Australia: Lady Elliot Island

This small island is located 90 miles east of Gladstone on Queensland’s coast. It is one of many islands along the Great Barrier Reef.

Captain Thomas Stuart who named it after his ship the Lady Elliot discovered it in 1816.

There have been so many shipwrecks around the island that at one time it was dubbed, “Shipwreck Island.” These wrecks continued to occur even after a lighthouse was built on the island in 1873.

Early entrepreneurs discovered the Lady Elliot was covered in phosphate rich guano from seabird droppings. Miners removed this layer--along with the island’s vegetation leaving a barren landscape.

Early sailors who visited the island before the guano mining were afraid to come ashore. This was because at night wailing and moaning sounds were heard.

An early belief was these sounds came from the ghosts of long-dead sailors whose ships had wandered too close to the island’s surrounding reef.

Later when Chinese “coolie” laborers were forced to live on the island to mine the guano, the true source for these sounds was discovered.  Seabirds--the mutton-bird-- that use the island at night as a rookery actually make these sounds.

Lighthouse 1902

But the island is haunted. In 1896, Phoebe Phillips, the daughter of the lighthouse keeper, caught pneumonia and died at the age of 30. Some claim to have seen her ghost.

Her remains share the island’s small cemetery with Susannah McKee who was the wife of a lighthouse keeper ten years later.

Susannah who was from Ireland married Thomas McKee and the couple had four sons. When the McKee family moved to Lady Elliot Susannah found the living conditions unbearable.

The hot climate and desolate landscape that had been stripped by the guano mining did not help.

Supplies that had to be delivered to the island by ship were often late, and meat and other perishables would not keep.

Susannah found the islands living quarters small and cramped and medical attention was not available.

After her youngest son went off to boarding school--Susannah found the isolation overwhelming.

Bored and alone Susannah put on her best clothes one day in April of 1907 and walked out onto the old guano-loading jetty below the lighthouse. She then jumped into the sea. She was 59 years old.

Rumors swirled later that her husband was responsible for her death but there was no proof he murdered her.

When her body washed up on the shore Thomas buried her next to Phoebe Phillips.

Sadly, it appears Susannah spirit is trapped in this place she disliked so much in life.

Her ghost was first seen in the 1930s. The keeper on the island at that time, Arthur Brumpton looked down from the lighthouse balcony one evening to see a female figure dressed in turn-of-the-century clothing.

He watched as this ghost walked between the lighthouse and the 3 cottages behind it.

His young daughter, Margaret also felt the presence of a stranger. She often heard ghostly footsteps in the lighthouse.

When Arthur and his daughter left the island in 1940 the captain on the ship they were on showed them old photos of people who had once lived on Lady Elliot Island. They both identified Susannah McKee in one photograph as the woman they had seen.

In 1985 the lighthouse was automated. The new resort staff that arrived on the island was charged with its upkeep.

The resort manager, Tili Birkman immediately reported strange activity on the island that centered mostly around and in the 3 old cottages.

Jeff Raynor was hired as a grounds keeper and Chris Lister was hired as a chef. The first day as these two men moved into one of the cottages they experienced this haunting.

As they sat outside taking a break an empty plastic ice-cream container came flying out of one of the other cottages’ front door and landed at their feet.

Later as the two described what they saw, Jeff expressed the fact he did not believe in ghosts.

That night as he slept in the cottage he was awoken abruptly when he was hurled out of his bed--he landed on the floor with a hard bump. After this he slept on the cottage verandah instead.

A few nights later he awoke again. To his horror he saw a transparent figure of a woman standing in the cottage doorway.

Susannah’s ghost has been seen peering out of the cottage windows as well. She is sometimes spotted walking across the island’s small airstrip.

A team of painters contracted to paint the old cottages found every time they climbed on their scaffolding it began to shake violently, but as soon as they got down it stopped.

Today Lady Elliot Island is a world-renowned scuba diving destination and a Heritage site. The rustic resort only allows a small number of guests on the island at a time.

Its reefs at high tide are spectacular. The island is a part of the Marine National Park Zone. Since fishing is not allowed the variety of sea life seen is incredible. Glass bottomed boat tours are offered in the area.

Two guests have also experienced strange activity. One woman camping in a tent awakened to the sound of zippers opening and shutting. When she got up and looked around no one was there.

When she climbed back in her tent she realized the zippers were inside the tent.

Another guest expressed an opinion he does not believe in ghosts. As he took the last swallow of his drink and put the glass down gently it shattered.

A tour that includes the island’s cemetery is popular and most visitors are careful to pay their respects.

St. Simons Island Light, Part ll

History

St. Simons' lighthouse.

The St. Simons Island Light is a lighthouse on the southern tip of St. Simons Island, Georgia.

It guides ships into St. Simons Sound and warns them of the many sandbars in the area. This lighthouse is still used today.

The original lighthouse was built in 1810 and was 75 feet tall. It was octagonal in shape and was topped off by a 10-foot oil-burning lamp.

During the American Civil War, this lighthouse was destroyed. During a battle, Union soldiers drove back the Confederates. The Confederates then destroyed this lighthouse so the Union troops that took over the area could not use it to guide their warships.

In 1872, the U.S. government constructed a new lighthouse just west of the original location. This lighthouse is 104 feet tall, made of brick and has a 3^rd order biconvex lens. This lens is one of 70 that are still in use today in the U.S.

The St. Simons Island Light is haunted by one of its former keepers, Frederick Osborne.

In March of 1880, Osborne was killed in a duel.

The reason for this duel is uncertain. One version states that Osborne made an inappropriate comment to his assistant light-keepers wife. This man, John Stephens then challenged him to fight.

In another version, it is stated that it was Stephens who made unwanted advances to Osborne’s wife.

Regardless, the two men stood 98 feet apart--Osborne held a pistol and Stephens held a shotgun loaded with buckshot. Stephen hit his mark. Osborne was fatally wounded.

Stephen was later acquitted of any charges, but this did not end it for him.

When Stephens took over as light-keeper, he often reported hearing the sounds of footsteps ascending and descending the steps that lead to the top of the lighthouse.

Till his death, he firmly believed this was Osborne’s ghost.

In later years, another lighthouse keeper by the name of Svendsen claimed that Osborne’s ghost constantly harassed his dog, Jinx.

Multi-witnesses have claimed to hear footsteps on the tower’s staircase.

The U.S. Coast Guard took over the running of the lighthouse in 1939. Guardsmen at this time reported hearing the sound of footsteps while they did routine maintenance on the light.

Many believe Osborne still lingers because he wants to make sure the light is cared for.

In the early 1970s, the Coastal Georgia Historical Society spent three years restoring the 2-story Victorian light-keepers cottage--in 1984 this building became a museum. Tourists for a small fee can now climb the 129 steps to the top of the lighthouse.

Lighthouse today

The view of St. Simons Sound and the surrounding area is breathtaking.

In 2010, the lighthouse tower was fully restored--great pains were taken to protect the rare biconvex lens.

In 2013, a paranormal group called LDL captured activity on a video they took of the lighthouse. They use a P- SB7 Spirit Box to communicate with the ghosts. Information about this box is in another post here.

Photograph by
Lawrence G. Miller

On this box, they captured what they feel is Frederick Osborne’s voice. They also obtained evidence of another ghost that haunts the lighthouse.

This ghost is Lisa Register. She is believed to have committed suicide by jumping off the top of the lighthouse in 1999.

Here is a link to this video on YouTube.

In Part l, I share another ghost story connected to St. Simons Island entitled, Light in the Graveyard.

The Ghosts of Point Lookout Part l

“Death opens unknown doors.”

                                --John Masefield

Point Lookout has made more than one witness a believer in the paranormal. 

Today, Point Lookout is a Maryland State Park. It is located on a gloomy isolated peninsula that looks out on the Chesapeake Bay to the east and the Potomac River to the west. 

This patch of ground has seen over 350 years of human suffering. It is here that people were massacred, imprisoned, shot, tortured, and starved to death. Add to these tragedies shipwrecks, fire, famine, disease, and war, and it is no wonder this peninsula is considered very haunted.

For thousands of years, the native Yaocominco Indians lived in this area. The first Europeans colonized the area in 1612. In 1648, the local natives massacred many of these early settlers. 

This settlement, established in 1630, was called St. Mary City and became Maryland’s capital. Catholics seeking religion freedom initially populated this area. However, later Protestants moving in turned against the Catholics--eventually banning the Catholic mass. The original families were then driven out of the area, and the capital was moved to Annapolis.

So many shipwrecks occurred that in 1827 Congress ordered a small beacon light built on the peninsula’s point. Seamen also drowned off the Point, its beaches becoming makeshift graves. 

This lighthouse’s history and hauntings will be discussed in Part ll of this post. 

The early history of Washington D.C.’s is tied to Point Lookout. In the early 19^th century the point became a popular tourist destination. Hundreds visited and stayed in its beach cottages in the summertime. 

For the Washington elite who came to escape the heat, they stayed in an elegant resort hotel called the Fenwick Inn. This inn tragically caught fire and burned down in 1878.

During the War of 1812 is when Point Lookout earned its name. The peninsula was used to spot British Ships.

During the Civil War, Point Lookout experienced the most human suffering. At this time there was a Union hospital located on the Point called Hammond. Today its buildings shaped like a spoke of a wheel are long gone. 

For every one soldier that died here because of war wounds, another two or more died of diseases, such as, dysentery, smallpox, typhoid fever, and Malaria. It is stated the casualty toll rose from 200,000 to 600,000 because of these illnesses. This hospital closed in 1864. 

Before the war, this the peninsula was used as a refuge for runaway slaves.

Point Lookout also housed the largest Confederate prisoner of war camp. Camp Hoffman was built initially for 10,000 prisoners but it is said 50,000 plus soldiers were actually kept here. 

They were placed in open air tattered tents--left to mosquito infestations in the summer and the freezing cold of winter. An imaginary line or trench surrounded this 24 acre camp with the orders that if any prisoners crossed this line, they were to be shot. Many were shot. But the camp’s isolation made escape virtually impossible.

The Confederate prisoners at this camp called it “ Lee’s Miserables.”  They were packed in like sardines. Starvation and disease ran rampant through the area. So many prisoners died--an estimated 4,000-- they were initially all buried in a mass grave. 

Later these bodies were disturbed when they were placed in the “Confederate Cemetery” on the peninsula. 

Today, many witnesses as they drive past this cemetery are startled to see a still, silent Confederate soldier sitting in the backseat of their cars.

A smallpox outbreak on the Point forced the Federalists to establish a separate area for infectious disease. It is in this area that another frequent ghost sighting occurs. 

A man is seen wearing Civil War era clothing moving across the road at dusk away from where the smallpox unit was located. This gaunt ghost is seen moving very quickly--almost leaping.

Witnesses state he reeks of a distinct odor of mildew and gunpowder. His clothes are homespun and ragged. 

Most feel he is a Confederate prisoner who feigned illness, hoping to escape. But his plan appears not to have succeeded for he is repeatedly seen crossing this road. He is not aware of the people who see him, so this haunting is probably residual in nature.

Photo: Dolores Monet

Yet another ghost that has been seen many times is that of an elderly woman. This woman is known to have conversations with the living. She is always seen looking for something. 

In 1977, Donnie Hammett a ranger on the island reported an encounter with this female ghost. It was early spring, and there were not many people visiting the island yet. Hammett was working on the Potomac River side of the peninsula.

He spotted an elderly woman looking for something near the beach. Hammett approached her and asked if she needed help. Immediately he noticed his presence seemed to annoy her. 

She told him gruffly that she was looking for a gravestone. He said to her that the nearby Taylor Cemetery had all but disappeared--swallowed up by nature. She shrugged her shoulders and walked on. 

When Hammett left shortly after this, he was surprised to see that his car was the only one in the parking lot. Later, he discovered that many others had seen this female ghost. She is spotted always looking for her own grave. 

Hammett has also seen the residual leaping ghost mentioned above.

EVP’s picked recorded the peninsula include-- the sounds of an Indian massacre, shipwrecked seaman shouting and the sounds of captive soldiers. 

Campers, including rangers on the peninsula, have seen a variety of ghosts in the woods at night. One witness, a Civil War re-enactor, bent down to pick up something when he heard glass shatter and a bullet whiz by his head. When he inspected the area, the windowpane was intact, and there was no sign of a bullet.

In my next post entitled, The Ghosts of Point Lookout Part ll I share information about the haunted lighthouse on this peninsula. It, by far, is the most haunted spot on the Point.

Haunted Lighthouse: Sequin Island

On a cold and windy rock-island sits one of American’s most haunted lighthouses. 

This is a hard sell because most lighthouses are considered haunted even if they are not. But Sequin Island in Maine has a tragic history, which lends itself to hauntings.

The lighthouse on the island today is over 180 feet in height. It is actually the third reincarnation of the original that was built in 1797. 

Sequin Island

Sequin Island is a very inhospitable place to live. It is considered the foggiest stretch of coastline in all of Maine. The wind chills the bone, and the winter months are endless.

The human history on the island is just as cold as its Nor'easters. This lighthouse is one of American’s oldest so it has witnessed many years of human suffering. 

One tragic event that is associated with the island took place in the mid-19^th Century. This story is one of isolation and madness.

A lighthouse keeper’s wife complained to her husband about the endless boredom she felt living on the island. He in kind had a piano delivered to the island to surprise her just before winter overtook them. 

His wife’s delight at his gift although quickly faded for she needed sheet music to play the piano and only one song had been sent. Unfortunately, it was too late in the season to have more songs delivered.

To her husband’s chagrin, his wife took to playing this one song over and over again to the point he despaired that spring would never arrive. 

Once it did he, sent for more sheet music for his wife. But unbeknownst to him, she had descended into a form of madness. For when the new sheet music arrived, she continued to only play the original song.

Sequin Island ax murder.

Tragically, the husband also spiraled into insanity and took an ax and smashed the piano and then killed his wife nearly decapitating her. 

Ever since people on the island have heard the notes of a piano tune--similar to a Scott Joplin rag-- playing. Today there is no piano on the island and when this is discovered visitors always ask if it might be a radio playing, but the answer is still no. 

This song is also faintly heard by people who pass by the island’s rocky cliffs in boats—especially on calm nights.

Yet another tragic event happened on Sequin Island when one keeper’s ten-year-old daughter died. She was buried near the house. 

Her apparition has been seen ever since running and playing in the lighthouse. Visitors and coastguardsmen have seen her running up the stairs and waving down at them. Her laughter is heard, and many have reported hearing her bounce a ball.

One former keeper who haunts the lighthouse has been dubbed “Old Captain." As the story goes, he died on the island alone, penniless and without a boat. 

Many keepers who came after him claimed to see his apparition. He is most often observed climbing the stairs of the tower as if heading to tend the light.

Another compelling Sequin Island tale happened in 1985. The Coast Guard was decommissioning the light, so all the furniture was being packed up. 

During the night after the job was complete, one Warrant Officer was awakened, he saw the apparition of a man wearing oilskins standing at the foot of his bed. The ghost then pleaded, “Don’t take the furniture. Please leave my home alone.” 

The next morning as the boat that held all the packed furniture was being lowered down the steep cliff off the island it broke loose and was smashed against the rocks below.

Sequin Island

Today the lighthouse on Sequin Island is a museum and is open to the public during the summer months. The island is accessible by boat from Bath, Popham Beach, or Boothbay Harbor.

Haunted Lighthouse: Southeast Light

Most lighthouses because of their isolation and raging seas were not easy places to live.

A lightkeeper’s life was fraught with danger and long periods of very tedious work. Many succumbed to madness because of the isolation and the harsh conditions. 

Families of lightkeepers did not escape this danger, many children drowned or died because doctors were too far away to fetch. 

It is no wonder most lighthouses have tales of being haunted.

In 1939 the U.S. Coast Guard took over the Lighthouse Service, at this point the old style civilian lightkeeper came to an end. 

Since then, the 604 light stations in the United States have all been automated. 

One such tale is told about a ghost who hates men. In Rhode Island, on Block Island, a lighthouse named Southeast Light sits at the edge of Mohegan Bluff. 

In the early 1900s, a keeper, angry with his nagging wife, pushed her down the stairs to her death. Although he claimed it was suicide, he was convicted of murder and imprisoned. His wife’s spirit, however, stayed behind.

She has harassed men ever since. But she leaves women and children alone. In fact, many children over the years have heard her, mostly in the kitchen, banging pots and pans. 

Men are not as lucky. 

Several successors to her husband have felt her wrath. Male visitors over the years have also been her victims.

She is a very physical poltergeist, often lifting beds with men in them and shaking them violently. She has locked men into rooms and closets. 

Once she even chased a keeper out of bed and into the cold night. Wearing only his underwear, he found himself was locked out. Embarrassed he had to call the Coast Guard to reopen the lighthouse so he could get back in.

Southeast Lighthouse

In 1933 Southeast Light, threatened with erosion, was moved back from the edge of the bluff to preserve it. 

Unfortunately, the ghost, Mad Maggie—as she is known—moved with it. She was not pleased with this move. 

She has shown her anger in several ways. 

She rushes up and down the stairs in a rage. She rearranges the furniture. She has even thrown bits of food at anyone who dares to sit down and eat in her kitchen.