What is it about lighthouses that seems to make them ideal settings for hauntings? Perhaps it's the isolation or the extreme age of many of these magnificent structures. Or perhaps it's because the lighthouse keepers – who are often said to be the ones haunting the buildings – lived in solitude for long periods of time, often cut off from other people for weeks, even months at a time. Perhaps this solitude leaves a shadowy imprint of their lives within the stone and mortar of these wind and wave-swept beacons.
Here is a mini-directory of haunted lighthouses around North America.
BIG BAY POINT LIGHTHOUSE
Location: On Lake Superior, Michigan
When built: 1896
The haunting: This stately brick lighthouse might be haunted by the ghost of H. William Prior, who was the facility’s first keeper. According to Big Bay Point Lighthouse History by Jeff and Linda Gamble, “Prior was despondent after the death of his son and on June 28th he disappeared into the woods with his gun and some strychnine. It was feared that he had gone off to kill himself, and a subsequent long search failed to find him. Mrs. Prior and her family left Big Bay on October 22, 1901 to live in Marquette. Over a year later, the following entry was made in the station log:"
Mr. Fred Babcock came to the station 12:30 pm. While hunting in the woods one and a half mile south of the station this noon he found a skeleton of a man hanging to a tree. We went to the place with him and found that the clothing and everything tally with the former keeper of this station who has been missing for seventeen months.It’s said that the ghost of the red-haired Mr. Prior is occasionally seen on the property and may be responsible for the unexplained slamming of doors. Today, Big Bay Point Lighthouse is a bed and breakfast. More information
GIBRALTAR POINT LIGHTHOUSE
Location: Toronto Island, Canada
When built: 1808
The haunting: This lighthouse was so-named because the governor at the time of its building thought it should be fortified as strong as the Rock of Gibraltar. The ghost here might be that of J. P. Radan Muller, the lighthouse’s first keeper, who supplemented his income as a bootlegger of American whiskey. In 1815, soldiers from Fort York came to the island in search of some of Muller’s whiskey. He obliged, but when they requested seconds, so the story goes, Muller refused and a fight ensued. Muller was never seen again, although it is assumed that he was murdered by the soldiers. The remains of a body were discovered in 1904 and reburied. According to a 1958 short documentary about the lighthouse, workers and visitors have witnessed many forms of unexplained phenomena there, including lights in the windows where there should be none, the shadowy form of a man drifting across the sand in the moonlight, blood stains on the staircase, and an eerie moaning sound. Today, the lighthouse stands unused as a historical landmark.
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SHERWOOD POINT LIGHTHOUSE
Location: Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin
When built: 1883
The haunting: Sherwood Lighthouse was the last lighthouse on the Great Lakes to be converted to automation; it was operated by personnel up until 1983. Today, it is used as a private retreat house for Coast Guard personnel, but is open for tours to the public during the third week of May. And it just might be haunted. “We stopped at Sherwood Point and spoke with a U.S. Coast Guard Reservist, since the Coast Guard administers the site,” reader Joe Severa reports. “He said he has heard noises at night when he stays there. He also showed us a log of people who have stayed there, and their comments about unusual phenomena. Supposedly, a woman haunts the lighthouse.” Could it be the ghost of Minnie Cochems? She and her husband William operated the lighthouse during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. On the morning of August 17, 1928, as Minnie was climbing out of bed, she collapsed and died. A plaque to her memory remains on the lighthouse to this day.
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Next page: Face-to-face with the Gray Lady
