve Coeur Lake was frequented by gangsters and is the site of unsolved murders from that era. Some accounts suggest that the park's Bootlegger's Trail, which was once a 2-hour-long path, might have been linked to this dark history, possibly serving as a route for bootleggers.