THE 21ST DAY OF THE SEVENTH MONTH OF THE YEAR OF THE CAMELLIA

IS THIS LIGHTHOUSE HAUNTED?

I can't answer that question from a personal experience, but I did feel a little squirrely when I went inside.  And is that just a shadow in the second window to the right....................or?

This is the Point Lookout Lighthouse in southern Maryland.  It marks the spot where the Potomac River empties into the Chesapeake Bay.  It is within a state park which is very isolated with corn fields and pine woods dominating the landscape. 

Now you gotta figure that if 3,384 people died here.  Somebody is still running around in the ether.  Well, maybe.  I have heard of folks driving between cornfields and seeing figures in civil war garb walking with back packs and muskets across the road.

That's the lighthouse on the lower left facing the Potomac.  I copied this old print for a client who allowed me a copy.  It shows the layout of the old prison.  Lot'sa room for a soul to wander!

Some years ago, they repainted the old place which is enclosed and locked within a chain link fence.  The renovations were quite extensive and I made this image when they were still working on the improvements.  This is evidently the original color scheme of the place.

My first question to the park ranger when he took me inside was......

"OK, what's the truth? Is it really haunted"

  He kind gave me a crooked smile and said that he was fairly sure it was.  He said that at  the last "Ghost Walk" that they did for the public---(Evidently they found that ghosts are marketable)---He was in charge of crawling into a crawl space to throw the breaker switch on a series of lights.  Each time he did it, when he crawled out, the lights went off.  He watch them.  Crawled back in and turned them on again....out and out they went.  This he said, happened repeatedly with no real answer as to the cause.

Also,  they had ordered some lumber and paint from the local lumber yard for the renovations.  When the delivery truck arrived, the gate was open, and he drove into the yard in back of the light.  No one was there as he later told the story.  Getting out of the truck, one would normally would look out to the bay just to take in the scene.  As his gaze took in the bay, he distinctly felt a hand on his shoulder.  Of course there was no one there.  No goods were delivered that day.  The man got back into the truck, and in what I am sure was a pretty good state of fear, left the premises forthwith.

The ranger swore that these things really did happen.

Was he trying to sell me a bill of goods?

I still don't think that it's a shadow in that window!