What Could be More Intriguing than a Haunted Lighthouse?
/When I think of haunted places, I’m usually thinking about old houses or graveyards and ruins. Then I found out there are haunted lighthouses, too! The very idea is both creepy and romantic, but where are Canada’s haunted lighthouses, and what are their stories?
The Creepy
The Gibraltar Point lighthouse in 1909. Photo from the City of Toronto Archives Fonds 1231, Item 1015b
Reports of unexplained lights from the now-closed Gibraltar Point Lighthouse are just some of the reasons the lighthouse is thought to be haunted. Stairs stained with what seems to be blood, and ghostly figures roaming the grounds are others.
Constructed in 1808 on the shores of Lake Ontario, the lighthouse is the oldest lighthouse left on the Great Lakes, and the second oldest in Canada, according to Heritage Toronto. It guided ships to Toronto’s harbour until being decommissioned in 1958. Its longevity alone should make it a remarkable landmark, but in 1815, something happened that has placed the lighthouse into the realms of the eerie.
As the story goes, the first lighthouse keeper, J.P. Radan Muller (the spelling varies depending on the source,) went missing under mysterious circumstances on January 2, 1815. He is believed to have been murdered by some soldiers stationed nearby due to an argument over his home-made beer. In one version, they pushed him from the top of the lighthouse during their altercation. Then they covered up the crime by dismembering him and burying the pieces in multiple graves.
J.R. Robertson detailed in 1908 in Landmarks of Toronto, that keeper George Durnan found remains he believed were Radan Muller’s, and that he reburied them. The new gravesite was unmarked, so the truth may never be known. The last keeper, DeeDee Dodds, said she never met any ghosts, but that the lighthouse could reflect oddly in the moonlight, and odd noises from wind and pigeons might make it seem haunted.
Ghosts or pigeons, the legend persists.
The Romantic
“Canada’s first lighthouse inn, this famous site and popular tourist destination is known to be haunted by its original keeper, William MacDonald, who is often seen roaming the halls of the inn. Ablaze phantom ships have also been seen at a distance off the coast. Legend has it that one is a pirate ship whose sailors are ill-fated to sail the seas forevermore.”
West Point Lighthouse in 1890, Photograph courtesy Library and Archives Canada
This is how Google’s Street View describes West Point Lighthouse on Prince Edward Island. It is on several “top 10” lists for the spookiest or most haunted places in Canada, including one from Google and another from Reader’s Digest.
Since 1984, Carol Livingston, the great-granddaughter of MacDonald, has run the lighthouse as an inn. Visitors to the inn, along with staff and even Livingston herself, have reported shenanigans with the lights at the lighthouse-inn. They turn on and off by themselves, even when no one is inside the building. Livingston and at least one guest have also reported seeing a man with a beard in the room that used to be the keeper’s quarters.
Unlike Gibraltar Point Lighthouse, there are no mysterious disappearances to account for the unusual activity at this lighthouse. Instead, Livingston believes that “Lighthouse Willie” and the only other keeper, Benjamin MacIsaac, are responsible. She thinks they come to check up on the place and, as lightkeepers, they play with the lights to make their presence known. Whether old keepers or other ghosts, the eerie visitors seem harmless, and the inn doesn’t lack for guests.
Maybe the old lighthouse-inn really is haunted, or perhaps it’s good PR. Either way, it seems West Point Lighthouse will remain on Canada’s spooky lists.
If you want to know more, I direct you to the following articles:
Sam M.
Sam M. has a love for all forms of speculative fiction across all media. Possessed of natural curiosity, Sam enjoys learning and new experiences. Each new piece of knowledge or endeavour adds to who she is and how she sees the world. She is a firm believer that some of the most amazing experiences and events could even be in your backyard (figuratively, if not literally).
