Owl’s Head Lighthouse, Part ll

This old lighthouse stands on a rocky cliff overlooking Rockland Harbor in Maine.

Old postcard of Owl's Head Lighthouse

One view from Owl's Head

Visitors today follow a very rough road to reach the lighthouses’ parking lot. They then have to walk through pine trees, for a quarter of a mile. Along this hike, the visitor has an incredible view of the beautiful, peaceful scenery.

This calm atmosphere for some does not last. For once they reach this old lighthouse two ghosts are waiting to greet them.

These two spirits are said to be a former keeper’s wife, called the “Little Lady,” and the other is believed to be an old lighthouse keeper.

The ghostly wife is seen standing outside the lighthouse and in the kitchen where she is heard rattling silverware and slamming doors. In the kitchen, she is seen out of the corner of the eye or just as a shadowy figure.

The ramp leading up to
the lighthouse.

The former keeper often follows a pattern. When it rains or snows, his footprints are spotted in the mud or snow. They always lead up the ramp to the tower, where lightkeepers would then see the door open, despite it being locked.

These witnesses then watched this ghost walk up the steps in the tower. Later they would find the lens and brass at the top had been freshly polished.

This makes sense since a keeper’s whole life was spent making sure the light was maintained, for if this was not done, it could cause a disaster for passing ships.

From 1980 until 1989, Coast Guard keepers and their families lived at Owl’s Head. These families shared more specific details about the hauntings.

Andy Germann and his wife Denise lived at Owl’s Head in the early 1980s. This couple had a strange encounter late one night. Denise had retired for the evening when she felt Andy lay down in bed beside her.

She asked her husband a question, but when he didn’t answer, she turned over, only to find no one in bed with her. There was an “indentation of a body” next to her that was moving as if a person was shifting position.

Andy, the next morning told her just before she saw this strange sight he had been standing outside their bedroom. He saw a cloud of smoke hovering over the floor that passed right through him. It then headed into their bedroom.

Andy and Denise warned the next Coast Guard keeper, Gerald Graham and his wife, Debbie about this haunting.

Fog over Owl's Head

One night Graham’s two-year-old daughter, Claire announced, “Fog’s rolling in, time to put the foghorn on.” Andy found this strange because his young daughter didn’t use adult vocabulary.

Over the next two years, Claire’s parents discovered she was conversing with a man she stated had a beard and wore a seaman’s cap. Her parents never saw this man.

Malcolm Rouse was the last Coast Guard keeper before the light was automated in 1989. His wife insisted that she saw a person dressed in white standing at one of the windows.

Owl's Head with
light on.

The Rouse’s son mentioned when he woke up, he sometimes saw a strange woman sitting in a chair in his bedroom.

Owl’s Head Light State Park is open to visitors year-round. The tower and residence have been renovated, and the American Lighthouse Foundation uses it as an education center. There is also a gift shop and museum on site.

Since the light is still in use visitors are encouraged, while in the tower, not to touch the lens.

In Owl’s Head Lighthouse, Part l I share two of my favorite stories about this lighthouse.

Williamsburg’s George Wythe House

George Wythe House

Two ghosts are said to haunt this house located in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia.

Ann Skipwith and her husband Sir Peyton Skipwith were friends with George Wythe, who was one of America’s first law professors. Wythe was Thomas Jefferson’s mentor.

The Skipwiths, in the late 1700s, often enjoyed extended visits in Wythe’s home in Williamsburg.

When Ann died in 1779, she was laid to rest in Bruton Parish graveyard. Why she died remains a mystery. Two stories are told. The first states she died in her husband’s arms after a miscarriage.

The second story is more dramatic.

It states that Ann, while attending a ball, down the street from the Wythe House, at the Governor’s Palace, got into an argument with her husband. She accused him of having an affair with her sister.

After they argued, it is said she ran home through the snow--losing one of her slippers along the way. Shortly afterward, she committed suicide in her room at the Wythe House.

After Ann’s death, her husband married her sister. It is said that her ghost lingers at the Wythe House out of jealousy.

One account of her presence states witnesses have heard her running up the stairs. They report hearing one sharp heel hit the step then the more muted sound of a barefoot.

Face peering out of George Wythe House

Several reports state people have seen her ghost wearing the ball gown she wore on the night of her death.

The room she stayed in is also active. The closet door swings open on its own, and the aroma of a lavender perfume is noted.

One witness describes her encounter in this bedroom. She Ann’s ghost exit the closet, wearing a cream-colored satin dress and one red shoe.

She walked to the mirror, where she gazed blankly at herself. She then just vanished.

Yet, another ghost said to haunt this house is the owner, George Wythe.

George Wythe

In 1806, when George was 80 years old, his grandnephew and his only heir, George Sweeney, poisoned him.

Sweeney was deep in gambling debts and facing financial ruin at the time. He thought killing his elderly great-uncle would solve his problem.

What he didn’t count on was Wythe’s loyal former slave, Lydia Broadnax. She saw Sweeney poison Wythe’s cereal. She then arranged for Wythe to change his will just before he died.

Sweeney was charged with Wythe’s murder but the only witness, Lydia being a former slave could not testify against him.

Many believe, George Wythe’s ghost returns to his home on the anniversary of his death- June 8^th. Guests who have slept in his old bedroom on this date, report feeling a firm, cold hand press down on their foreheads.

Central Park’s Skating Sisters

In the 19^th century two sisters, Janet and Rosetta Van Der Voort lived with their overprotective wealthy father in New York City.

Their father rarely let his daughters leave their home unaccompanied. The one exception to this was when they went ice-skating during the winter months at the 59^th Street Pond located in the southeastern section of Central Park.

This “one freedom” was allowed only because it was near their Central Park South home.

The sisters being kept much of the time in isolation became very close to each other. As young ladies they spurned all their potential suitors.

They died within months of each other, both spinsters, in 1880.

After the sisters’ deaths, during the First World War, witnesses started to report a strange sight near the 59^th Street Pond. *

During both the summer and winter months people stated they saw the Van Der Voort sisters skating side by side at this pond.

Both are seen wearing old-fashioned dresses, one red and one purple, both with bustles.

Most odd is the fact their feet do not touch the ground. Their silver skates are seen gliding above the ice doing a series of endless figure eights.

Legend states these sisters appear most often when there are “overprotective” parents visiting the pond.

An Unusual Date

One witness that reported this unusual sight was a young man who took his date to this pond to skate.

He spotted the sisters laughing and skating. They obviously were enjoying themselves.

He wondered at their strange dress. He looked to see if there were any “movie cameras” around--there weren’t any.

He noticed the two women’s feet didn’t touch the ice and that he could see the figures of the other skaters through one sister’s body.

He gasped when he realized they were ghosts.

He saw them skating right toward him and his date. He felt they would surely collide but instead the two figures skated right through them.

He and his girlfriend fell down on the ice. He then felt something ice-cold moving through his body.

He looked over at where the sisters were standing watching, they were laughing at him and his date.

The two then just disappeared.

This couple saw the sisters in the late afternoon but more often than not they are seen after sundown.

*  In another version of this legend the sisters are seen skating in another section of Central Park.

Spooky New York, Retold by S.E. Scholosser