Many of us dream about escaping the stress of cities to live a life of solitude with
our loved ones, but this romanticized day dream can quickly become a nightmare.
Hi everyone, Ken here, Today we are exploring New London Ledge Lighthouse off the coast
of Connecticut.
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In the late 1800s, there was a lack of lighthouses to warn ships of hazardous conditions.
Off the coast of Connecticut, dozens of ships were wrecking, causing unnecessary loss of
life and interruptions to trade as entire payloads were lost to the sea.
Politicians in Connecticut had had enough tragedy, so they began requesting money from
Congress to build more lighthouses.
Congress turned the state down ten times, then, on the 11th time they requested funding,
115,000 dollars, the modern equivalent of nearly 4 million dollars, was approved in
1904.
After years of planning, the lighthouse was constructed in 1909.
Above it’s 3 foot thick concrete wall foundation, a modest, but charming 3 story second empire
style residence was constructed from granite blocks.
Shining above the mansard roof, the fog signal’s apparatus housed a fourth-order Fresnel Lens,
emitting 3 flashes of white light followed by one flash of red light.
This state of the art lighthouse was now ready to house a head keeper.
As the years went by, the lighthouse saved lives and helped the economy run smoothly
as ships safely made their way to port.
But the lighthouse itself would claim one life for itself.
Ernie and his wife sought to escape the hustle and bustle of the mainland and claim a romantic
escape, becoming keepers of the lighthouse.
All was fine in the beginning, but his wife quickly grew bored.
The lighthousse, surrounded by rough waters, isolated her from her friends and family.
While the idea of leaving the world behind had started as a quest for freedom and independence,
it had quickly spiraled into a depressing prison.
One day, a ship captain visited, and she began flirting with him, convincing him to take
her away on his boat.
When Ernie came down from his post, he discovered that she had boarded the captain’s vessel
and left for good.
Feeling betrayed, he made his way up the stairs and through the empty house.
The only sounds he could hear were the breaking of the waves and the loud roar of the engine
room gently shaking the floor boards.
The house that was once full of laughter was now desolate.
From what the authorities put together, Ernie made his way to the top of the tower to guard
his post one last time, then, when morning came, he stepped onto the roof and threw himself
to the waves.
By nightfall, the townsfolk noticed the light had gone out and sent a crew to check in on
the young couple, but no one was to be found.
Several more Head Keepers were assigned the New London Lighthouse post, but none of them
served for long as it was just too isolated.
Eventually, in 1939, The United States Coast Guard assumed responsibility for manning the
Lighthouse.
At this time, the Coast Guard Crew began recording strange happenings in their journals and reporting
odd occurrences to their superiors.
Most of them reported loud knocking sounds and devices turning on and off by themselves.
While some believed it was haunted by the ghost of Ernie, others attributed the phenomena
to outdated wiring and a failing foundation causing the house to make strange banging
sounds.
Either way, this drove the crew mad.
They couldn’t be more relieved to learn that the lighthouse would be automated.
One of those crew members, by the name of William Grace, wrote a poem on his last night
spent in the lighthouse, “Rock of slow torture.
Ernie’s domain.
Hell on earth – may New London Ledge’s light shine on forever because I’m through.
I will watch it from afar while drinking a brew.
What do you think?
Let me know your thoughts down below in the comments section.
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