Haunted Lighthouses on the US East Coast

Sep 29 2021, 7:00 am in

I couldn’t decide which east coast Haunted Lighthouse to feature this week. There are so many.  So, what the heck,  I decided to  do several.

 

 

     I’ll start with the Ram Island Light located on Casco Bay, Maine.  In 1900, because of a long history of shipwrecks in the area, Congress appropriated funds to build the 90 foot high granite light. With the many shipwrecks come several ghostly stories. One sailor tells how his boat was caught in a terrible storm. Wild waves and lightning streaking across the sky turning night to day. He was unsure of his bearings until he saw a woman dressed in white, shinning as if full of electricity, standing on the reef at Ram Island, waving her hands in warning. He goes on to say if it weren’t for her he would have struck the ledge. He was never able to find out who she was.  Another fisherman: “I was in danger of running into the rocks when I saw a burning boat near shore, about to smash on the rocks and in the boat was this woman, warning me away. I quickly changed direction. The next day I saw no trace of the burning boat or the mysterious woman.”

 

     The ghost of a beautiful young woman dressed in white walks the shores of the beach near Hendrick’s Head Lighthouse, Southport, Maine. There is speculation she’s the ghost of a woman found drowned there one morning, or…is the ghost the mother of a baby saved in a shipwreck?

     In 1871, a vessel went aground off shore during a March gale. The light keeper, having no means of rescue, watched helplessly as the ship sank. The next day the keeper and his wife gathering debris found feather mattresses bound with rope, a wooden box wedged inside. Opening it, they discovered an infant girl. Someone, more than likely the mother, had done their best to save the baby, and succeeded. The keeper and his wife rushed her to the house where they cared for and kept her as their own.

     Who do you think the ghost who walks the beach is? The drowned woman or the infant girl’s mother?

     Owl’s Head Light, near Rockland, Maine, has two ghosts, one a former keeper who polishes the brass. The other known as the “Little Lady” resides in the kitchen. She is credited with doors slamming shut unexpectedly and silverware rattling. Those who have the pleasure of bumping into Little Lady say she imparts a peaceful feeling.   

     Light keepers are the ones who usually encountered the unknown, brass polishing keeper, seeing him out of the corner of the eye. His brass polishing skills make him a welcomed ghost. Brass work was the bane of lightkeepers.  Footprints in the snow have been attributed to him. The 3 year old daughter of a keeper woke her parents telling them to ring the fog bell because it would soon get foggy. Which it did indeed do. When questioned how she knew, she revealed her friend told her. The friend who looked like a sea captain in a picture in the house. The lighthouse keeper’s house is currently used as quarters for the local Coast Guard and the thermostat is frequently lowered presumably by the ghost. Frugality passes on into the afterlife.

     The Boon Island lighthouse stands on a  300 X 700’ barren shoal in the Gulf of Maine.  In 1710  the Nottingham Galley crashed into the island. The crew that survived had no way to reach the shore six miles away and survived a winter by resorting to cannibalism.  Eh…. what about fishing, maybe catching birds? Sounds crazy to me.

     Many report seeing an ethereal young woman shrouded in white on the Boon rocks at dusk. She  may be Katherine Bright, who came to Boon as a newlywed with her lightkeeper husband. Four months after arriving, a surge tide swept the island. Attempting to secure the island’s boat, Keeper Bright slipped on the rocks and drowned. Katherine pulled his body ashore, dragged it to the lighthouse and left it at the foot of the stairs.  She took over lighthouse duties for five days and nights, without eating or sleeping. On the sixth day, the light was out. Fishermen investigated and found Mrs. Bright sitting on the stairs holding the frozen corpse of her husband. She’d completely lost her mind and died a few weeks later. Those who see her apparition also say they hear her screams.

Do you have any haunted Lighthouse experiences?

                                                                     Rita

 

This was previously posted

Life is Good.

Sep 27 2021, 11:00 am

  Don’t have much to share but feeling pleased with things. Knocked my weekend to-do list out of the park. Enjoyed local seafood and drinks with family on the deck over the river. Read and wrote. 

  The weather is splendiferous. I’m thinking it’s going to be cool enough to get out the power tools and cut back the back yard jungle. Will let you know how that goes. Feeling this week is gonna be a good one.  

Hope yours is good,

                                  Rita

Haunted Yaquina Bay Oregon Lighthouse

Sep 22 2021, 7:00 am in

Are the stories true? 

This was previously posted. 

               Yaquina Bay, Oregon. The charming two-story clapboard structure was deserted a mere three years after its light was first lit in 1871 and it remained empty for fourteen years. In 1889 The Army Corps of Engineers used it to house one of their engineers and his family. That is, until it was heavily damaged in a hail storm and struck by lightning. It’s had spotty off and on use until it was privately purchased and relit in December 1996 as an aid to civilian navigation.

     Deserted and in disrepair, it has ever since been the setting for many a ghostly tale. The most famous being about Muriel Travenard, born at the end of the 18th century to a sea captain and his wife. Her mother died when she was young, and for a time she sailed with her father. When she was a teen the captain decided to leave his daughter behind with friends in Newport. Weeks lengthened into months, and the captain didn’t return. Muriel and a group of friends decided to explore the abandoned and dilapidated lighthouse. They discovered an iron plate in the floor on the second level of the light opening to a deep hole. Nothing exciting there so they went off to explore. And you know teens they didn’t bother to put the iron plate over the hole. Muriel remembered she’s left her scarf inside and went to retrieve it.  

     She didn’t return. Friends went to look.  

     You know what’s coming.

     She was nowhere to be found. But…… they did find a pool of blood and a blood trail leading to the deep and mysterious hole which was now—mysteriously— closed. The teens tried to open the door, but couldn’t.  (Feel free to use your Rod Sterling voice reading that.)

     Help was summoned. A through search of the lighthouse and grounds made.

     No Muriel.  

     Are you saying, “look in the hole dummies?”

     Thing is, as the story goes, the plate was frozen in place and couldn’t be pried open.  I find that a little iffy. But anyhow, Muriel, or her body, was never found. Dark stains mark the floor where, what is believed to have been, her blood was found.

     Over the years there are claims Muriel’s ghost has been seen peering out of the lantern room or walking down the path behind the lighthouse.  

      Now here is where the story gets a little wonky. It may or may not be true. All this falderal could have originated from Lischen Miller’s story, “The Haunted Lighthouse,” published in an 1899 issue of Pacific Monthly. A fictional account of a girl named Muriel Trevenard, who mysteriously disappeared in the lighthouse after returning to retrieve her handkerchief. 

     Hmmm. So whatcha think? Fact or fiction? Did Ms. Miller hear the legend and write her story or, did the legend get legs from her story?

                                                   Rita

 

 

A Magical Week

Sep 20 2021, 11:00 am

 

 

 

Yup, the 38th week of 2021 has magical stuff in store. It has a full moon, today. Fall begins Wednesday the 22nd. During the fall equinox, there is a balance of light and darkness. Our energy is harmonious and artistic. Hope so because I plan on doing a lot of writing .  

Heavy rains are predicted for the NE Florida coast—that’s me—and King Tides. Rain and higher than normal tides mean flooding. Nature is amazing. It’s gonna be a Jeep kinda week if I need to go anywhere. But, I there is plenty to do at home. I have a bucket of green beans that need to be blanched and put in the freezer. Get caught up on housekeeping chores. I listen to an audio book so that’s not so bad. Going to write three more Tips for Writers posts. And, drum roll please, write. Also finish editing three short stories.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. What does you week look like?

                                                    Rita  

The Seguin Lighthouse – Haunted Lighthouse Series

Sep 15 2021, 7:00 am in

 

The Seguin Lighthouse is in the Gulf of Maine on Seguin Island, south of the Kennebec River. Established in 1795, it is the second-oldest of Maine’s coastal lighthouses. The light station stands on the island’s highest point, and includes the lighthouse itself, the keeper’s house, fog signal building, a small oil house, and a 1006 foot tramway for bringing supplies from the shore to the site. The light, built from granite blocks, is 53 feet tall and 180 feet above sea level making it the highest in the state. The first tower was wood frame completed in 1797 and replaced by the present tower in 1857.

This light has quite the history and of course, it is haunted…..

 

Starting with the history part, on September 5, 1813 the epic sea battle between the HMS Boxer and USS Enterprise took place near Seguin. Yes. The name USS Enterprise has a long, glorious history.

 

More than a hundred light keepers have served at Seguin. There has been several women assistant keepers. Not a common thing in those days. Going through the list of keepers names I found it odd that some were removed from their position. For what reason? I can understand why many resigned. That island is pretty small and is said to be foggy fifteen percent of the time. The fog horn is so loud it can be heard fourteen miles away and keepers swear it has blasted birds from the sky.  BTW I don’t particularly care for fog.

Those who lived there had to be pretty self-sufficient. Electricity didn’t arrive until 1953 and from what I can tell it was kinda iffy at that. Did those that resigned get bored? Couldn’t take the isolation or get tired of being so self-sufficient?

Now here is where the weird stuff begins.     

Near the island, in July of 1875, a sea captain and ship’s crew reported seeing a monster that came to their boat and put its head over the rail. They struck it with a pike sending it back into the water. A few days later another boat reported seeing the serpent floating along occasionally raising it head to look around. WTH?

Many believe that the pirate, Captain Kidd, buried his gold and silver treasure on the island. In 1936, for a year, a man dug up the place looking for it but found nothing.

Sometime in the mid-1800s a murder suicide took place. A light keeper bought his wife a piano. Ah. Nice guy. She played the same tune over and over for hours upon hours until it apparently drove the keeper insane because he took an axe to the piano, his wife and himself. Eww. Doing yourself in with an axe? The mind boggles. The spooky thing is on quiet nights, the crews of ships going by the island say they can hear the tune playing over and over and over.

A young girl died and was buried on the island and many report still seeing her running up and down the stairs. Some have even heard her laughing.

There are other reports of items being moved or going missing, jackets being taken from hooks and thrown to the floor, and furniture rearranged.  

When the Coast Guard was packing up to leave the island in 1985 an apparition in oil skins begged a warrant officer to leave his furniture and home alone. The next day as the furniture was being loaded on a boat, chains broke and all the furniture fell into the ocean. Coincidence? Don’t know but my new rule is if a ghost asks me to leave his furniture and home alone, I’m not arguing.   

                                                   What do you think? 

                                                                                Rita 

                                                                                                This was previously posted 

 

Eating Healthy

Sep 13 2021, 11:18 am in , ,

 I order my veggies from a local Farmer’s Market. This is todays produce.

 One order’s according to size and type of contents. Each week the contents vary. This is a small box for two. Cost is $22.00.  There are add ons available for $2.00 and $3.00. Extra tomatoes, mushrooms, fruit etc.  I like using the service because the produce is sourced directly from farmers. That means I get seasonal field-ripened produce. The company who provides the service is small and in business locally for many years. The best part for me is it’s delivered to my home. I’ve never had a problem with any of the content. I occasionally get surprised by substitutes but that’s kinda fun.   

 I’ll microwave most of the broccoli for a few seconds then put it the freezer to use later. Love zucchini. It can be fried, sautéed, baked, eaten raw. Yum. Baked sweet potato with sautéed zucchini sounds good for a vegetarian meal tonight.

 Where do you get your fruits and vegetables? Grocery? Farmer’s Market? Do you have a service like this?

                               Here’s to healthy eating.

                                        Rita

 

 

This week I begin blogging again.

Sep 12 2021, 12:09 pm

 

Some say blogging is dead. Newsletters is where it’s at.

Alrighty then, guess I’ll work on a newsletter also. This has to be squeezed in between writing and life. I’m shooting for once a week. Mondays to sorta get our motors running.

 Okay, I’ve got this.

 Now to decide on topics. Health is a biggie for me right now and I’m thinking exercise motivation. “If You’re Gonna Buy All That Equipment, Use It.”  Eating healthy posts. “Is An Air-Fryer Really That Great?” Maybe recipes. “I Like Kale Why Don’t You?”  

 I have loads of ideas rumbling around in my brain. Writers have vivid imaginations. We can escape to exotic places for mini-vacations. Perhaps we can take a few mini-vacas on the page together. I also enjoy art. Oooo. Sooo much to think about.     

 In addition to anything I can come up with, for the next five weeks on Wednesday, I’m reprising the Haunted Lighthouse series. Love lighthouses and the spooky stories about them are chilling.  

                                                     Hope to see you here.

                                                                          Rita

 

March is National Women’s History Month.

Mar 2 2021, 11:20 am in

 

Why Is March Women's History Month? | Sporcle Blog

As a writer I’m asking you to take some time and talk to the women in your family to get the other half of the story.

Other half of the story?

Yes. World events, disasters, family triumphs and celebrations told from their unique point of view. The vast majority of historical events is written from a male perspective. Hearing a woman’s point of view can be enlightening. 

Where they were, what they thought when Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon.

Who in your family remembers rationing during WWII?  Ask how difficult it was during that time to go months without letters from a loved one.

Find out what it was like to have a family member in Vietnam and, for the first time in history, see the war on the news every evening.

What they remember about Jackie Kennedy.  

Where they were on the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001

Their first car. Boyfriend. The time they met Elvis. The real reason Aunt Gertrude left town. How Uncle Johnny got all his money.

Have you ever spoken to your mom about the day you were born?

Do you know the black sheep of your families? 

How did the women in your family meet the love of their life? What they thought when they did. I asked this question at a ladies gathering. One gal shared how she met the love of her life and then told us how she met her husband.

Do your children know how you met their father?

A family member was going to reveal a huge—her word—family secret to me. We’d set up a time for me to go over and hear this secret. She died before she could tell me. I’m left with a bazillion questions and a great deal of regret. Don’t have this happen to you. Transfer your family stories to words on the page so they will never be lost.

 There is a perfectly wonderful National Women’s History Museum to learn more about women of this country and inspire you. I particularly like the online exhibits page.  https://www.womenshistory.org/womens-history 

                                                                                Rita 

My World Famous Tequila Christmas Cookies

Dec 20 2020, 11:25 am

 

Ingredients

1 cup of water

 1 tsp. baking soda

 1 cup of sugar

1 cup of butter

 1 tsp. salt

 1 cup of brown sugar

 1 tbsp. lemon juice

 4 large eggs

 1 cup nuts

 2 cups of dried fruit

 1 bottle tequila

 Sample an ounce of the tequila to check quality.

Put butter in a large bowl, pour 2 ounces of tequila and drink. With electric mixer beat butter until the bowl is fluffy.

 Add one teaspoon of sugar. Beat again.

 At this point, it’s best to make sure the tequila is still OK, so, try a half a cup.

 Turn off the mixerer thingy.

 Break 2 leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.

 Pick the frigging fruit and the damn cup off the floor.

 Mix on the turner. If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers, just
 pry it loose with a drewscriver.

 Sample the tequila to check for tonsisticity.

 Next, sift two cups of salt, or something. Check the tequila.

 Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.

 Add one table.

 Add a spoon of sugar, or somefink. Whatever you can find.

 Greash the oven.

 Turn the cake tin to 360 degrees and try not to fall over.

 Don’t forget to beat off the turner.

 Put the bowl through the window, finish off the booze and make sure to put the dirty stove in the dishwasher.

 CHERRY MISTMAS TO ALL!

 

 

 

Why I Write Military Heroines

Nov 11 2020, 9:23 am in ,

            I write about extraordinary women and the men they love. Military heroines.  Women at the top of their field in a man’s world. The men in their lives accept them for who they are and stand shoulder to shoulder with them in their adventures.

I’m frequently asked why my heroines are in the military.

Let me begin by saying the military is in my DNA. I come from a family, who over the years, have served in every branch of the service in every conflict since WWI. Two great, great, great, great uncles were in the Charge of the Light Brigade. Thomas Dunn, a corporal, and Alexander James Dunn, a lieutenant were members of the 11th Hussars, a British Army unit. Lieutenant Dunn was killed in the battle. Corporal Dunn was one of the fabled survivors.

My daddy trained Coast Guard recruits in Florida and Washington State, and patrolled in the North Atlantic riding shotgun for convoys. 

Another Uncle was a Navy ace in WWll and in Korea.

One uncle, on Daddy’s side of my family, was home in December 1941 for leave before he was to report to his next duty. His next duty? The USS Arizona in Hawaii.

My husband’s uncle served in Germany.

Hubs was a Marine and served in Vietnam.

One son was with the first Marines into Bagdad in the Iraq war.

There are many others but I think you get the point. 

 

Now, back to that question why my heroines are in the military.  I say why don’t we have more books with military heroines? I feel like the women in the service of their countries are under appreciated.

George Washington credits winning the war against England to six colonial spies who risked their lives to bring him information. One of them a woman whose name has never been discovered.

Dr. Mary Edwards Walker is the only woman to receive a Congressional Medal of Honor awarded for her life saving work during the Civil War. Her name was deleted from the Medal of Honor Roll in 1917. She was asked to return the medal and refused, wearing it every day until she died.

Agnes Meyer Driscoll known as Madame X, an American cryptanalyst for the U.S. Navy during World War I was a brilliant code breaker.

During WWII over 1000 women in this country flew every type of military aircraft, ferrying them to military bases and departure points. They were test pilots and towed targets to give gunners training. Their service wasn’t recognized until the 70s.

Nancy Augusta Wake was a British agent who became a courier for the French Resistance. By 1943, Wake was the Gestapo’s most wanted person, with a 5 million-franc price on her head.

 Rose Antonia Maria Valland, a French art historian and member of the French Resistance. A captain in the French military, and one of the most decorated women in French history. She secretly recorded details of the Nazi plundering of National French and private Jewish-owned art from France. Remember the book and movie The Monument Men? That’s her.

I have a special place in my heart for the nurses who took care of those who fought in Vietnam.  (Read, The Trunk, in my collection of short stories Let Me Tell You A Story)

In my first book, Under Fire, a Coast Guard helicopter pilot teams with a DEA agent and launches a personal seek and destroy mission to find her brother’s killer. This thriller follows the two through the dangerous drug underworld, a fierce gun battle at sea and brings down a notorious drug lord.

In Under Fire: The Admiral, a Coast Guard officer and the doctor she is flying on medical missions in Ecuador are shot down off the coast by a drug cartel. She uses all her skills to get him home safely. While in the jungle, she is the doctor’s Guardian against danger and he becomes the guardian of her heart.  

Point of No Return features a female Marine Corps Intelligence officer and a contract spy, investigating kidnappings of military children and mysterious deaths. As they navigate the murky political waters of the Pentagon, and private armies, it’s hard to know who’s lying to your face, and who’ll stab you in the back.

In Hunter’s Heart the heroine works closely with military units.  Her personal and professional life is a complicated tangle of dark secrets, and she can’t afford to let anyone close. A Navy SEAL earns her trust and learns her secrets putting him in more danger than he’s ever known. 

Check all my books out on my Amazon Author Page

                                                           Rita

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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