Tragedy and Retribution

In England, perhaps because it is so rare a sight, a white hare used to be the object of a particular fear, an embodiment of tragedy and retribution. Girls who died forsaken by their lovers were said to return in the form of white hares. Only the faithless lover would, in most of these stories, be able to see the hare. In all, it follows him everywhere, sometimes saving him from danger, but invariably causing his death in the end.

– George Ewart Evans and David Thomson
The Leaping Hare
p. 164

Image: Cathy.