Presque’s Mysterious Light

It is not recommended that one visit Michigan’s Old Presque Isle lighthouse after dark. A ghost has been known to scare visitors away.

Old Presque Isle Light

This lighthouse sits on Lake Huron, 20 miles south of Rogers City, Michigan.

Built in 1840, the Old Presque Isle Light guided ships safely into Presque Isle Harbor for 31 years. In the 1870s, it was replaced by a new lighthouse bearing the same name, which remains the tallest on the Great Lakes.

Years after the old station was closed, it was sold to a private owner, Jim Stebbins. The Stebbins family restored the station and hired Lorraine and George Parris in 1977 to be caretakers for the historic monument.

The Parris’ relished their new role, enjoying their retirement years caring for the museum and greeting the many people who came to visit the old light.

Lorraine Parris standing in
front of fireplace in the
Keepers Cottage in 1977.
The photo above is George Parris.

One evening in May of 1992, Lorraine Parris was driving back from a family dinner—she wished George was with her—but this was not possible for he had passed away in 1991.

As she rounded a bend in the road she spotted something that amazed her. The light in the tower was on. It occurred to her that the old lighthouse looked as it must have once looked over a century before.

She blinked wondering if she was hallucinating—the light had not been on in years—the wiring had been permanently disconnected by her husband and the Coast Guard in 1979, after it had accidentally been turned on.

Lorraine was too embarrassed to mention what she had seen—people would think it was just her imagination. But the light continued to appear night after night—shining in the lantern room.

This light was not visible from the station grounds, it was only visible from across the harbor.

Within days Lorraine’s secret was out for everyone was seeing this mysterious light. As word spread spectators from all over were arriving to see this phenomenon.

The Coast Guard showed up to check it out but could not explain it. Sailors on passing boats and freighters saw it. National Guard pilots flying planes overhead saw it. They reported the light cast a yellowish glow.

The Coast Guard took out the ornamental light that was used to replace the original light—but the tower still shined brightly.

Some stated it must be passing cars but the light was seen even when there were no cars in the area.

Several witnesses reported seeing the figure of a man in the lantern room when no one was about.

One young female visitor who had never seen George Parris reported seeing a man with a beard and glasses at the top of the tower stairs as she explored on her own. When she was shown a picture of George she said it was the man she had seen but that he had appeared to her surrounded by a “bright white light.”

Other visitors reported feeling a hand brush their shoulders as they walked the tower steps. George was a prankster when he was alive.

This mysterious presence is often helpful.

Lorraine began to connect this light with her husband. While alive George had always made her bacon and eggs for breakfast. After the light began to appear Lorraine would wake to these familiar smells, but no one was in the Keepers Cottage with her.

Two female visitors to the old light locked their keys in their car. Later they found the car mysteriously unlocked. When they started the ignition the dome lights came on and the radio blasted a station they never listened to.

Another odd occurrence happened one day when Lorraine found she couldn’t open a door at the Keepers Cottage. Something was blocking the door. She felt a presence on the other side.

When she went around to another door and went outside she discovered no one was there. But oddly, there was a lawn chair propped against the door and another lawn chair was facing it as if two people had been sitting there, talking.

Within moments lightning struck near the lighthouse, right where Lorraine would had been if she had been able to open the door and exit the building without the chair interfering.

Back inside the cottage Lorraine found the door opened easily now—the chair slid across the cement without resistance. Had it been George, did he block the door to protect her from the storm?

The Old Presque Isle Light is still seen today coming on at dusk and turning off at dawn. Many feel it is George’s ghost that returns every evening to light the beacon.

Attempts to explain away this odd phenomenon have been inconclusive. The Coast Guard classifies it as “an unknown light.”