The Whitefish Point Lighthouse Haunting
Astonishing Legends are no stranger to the strange happenings that occur in lighthouses. Perhaps one of the most difficult and isolating jobs, it is no surprise that many lighthouses around the world. It shouldn’t come as any surprise that Michigan, which has more lighthouses than any other state, has many stories of its own. One of those is the Whitefish Point Lighthouse.
The Whitefish Point Lighthouse is located among the infamous shipwreck coast of Lake Superior and, today serves as home to the Great Lakes Shipwreck museum! However, it isn’t just history that fills these walls...there might be something else here lurking in the dark.
Over the years, there have been numerous accounts of poltergeist-like activity. Some of the most common activity seems to be muffled voices of people who aren’t there, footsteps and locked doors swinging open.
The lighthouse was the first ever built for Lake Superior and the replacement, which was commissioned by Abraham Lincoln in 1861, still stands there today. And, according to a psychic that visited in the 2000s, there may be up to 50 lost spirits that haunt the lighthouse and its grounds.
So, it’s no surprise that in 2007, the Upper Peninsula Paranormal Research Society visited the Whitefish Point Lighthouse to see if these claims really did amount to something. At the start of an investigation, the team explores any potential causes for so-called paranormal activity - from strange-sounding AC units to creaky doors, everything that can be explained, is.
However, the team did notice some strange irregularities at Whitefish Point - a videographer was frightened when he heard the low, steady voice of a woman. The audio lasted roughly 10 seconds and, although no woman was there, there is certainly another voice in the room when there shouldn’t be.
All of the team members, unsurprisingly, felt intense apprehension and unease when investigating the keeper’s quarters. This doesn’t surprise, as, I imagine, there would be a lot of strong emotions in this space. Imagine witnessing countless shipwrecks and being unable to save those lost in the churning waters.
They concluded their experiment noting, “There certainly is unexplained activity at Whitefish Point. We would love to take another crack at solving the mystery.”
In addition to strange occurrences and feelings within the home, it is said there is activity on the water, too. People have claimed to see phantom ships moving around the water or, in some rare cases during storms, even these ghost ships wrecking.
Frederick Stonehouse, a university professor and author of over 30 books including Haunted Lakes Great Lakes Maritime Ghost Stories, says that “every lighthouse is haunted -- perhaps due to a combination of the repetition of a keeper's duties and layers of the tragedy that occurred near them.”
Thank you Martha R.M. for your blogstonishing suggestion!
The image is in the public domain and depicts The Whitefish Point Lighthouse, on Lake Superior in Michigan, United States is listed on the US National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).