[The Haunted Lighthouse Sub Download
Virginie Fayad
He was already a year and a half into the project and knew he would be there for a while. A true family man, he decided to move his wife and two daughters from the chill of Maine to the heat of the Florida coast to live with him.
The construction of the lighthouse began in 1871, taking over three years to complete. Once it was finished, the former primitive wooden towers were taken down and replaced with the St. Augustine Lighthouse, the oldest permanent aid to navigation in North America.
Atop the watchtower, a hand-blown French-made Fresnel lens was placed, which had been designed explicitly for lighthouses. The impressive 12-foot-tall lens contained 370 hand-cut glass prisms arranged in a beehive pattern.
The lighthouse stood 165 feet above sea level and included a black and white banded design. To access the top, the lighthouse keeper had to climb 219 steps. After completing the trek upwards, the spectacular panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean were something to look forward to.
The lighthouse is open to the public for tours of the grounds and the adjacent maritime museum. Visiting the landmark is family-friendly with activities such as playgrounds and exhibits for children to enjoy.
My wife and I knew that we desperately needed to get our kids moving and take them on an adventure out of town. We wanted to go somewhere within striking distance of our home in Danbury and find an adventure we could afford. After some research it appeared New London was going to be the destination so we got a hotel room and packed our things.
The weather for that long weekend was phenomenal and we made our way to the best Connecticut beach I've ever seen. It's called Ocean Beach Park, a beautiful stretch of white beach on the Long Island Sound. We got settled on the sand, the kids began to play and I reached for my phone and started snapping photos. I kept fixing my camera on this one peculiar spot that looked like a mansion in the middle of the water.
We had a nice four days in New London, I posted the pictures to social media and I never thought about the "mansion" again. Then, one day I was having a conversation about the trip with a friend who has lived in Connecticut much longer than I have. I asked him about the massive structure and he told me it was a haunted lighthouse.
This kind of thing is right up my alley so I started Googling away and found one terrifying tale after another. What I thought was an odd mansion is known as New London's Ledge Lighthouse. It was established in 1909 and reports of paranormal activity at the Ledge go back all the way to the 1930's.
The ghostly accounts include doors that would open and close, blankets that would get yanked off of beds, TV's turning on and a foghorn that would sound, all without the help of human hands. Even more terrifying, docked boats that were tied down would somehow become united and begin drifting out to sea.
Who is the central figure in this nautical nightmare? The legend centers around a man named John "Ernie" Randolph. Randolph would have most likely been a light keeper or keeper's assistant that lived there with his wife between 1916 and 1926. Randolph's legend is best described in the book "Connecticut Ghost Stories and Legends" which reads:
"Randolph's wife could not take the seclusion of the lighthouse and became very depressed about living in the middle of the bay with very little contact with the outside world. She implored him to take another job on the mainland, but the keeper was steadfast in his duty. One day, she vanished from the light. He later found out she sailed off into the sunset with the Captain of a Block Island ferry. Poor Ernie was so distraught that he climbed to the top of the light, slit his own throat and dove into the waters below. His body was never found, and from that moment on, Ernie was said to be the ghost that haunts the Ledge Light."
The co-authors of the book spoke with Jeremy D'Entremont the President of the American Lighthouse Foundation who says he cannot rule out that a man named John "Ernie" Randolph worked at the lighthouse between 1915 and 1926.
If bumps in the night don't make the hair stand up on your neck, how about this? According to Damned CT, "From time to time, the ghost of a tall, bearded man in a slicker and rain hat has been seen."
P.S. Thomas D'Agostino and Arlene Nicholson are the co-authors of "Connecticut Ghost Stories & Legends." Do yourself a favor and buy the book, there are some fascinating stories in there.
We had a nice four days in New London, I posted the pictures to social media and I never thought about the \"mansion\" again. Then, one day I was having a conversation about the trip with a friend who has lived in Connecticut much longer than I have. I asked him about the massive structure and he told me it was a haunted lighthouse.\nRead More
Imagine hearing whispers in your ear from the ocean wind that gently caresses your face on a cool summer night while standing alone on the bluff of a lighthouse. Is it the ghostly presence of people from the past or perhaps the lighthouse keeper himself?
Consider the fate of the poor Roanoke seamen lost at sea on May 12, 1916, who sought help from the beckoning light of the lighthouse. Can you still hear the foghorn warning the sailors or the silent screams as the seamen lost their lives? Are their spirits still wandering the shores in search of the lighthouse for salvation?
What to expect: You will be divided into small groups and escorted by a ghost hunter through the 1890 lighthouse, including the Lighthouse Tower, the Foghorn Room, the cellar, and the bedrooms. All paranormal equipment will be provided, but feel free to bring your cameras (no live feeds allowed). We will even have a lookout spot equipped with night vision binoculars on the bluff to witness the legend of the ghost ship from 1916 that tragically sank.
So down in Port Bolivar, on the Bolivar Peninsula, stands the haunted Bolivar lighthouse. The location has been home to at least two lighthouses: the first structure, erected in 1852, was destroyed by Confederate forces during the Civil War. In fact, the metal from that structure is reported to have been used in constructing various pieces of equipment for the Confederate war machine.
One of the few saving graces for sailors facing such dangers was the lighthouse. These were the guiding lights that saved - and continue to save - innumerable sailors from being pulverized on rocky outcroppings on pitch-black, moonless nights, or in raging, wailing storms. The lighthouse keepers put their own safety and well-being on the line to keep the lights in the towers, braving storms, fog, illness, and even personal tragedy to keep the beacons lit.
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