How about a road trip to Florida...specifically Pensacola, Florida...located in the western most edge of the Florida panhandle. The city was first settled in 1559, resettled in 1667, and officially incorporated in 1821. Pensacola, Florida, sits on the Gulf of Mexico.
What could be needed for a city sitting on the edge of the Gulf? A lighthouse, course.
The Pensacola lighthouse was originally built in 1826, later rebuilt in 1859 to increase its visibility.
The first keepers of the lighthouse were Jeremiah Ingraham and his wife, Michaela Penalber. Sounds like they did well for a while at the lighthouse, living together happily, performing the daily duties of the lighthouse. It is said that Michaela and Jeremiah started having marital problems. Some stories say that Michaela took a knife and stabbed Jeremiah in the back, killing him. Other stories say that Jeremiah fell down the steps...or was he pushed? Another report states Jeremiah died after a long illness...was he poisoned? Either way, the rumor is Michaela killed her husband in order to run the lighthouse by herself. Frankly, that doesn't make much sense to me. If it was a stabbing, why wasn't she arrested and a court able to convict her? How was she allowed to stay on as the lighthouse keeper? Was he poisoned? Was that the long illness? Was anything investigated? So many questions... Now, if it was a fall down the stairs, I can see how it would be difficult to prove whether or not Jeremiah was pushed...especially if there were no witnesses. Overall, Jeremiah died and Michaela was the keeper of the lighthouse until her death in 1855. Both Jeremiah and Michaela died before the lighthouse was rebuilt in 1859.
The last keeper of the original lighthouse was Joseph F. Palmer. He was married to the Ingraham's daughter, Josephine. The family, consisting of Joseph, Josephine, and four children (Albert, Jeremiah, Chase, and Clara) moved into the second lighthouse after the first lighthouse was closed. The second (present day) lighthouse went into full operation in 1858.
The lighthouse ended up being involved in the Civil War battles. The Union Army moved from Fort Barrancas (east of the lighthouse) to Fort Pickens, which is across the bay on the south side. The Union Army bombed the lighthouse frequently while in control of Fort Pickens. The lighthouse tower was struck around six times.
The Confederates abandoned the lighthouse and the Union moved in. The Union had complete control of the Bay area east side of the Gulf of Mexico inlet. During this time, Samuel Glass was the lighthouse keeper. He was born in England and his wife, Ann, was born in Alabama. Samuel was only the lighthouse keeper for a short time, perhaps a few months or so.
Over time, there were four women who were assistant lighthouse keepers. The first was Ellen McCormick in 1864. She was the wife of Robert McCormick, lighthouse keeper at that time.
In 1867-1869, Robert H. Watts was a the lighthouse keeper and his daughter, Martha V. Watts, was the assistant lighthouse keeper.
From 1869-1870, Thomas C. Madden was the lighthouse keeper and his wife, Mary J. Madden, was the assistant lighthouse keeper. The 1870 census lists her with children as assistant lighthouse keeper, but Thomas is not listed as living there. Interesting...
From 1880-1885, the lighthouse was ran by the next keeper, Samuel C. Lawrence and his wife, Martha C. Lawrence was the assistant lighthouse keeper.
In 1874 and 1875, the lighthouse was struck by lightening. In 1886 an earthquake shook the tower. Of course, many hurricanes have come through, but since the Pensacola Lighthouse is on a pretty high hill facing the bay, that may have saved it many times from being toppled over by hurricane force waves coming in from the Gulf.
The Pensacola Lighthouse is currently in the care of the United States Coast Guard.
Now...how haunted is the Pensacola Lighthouse? Well, the Travel Channel has rated it as being one of the Ten Most Haunted Lighthouses. So...that's go to say something, right?
One of the most famous ghosts is reported to be Michaela, the wife who supposedly killed her husband and took over the lighthouse until her death. Reports state that objects have been flung at visitors touring the keeper's quarters, perhaps suggesting that Michaela's ghost is hostile and wants to be alone. People have heard a woman calling their name. Ummmm...no thanks! People have stated that they felt like a presence was following them up the stairs to the tower and could hearing breathing behind them. If it were me as a ghost following someone up 177 stairs, they would actually hear gasping and pleads for oxygen as I am completely out of shape.
There is also a report of a ghost of Ellen Mueller. She grew up in Pensacola, FL, and got married at the lighthouse. She died giving birth more than 100 years ago. Supposedly her ghost has remained.
People have reported seeing children running through the lighthouse area and the guesthouses. Two spirits are believed to be Lizzy and Joey, two children who died of yellow fever in 1922.
The basement is said to have the spirits of Thomas and Raymond who were runaway slaves hanged and buried on the property. Damn....humans are mean and stupid. I hope Thomas and Raymond can find peace.
Other reports of paranormal activity include smell, full apparitions, and unexplained noises, being watched, like an unseen presence has been patrolling the halls. Members of the current staff have reported seeing apparitions, and in general, strange occurrences around the building.
The lighthouse has been investigated by many ghost hunting groups, namely the TAPS group from Ghost Hunters and recently was investigated on an episode of Ghost Brothers Lights Out. Lots and lots of stuff was captured and the episodes from those two shows are worth watching...perhaps in the dark, maybe some spooky music in the background. Or you could watch them during a very sunny part of the day like me. Try to check out the episodes if you can...no matter if it's in the dark or in the daylight. No judgement here! Feel free to stop at the Pensacola Lighthouse for a ghost tour if you're ever in the area.
-- Audre
Photo by: Pinterest.com
Sources:
ghostsnghouls.com
www.wkrg.com
tuscaloosaparanormal.com
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