Spectral Keepers of the Lights

Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse - Haunted Or Not?

On November 10, I was fortunate to be asked to go along on a ghost hunting trip (paranormal investigation) to Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse by Jeremy D’Entremont. Of course, I jumped at the chance. Several groups were taking part, including the Granite State Paranormal Society and a group from New York City that has a cable television show, Scared.

We met at a restaurant for dinner, then headed on to the lighthouse for an evening searching out evidence of haunting. Portsmouth Harbor, in the middle of Fort Constitution Park, is allegedly haunted by several spirits from the past. It is currently a Coast Guard station, and the Coast Guardsmen stationed there have reported strange happenings. Most notably, the dark oily footprints that appeared one night on the asphalt parking lot, and couldn’t be removed. One was a set of man sized boots and the other were more child sized. Scrubbing away the prints proved to be impossible, and after a few days they disappeared on their own.

Other, strange figures have been seen in the old fort, most notably around 2:00 a.m. in the old powder magazine building. In the 1800s, the fort was the site of an explosion during Fourth of July festivities, with several fatalities. D’Entremont, who is the president of the Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse, has also had contact with spirits. Or rather his wife, who refuses to go back after having heard voices from the tower when no one was around.

Coast Guard personnel report hearing footsteps when no one is around, often in the watchtower late at night. An earlier investigation by the group had picked up some EVPs, most notably of the single word Captain, and a recently deceased lighthouse keeper’s wife had communicated her greetings and a thank you to D’Entremont via a psychic medium.

In the Tower

Of course, one of the places we’d be checking out first was the tower, where EMF activity had been picked up previously. One of the members of GSP had a new gadget, that would show electrical activity as a communication tool. If you asked the spirit a question, in theory he or she should be able to generate the electricity required to answer yes or no (one flash for yes, two flashes for no) on the meter. The meter was a hand held gadget with a series of lights across the top. The first group that had gone into the tower came back excitedly, saying they’d picked up activity, with answers being generated strongly.

Come back for the next post on what happened when we went back to the tower with them.

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The Ghost of Seguin Island

For Halloween, the tale of the piano playing ghost at Seguin Island is a perfect way to get into the spirit of the season. This tale was also featured in the Maine Sunday Telegram on October 28, so for those that haven’t seen it, let me share the story, along with an unsolicited letter I received in email not too long ago. Let me mention here that the person describing this haunting tale, A Memory on the Wind, is very reputable. Her evocative ‘portrait of that sunny day on Seguin Island says more for the presence of the lingering spirit of the wife than anything I’ve read. With this unsolicited story, from a person that had no knowledge of any ghost story, Seguin Island, lone sentinel of an island in the Atlantic off the coast of Maine is truly one of our most haunted lighthouses.

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Ghosts of the Granite State and More

Foster’s Daily Democrat has a story about ghost tales in the Granite state (New Hampshire). Several sites are mentioned, but of course the ones Spectral Keepers of the Lights is interested in are the tales about Wood Island and Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouses. From the story:

According to Ron Kolek, of the New England Ghost Project, based in Dracut, Mass., the Wood Island and Portsmouth Harbor lighthouses are haunted.

When he and other investigators spent the night at Wood Island Lighthouse, one investigator saw what appeared to be a woman materialize in the basement. Pictures taken revealed anomalies Kolek called evidence of paranormal activity.

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Uneasy Souls at Tillamook Lighthouse

The New York Times had a story recently highlighting the problems of Eternity by the Sea Columbarium, which owns Tillamook Lighthouse, also known as Terrible Tillie. Decommissioned in 1957 it was eventually sold to the company, who turned it into a final resting place for the cremains of people, advertising it as a final resting place for honorary lightkeepers. After 25 years of operating it, their license has been pulled by the state of Oregon.

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