Haunted Lighthouse Open For Daily Tours
July 19th, 2007 | by Sue |
The South Bass Island Lighthouse, near Put-in-Bay, Ohio, long owned by Ohio State University and used primarily for research, is open for daily tours this summer. The lighthouse was acquired by OSU in 1967, and has been used as a dormitory for scientists and students studying at nearby Gibraltar Island. Stone Lab, housed on Gibraltar Island since 1925, is the nation’s oldest freshwater maritime laboratory. People visiting the island have often asked for tours, and this year, they’re being accomodated. Daily tour information, along with info about Gibraltar Island tour, is available here and here.
Allegedly, there is a ghost associated with the lighthouse. According to the University’s website, one keeper went insane after a lighthouse worker committed suicide at the light. Sam Anderson, the laborer in 1898, was so concerned about contracting smallpox from an outbreak, that he “drowned himself in drink” and finally hid himself in the basement of the lighthouse. On September 1, he reportedly walked out to the end of the pier, yelled, “God save them all!” and jumped into Lake Erie and drowned. His death was ruled a suicide. One year to the day later, Keeper Harry Riley was taken into custody by Sandusky Police as “an insane person” and died the following March in an institution.
Over the years there have been a few staff people who simply refused to stay out there,” said Kleberg, because of odd noises and other unexplained activity. He isn’t one of them. “I’ve stayed there and haven’t experienced any of that.”
The residence includes several period artifacts, including a writing desk believed to be original, as well as items from nearby Cooke Castle on Gibraltar Island. Jay Cooke, a Sandusky native whose daughter sold the island to Stone, built his 15-room summer retreat on Gibraltar in 1864.
A four-story limestone tower, part of the house, gives it the appearance of a castle.
For more information on the Lighthouse, visit Ohio State’s website.
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