Thread: Haunted Lighthouses

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William S. Moore (not the same one who was with Captain Kidd), alleged to have been a pirate, took over as the first Keeper at Bird Island Lighthouse (Marion, Massachussetts) in 1819 after having fought in the War of 1812. Supposedly he owed the US govt. money, who perhaps used that as an excuse to "banish" him to the lonely life of a lightkeeper.
He brought with him his wife, a blowsy wench who'd married him in his more prosperous days. She was a heavy tobacco user, and suffered from tuberculosis.Mrs. Moore was forbidden to leave the island by her husband, since he feared she'd leave him for someone else. The dampness of lighthouse life left her in pretty bad shape, and the lack of tobacco on the island led her to despairing cries which could be heard on the mainland.
The townspeople took pity on her, and would smuggle bags of tobacco out to the lighthouse, fearful that Moore would find out. Even the local doctor entreated Moore to "put her out of her misery" and let her have her tobacco. He refused, and when she died, he raised a distress flag. A minister came out and they laid her to rest on the island. Moore was blamed for her death by not allowing her off the island. He in turn blamed the townspeople for bringing her her beloved tobacco. Some thought privately that he outright murdered her, and the circumstances surrounding her death covered up, but that was never proven.
Legend has it that some later keepers were frightened by "the ghost of a hunched-over old woman, rapping at the door during the night."

I'd dare say most lighthouses are haunted. My personal favorite story is of one of the Great Lakes lights, that still shines sometimes, in spite of having been decommissioned, and having the lens and other lighting apparatus removed.

That also is one of my favorites. It's the Old Presque Isle Lighthouse, on Lake Huron in Michigan. What's fascinating about that is that one is the fact the lights have been seen by National Guardsmen during a flyover. And although the light may actually come from an ambient source, no one really objects if it's George Parris' ghost. Guess he was pretty well liked, even if he did play practical jokes o unsuspecting kids when he was alive.
I think this one was featured on "Haunted Lighthosues" on the Discovery Channel.

Over to the Left Coast, at Yaquina Bay Lighthouse, Washington...

This light was discontinued three years after it was lit in 1871 (although it has now been relit as of 1996 as a private aid to navigation). Muriel Travenard was born at the end of the 18th century to a sea captain and his wife. Her mother died when she was young, and for a time she sailed with her father. However, as she grew into a teen, on one trip, he decided to leave his daughter behind with some friends in Newport. Weeks lengthened into months, and the captain didn't return.
Muriel was unhappy but had made friends with other teens, which helped to assuage her grief.
One day, her group decided to explore the abandoned lighthouse. It was a mess, dilapidated, and not as much fun as they'd hoped, but they did find a strange iron plate in the floor on the second level. It was a door to a compartment that had a deep hole cut into it. They looked inside, but left the door open, and went off to explore the rest of the area.
In the late afternoon, as they were preparing to leave, Muriel remembered she'd left her scarf inside and went back in to get it. Her friends waited, but she didn't return. Calling her out didn't work, so several went back in to look for her.
After searching without success, one of the kids noticed a pool of blood on the floor, with a trail of drops leading up to the iron plate, which was now closed.
The teens tried and tried to open the door again, but couldn't. After coming back with help, a complete search of the lighthouse and grounds was made, but still no one could pry open the plate. Her body was never found, and a dark stain marks the floor where her blood was found.
Some people have claimed to have seen her ghost peering out of the lantern room or walking down the path behind the lighthouse, but no one knows just what happened that fateful day.

Any for sale? Thats my other passion, Lighthouses. And haunted I'm now in hog heaven! Thanks for the post.

michigal: This is one of the coolest threads ever!!!

Originally Posted by BLAKKHEART

Any for sale? Thats my other passion, Lighthouses. And haunted I'm now in hog heaven! Thanks for the post.

Yes, a few are in private hands and do go up for sale every now and then. And of course, there's the NPS program of getting lighthouses into non profit groups for ownership. A list of those to be excessed gets released every year.
I wish I had the money to get one, also.

Originally Posted by halfwaydead_rc75

michigal: This is one of the coolest threads ever!!!

So I guess I should post another one, eh? How about a warm and fuzzy story?

Fairport Harbor Lighthouse on Lake Erie, the oldest lighthouse on the lake, is home to probably the cutest ghost. The light was discontinued in 1925, and was turned intio a museum. In 1989, the resident curator was in the kitchen when she saw out of the corner of her eye something small and dark flitting by. A few seconds later she saw it again. Looking around the corner of the door, she saw a small gray cat, almost like a puff of smoke, scampering around the floor. It had no feet, and moved about the floor almost on invisible wheels. It had iridescent gold marble like eyes and feathery gray fur. It seemed to chase something, then scooted around the corner and disappeared. The curator saw the puff many times over the winter, and even played with it by tossing an old sock down the hallway, which the cat would chase. The last family of keepers, the Babcocks, had a little boy who died when he was 5 years old. Shortly after, Mrs. Babcock took ill and was confined to bed for several months. During that time, she was kept company by one particular kitten of the many house cats, who delighted in chasing a ball down the hallway and bringing it back to her. The living room where the curator encountered the ghostly kitten used to be the bedroom where Mrs. Babcock stayed.

Originally Posted by michigal

Yes, a few are in private hands and do go up for sale every now and then. And of course, there's the NPS program of getting lighthouses into non profit groups for ownership. A list of those to be excessed gets released every year.
I wish I had the money to get one, also.

What's somewhat less known is, with that program getting the lights into nonprofit and state/local goverment hands, if there are no takers, the government will sell them to private individuals. There have been several lately that were on the market, all offshore lights. Don't see any out there now, but if/when more come on, you'll find them listed here

http://propertydisposal.gsa.gov/Property/

As of last September, there was one in Mass. that hadn't had any takers. As you say Auditor, those are usually the ones that are offshore, hard to get to, and may have environmental concerns that need to be dealt with, and if it's on the list of National Historic places, there are further requirements.
Generally, even though the Coast Guard and NPS excess these lights, they are still maintained as an Active Aid To Navigation (ATON), and the Coast Guard retains ownership of the actual illuminant and easements to it. Here is the text of the applicable rules pertaining to the actual sale to individuals.
If someone wants to own a lighthouse, that's not really the way to go. There are plenty that are already in private hands, often operated as a bed and breakfast, and sometimes go up for sale.
I, for one, would love to own this one or this one.