Haunted Lighthouses in Southern Maine
New England has tales of ghosts and folklore. Many of these controversial stories have been passed down over the years. They have become part of the folklore surrounding this rugged coastline. Many lighthouses in Maine were built in isolated areas, which sometimes proved too much for the keepers or their wives, like the female ghost of Boon Island Light, or for those who were shipwrecked nearby, like those of the ghost ship Isadore near Cape Neddick (Nubble) Light.
Some of these souls were killed in tragic accidents, as what happened at Cape Elizabeth Light and Wood Island Light, or perished in New England’s ferocious storms, as the "Lady in White" near Cape Elizabeth Light. Some keepers were so dedicated to their lighthouse stations that their ghosts have been documented as returning to ensure the lighthouse is well maintained as has been reported at Goat Island (Cape Porpoise) Light and Portland Head Light.
The Wreck of the Isadore
Cape Neddick (Nubble) Light, York, Maine
Cape Neddick Lighthouse, commonly referred to as "Nubble Light," is located in York, Maine, near the New Hampshire border. It stands on a small rocky island, known as a "nubble," situated just a few hundred feet from the shore.
On Thanksgiving night in 1842, the call went out for all crew members to prepare for sail. Thomas King stayed behind, deserting his post on the ship, and hid in town, fearing the captain's wrath and the fate of the ship. The Isadore set sail from Kennebunkport with a load of lumber, bound for New Orleans. As it left port, the wind picked up from the northeast, and snow began to fall. By the time the crew rounded Boon Island Lighthouse, about seven miles from Kennebunkport, the storm had intensified to gale-force winds. The sea was producing over twenty-foot swells in blinding snow, tossing the ship closer to Bald Head Cliffs near Cape Neddick Island, where it crashed on the rocks and sank.
The wreckage of the ship was discovered the next morning all around Cape Neddick Island, which was a few hundred feet from the main shoreline and six miles from Boon Island. The bodies of seven crewmen out of 14 aboard were the only ones found washed ashore. The body of Captain Ross was never found.
The Isadore continues to be a phantom ship patrolling the bays near Cape Neddick (Nubble) Light. Since the day it sank in 1842, many mariners claim to have seen the ship, and hotel guests staying at shoreline inns in York have reported glimpsing a faint phantom vessel, even though most are unaware of the tragic story of the Isadore.
Click this link Ghost Ship Isadore for more intricate details, to be directed to my Lighthouse Stories blog section.
Grieving Keeper's Wife Looses Sanity
and Souls of the Nottingham Galley Wreck
Boon Island Light, York, Maine
Boon Island Light sits atop a small, desolate rock island, measuring 400 square yards and rising only 14 feet above sea level at its highest point.
Nottingham Galley Wreck of Souls
Before a lighthouse was built on rocky Boon island, on December 11, 1710, the Nottingham Galley, coming from England to Boston, was caught up in a winter nor’easter and dashed about through sleet, snow, and heavy seas. The vessel crashed and sank near the island but all 14 crew members survived. They had little or no food and were unable to light any fires for heat.
Over two weeks had gone by as stormy weather continued. A few men died from starvation or from exposure to the harsh winter elements. The crew, who were driven to madness by starvation, came to the captain with a plea to eat the flesh of one of their comrades to survive. After much moral deliberation, Captain Dean performed the horrific act of slicing up the remains of the corpse to hopefully keep everyone alive.
On the fourth week, with the string of storms beginning to subside, the survivors, looking like ghoulish skeletons closer to death than alive at this point, were rescued on January 4, 1710. When the ten survivors arrived on shore that evening, most were near death from starvation and had severe frostbite from exposure. For many years afterward, island visitors and caretakers have reported hearing the sounds of moaning and cries for help, believed to be the guilty souls of the tortured men who survived this horrific ordeal.
Click this link Nottingham Galley Shipwreck for many more historic details and gruesome accounts in my Lighthouse Stories blog section.
Wife Goes Insane After Keeper's Death
In the mid-1800s, First Assistant Lucas Bright arrived at Boon Island Lighthouse with his new bride, Katherine. Four months after they settled on the desolate rock, gale-force winds from a severe December nor’easter swept across the tiny island, hurling massive waves over its rocky surface.
Lucus Bright decided to check the tower and ensure the lantern was lit for any mariners caught in the storm. He tied a rope around his waist and started to make his way toward the tower but a rogue wave crashed upon him, causing him to slip off the rocks into the freezing waters and drowned.
Katherine had watched the incident in horror but managed to pull his body back up on the rocks. She carefully brought him to the foot of the tower stairs. For five days and nights during this seemingly endless tempest, Katherine, consumed by grief, took on all the responsibilities of the lighthouse. She ate the little food that remained and slept very little. She climbed the 168 stairs of Maine’s tallest lighthouse each day, braving freezing temperatures to light the lamp. On the sixth day, as the storms finally began to subside, she fell next to her husband, exhausted and freezing, as the light went out.
When fishermen went out to see why the light had extinguished, they found Katherine, sitting on the bottom of the stairs holding the frozen corpse of her husband. They brought both husband and wife to shore, but by that time, Katherine had completely lost her mind. She died a short time later after being rescued.
Over the years, many mariners and keepers have reported seeing a ghostly figure of a young, sad-faced woman shrouded in white on the rocks at dusk. Sometimes keepers and Coast Guardsmen would bring their dog to Boon Island, and the animal would be chasing something unseen around the rocks, barking nonstop as if to issue a warning.
Click this link Ghost of Keeper's Wife for more intricate details, to be directed to my Lighthouse Stories blog section.
Keeper's Ghost Stays With His Friend
Goat Island (Cape Porpoise) Light, York, Maine
Scott Dombrowski and Dick Curtis were friends since childhood, joined the Coast Guard, and moved to the Cape Porpoise area near Goat Island Light for their station.
On Memorial Day in 2002, Curtis took a boat ride with his dog and three other dogs he was caring for. He reportedly encountered some rough waves, fell overboard, and drowned. Two of the dogs were never found.
Dombrowski, who took over as caretaker after Curtis, has noticed that items have gone missing only to reappear on the kitchen table. The foghorn would sound off, even in broad daylight, which Dombrowski believed was a way for Curtis' ghost to communicate with him. It finally stopped after the Coast Guard replaced the entire unit.
One cold day, Dombrowski sat in front of an old electric heater that hadn’t worked for years and asked Curtis’ spirit for some warmth. Suddenly, the heater turned on. During a lighthouse tour of the island, Dombrowski overheard a woman telling her companion that the area was haunted. She later pulled the caretaker aside to inform him that Curtis was all right and would remain at the beacon, adding that “one of the missing dogs had made it.”
Ghosts From Murder-Suicide at Wood Island
Wood Island Light, Biddeford, Maine
Wood Island Lighthouse is located east of the mouth of the Saco River a couple miles from the mainland. One of the most famous legends surrounding Maine's lighthouses involves a true murder-suicide at Wood Island Lighthouse. This tragic event arose from a confrontation between Frederick Milliken, a part-time local sheriff and lobster fisherman, and a drunken lobsterman named Howard Hobbs. Two drifters and part-time fishermen, Howard Hobbs and William Moses, persuaded Milliken to rent his shack nearby for them to stay for a brief period. Both men had quite a drinking problem and, over the next few months, had not paid their rent to Milliken.
One summer day in June 1896, both Hobbs and Moses were very intoxicated when Milliken approached them asked them to pay their overdue rent. An argument followed, and in a tragic turn of events, Hobbs accidentally shot Milliken in the stomach with a gun he had brought. In a state of shock, Hobbs staggered over to the keeper’s house to talk with Keeper Orcutt, still holding the shotgun. The keeper, fearing for his own life, refused to let Hobbs inside and instructed him to surrender to the authorities. Still in an intoxicated state and realizing what he had done, Hobbs returned to the shack and took his own life.
Since that incident, many strange occurrences have been reported at Wood Island over the years. Many believe that the ghosts of Hobbs and Milliken haunt the Wood Island Lighthouse. Moans can still be heard coming from the chicken coop shack, and locked doors have mysteriously opened at the lighthouse. Dark shadows have been seen near the lighthouse walkway and at the top of the tower, and unusual voices have also been reported. Many paranormal investigators have visited the island and have found spirits as well.
Click this link Hauntings of Wood Island for more intricate details, to be directed to my Lighthouse Stories blog section.
Keeper Stays, Shipwreck Victims,
and Lady in White Nearby
Cape Elizabeth (East) Light, Cape Elizabeth, Maine
Built in 1829, The Cape Elizabeth Twin Lights were range lights with two towers, also known as “Two Lights.” The west tower was dismantled in 1924, and only the east tower is active, now called the Cape Elizabeth Light.
Keeper Remains on Duty
In January 1934, sixty-five-year-old keeper Joseph H. Upton, who had tended the lighthouse since 1926, went to adjust a fluctuating auxiliary light after the main light unexpectedly failed at the tower of Cape Elizabeth Light during an evening winter storm. Hours later, his wife Mabel awoke and realizing he was not in the keeper's home, telephoned the tower but received no response. She went to the tower and found him at the bottom of the stairs, unconscious. He had slipped and fallen down the stairs from the top of the tower and fractured his skull in multiple places. A doctor was called but his injuries were too severe and he died before dawn the next day.
There have been reports of sightings of the ghost of an older man in a lighthouse uniform of the period, seen near that tower or the driveway, believed to be Upton’s spirit.
The Ghost Bride or Lady in White
In 1807, Lydia Carver, age 23 and the daughter of a Portland businessman, was engaged to a local man. She traveled to Boston with members of her wedding party in search of her perfect wedding dress, and after spending time exploring shops, she finally found the ideal dress that matched her style. On July 12, Carver boarded the schooner Charles in Boston Harbor, along with 21 other passengers which included her friends, sailing back to Portland.
That evening a gale storm approached the region causing huge swells. Just before midnight, the ship entered a thick fog near Cape Elizabeth Light and crashed on a rocky ledge a short distance from shore. After a few hours of being bashed by waves the ship began to break apart spilling everyone into the stormy waters.
Only six people survived out of 21, but Lydia Carver was not among them. Her body was discovered that morning when the storm subsided on Crescent Beach, lying next to her trunk containing the unique wedding dress she had purchased. Carver’s body was buried in a graveyard behind the Inn by the Sea near the beach where she was found. Carver’s ghost, always dressed in white, seems to linger around the inn and walk along the nearby beach.
The Inn by the Sea is behind Crescent Beach, and her ghost is often seen dressed in white, seemingly enjoying the company at the inn. Visitors have reported smoke detectors going off in vacant rooms, only to go silent minutes later. Her orb has been seen drifting through walls from one room to another. Her gravestone in back of the hotel is spotless and in great shape compared to others around her. Lydia's spirit continues to walk the beach and visit the Inn by the Sea.
Cries of the Victims of the Bohemian Shipwreck
One of the worst shipwrecks to occur off the Cape Elizabeth shore involved the sinking of the steamship Bohemian, which was bound from Liverpool to Portland with many immigrant passengers in 1864. The ship carried about 219 passengers, including 200 Irish immigrants and nineteen cabin-class passengers. Fog rolled in, and the captain miscalculated his directions, causing the ship to crash onto a nearby ledge and sink near Cape Elizabeth Twin Lights, resulting in the loss of 40 immigrant passengers and two crew members. Reports from visitors and locals describe hearing ghostly cries for help along the shore and over the waters late at night, believed to be from the perished passengers of the Bohemian.
Click this link Wreck of the Bohemian for more intricate details about the events of the sinking and rescue of passengers of the Bohemian, in my Lighthouse Stories blog section.
Keepers of Portland Head Light and
Fort Williams Soldiers
Portland Head Light, Cape Elizabeth, Maine
One of the country's most famous and picturesque lighthouses, Portland Head Light, is the oldest in Maine, commissioned for construction by George Washington in 1791. Portland was one of the busiest shipping ports, as the beacon marked the entrance to Portland Harbor, facing Casco Bay. The lighthouse is located within the 90-acre Fort Williams State Park. Fort Williams was constructed before the Spanish-American War in 1891 but was never utilized. Occasionally, there have been sightings of ghostly soldiers in World War I uniforms late at night.
Portland Head Lighthouse has a couple of spirits who were once long-time keepers of the light. Barzillai Delano was a blacksmith by trade and became one of the early keepers from 1796 to 1820. Joshua Strout, a keeper who serviced the lighthouse from 1869 to 1904, was one of the four generations of Strout family members. Over the years since their deaths, there have been many reports of footsteps believed to be one or both keepers climbing the tower stairs to check on the light. Both men were always very dedicated to their work during life.
For many years, former keepers, staff members, and visitors to the lighthouse and keeper's quarters have reported hearing unexplained footsteps, seeing shadowy figures, and experiencing sudden cold spots late in the evening.
Books to Explore
New Book!  Available in paperback. |
New England's Haunted Lighthouses: Discover the historical mysteries surrounding the haunted lighthouses of New England! Uncover ghostly tales of lingering keepers, victims of misfortune or from local shipwrecks, lost souls, ghost ships, and more. You'll find lots of additional details on the stories mentioned above along with tales from all the haunted lighthouses in Maine. Immerse yourself in the tales associated with these iconic beacons! |
Lighthouses and Coastal Attractions of Southern New England: Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts This book provides special human interest stories from each of the 92 lighthouses, along with plenty of indoor and outdoor coastal attractions you can explore, including parks, museums, boat cruises and tours. You'll also find over 360 images to enjoy as well. Look inside! |
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Lighthouses and Coastal Attractions of Northern New England: This book provides human interest stories from each of the 76 lighthouses in northern New England, along with plenty of coastal attractions and tours near each beacon, and contact info to plan your special trips. Look inside! |
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This book is available in paperback, hardcover, and as an eBook for all devices.
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The Rise and Demise of the Largest Sailing Ships: In the early 1900s, New England shipbuilders constructed the world’s largest sailing ships amid social and political reforms. These giants of sail were built to carry massive quantities of coal and building supplies and measured longer than a football field! These true stories include competitions, accidents, battling destructive storms, acts of heroism, and their final voyages. |
