COMMENTS:
The Old Fairport Harbor Lighthouse sits at the mouth of the Grand River, east of Cleveland. The lighthouse, built in 1825 and rebuilt in 1871, was a safe haven for sailors as well as refugees traveling along the Underground Railroad. The lighthouse was replaced by the current Fairport Harbor Lighthouse in 1925 and is now open as a maritime museum.
The Old Fairport Harbor Lighthouse is believed to be haunted by a gray cat, one of many owned by a former lighthouse caretaker. The myth was given more credence when, in 2001, the remains of a cat were discovered in a sealed staircase. The remains are now on display in the museum, but the playful cat's presence can be felt all over the property.
The playful pussy can felt all over the building?
Time to launch my dingy!
^
why would you try to spoil a fun ballot ?
Oh, fun ballot !
How do ya do it, RunsWithScissors ?
Sorry lava, I should have waited until after lunch to get risque. Pardon my premature launch.
Well, there ya go. Getting up your excuse.
Do you watch Ghost Hunters on the sci fi channel? They were at a pretty creepy lighthouse down in Florida. I can't remember the name though.
Voted : Boon Island Lighthouse ~ Southern Maine
It is most famous for the wreck of the Nottingham Galley, which crashed into the island in December of 1710. Some of the crew survived by cannibalism, eating the flesh of their dead shipmates before they were rescued by fishermen.
There was no woman on the Nottingham Galley, though, so the ethereal young woman shrouded in white who is seen on the rocks at dusk may be Katherine Bright, who came to the 400 square yards of rock as a newlywed with her lightkeeper husband. A mere four months after arriving, a surge tide from a winter storm swept the island, and while trying to secure the island's boat, the keeper slipped on the rocks and drowned. Katherine somehow managed to pull his body ashore and dragged it to the lighthouse. She left his body at the foot of the stairs, and took over lighthouse duties for five days and nights, without eating or sleeping.
On the sixth day, the light was out. Fishermen from York investigated, as the storm was over now, and found Mrs. Bright sitting on the stairs holding the frozen corpse of her husband. She and her husband's corpse were taken ashore, but by that time she'd completely lost her mind. She died only a few weeks after being rescued. Her screeches can still be heard along with her apparition.
Voted : Yaquina Bay Lighthouse ~ Oregon
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.
Disclaimer: This story may or may not be true. It seems it may have originated from a short story written many years ago. But which came first, the story or the legend it was based on?
Voted : Minot's Ledge Lighthouse ~ Scituate, Massachusetts
Minot's Ledge lighthouse was a place no sane person wanted to live. It is just a tower coming out of the sea on a reef located off Scituate, Mass. In fact, the first tower was destroyed by the sea a scant year after it was built. Isaac Dunham, who was also the first lightkeeper at Pemaquid Point, was sent to be the first caretaker at Minot's Ledge when it was rebuilt, and after 14 months just abruptly retired from the service, being unable to take it anymore, especially when his warnings about the instability of the then spider-legged tower went unheeded.
In April of 1851, the new keeper, John Bennet, flew a flag from the lighthouse to show he was requesting to be picked up for a shore visit. His two assistant keepers, Joe Wilson and Joe Antoine, stayed behind to tend the light. While ashore, a no'theaster with winds of over 100 mph kicked up, preventing Bennet from returning. The lights went out at 10 p.m. The next morning, nothing was left of the tower, it had been smashed on the rocks. Antoine's body washed ashore at Nantasket Beach, while Wilson's was found on Gull Island.
Since then, fishermen report hearing cries from the island at night, and Portugese (Antoine was Portugese) swear they've seen a man hanging from a ladder on the side of the tower, screaming, "Stay away, stay away" in their language. Shadowy figures have been seen in the lantern room, taps on the shoulders and whispers at night have all been heard or felt by subsequent keepers. A cat brought to the tower for companionship, went berserk when near the lantern room, running around in circles and screeching.
Although these phenomena would be enough, the strangest thing is the cleaning. Seagulls flying overhead dirty the windows, which usually take the whole day to clean off. If a keeper mentioned to his assistant that they needed cleaning, by the time the assistant would make it up with cleaning implements, the windows would be sparkling clean again. Another keeper heard five taps echoing up through the stairs. The five taps had been a signal that the two Joes had once worked out for signalling the end of the shift. Some keepers would thank the two Joes for their work, but one couldn't take it and slit his throat and bled to death. Another went insane and was removed from the lighthouse in a strait jacket.
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