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Florida Trips Magazine™ Feature Story St. Augustine LighthouseSt. Augustine, Florida
by SueAnn Carpenter Photo ©2012 Bob Carpenter
The historically significant St. Augustine lighthouse is one of the more popular tourist attractions, although compared with other structures in a city founded nearly 450 years ago, it is almost contemporary. From early occupation, there were lighted towers on the colony’s coast to benefit seafaring vessels, but invaders burned the first array of wooden structures, and a later coquina spire fell into the sea when the tide washed out the foundation. Still, the present lighthouse, dating back to only 1874, correlates to the triumphs, thrashings, and ultimate achievements in the overall history of St. Augustine. Currently there is an audio/self-guided tour of the lighthouse and grounds with twenty points of interest to ponder along the way. It goes quickly until you come to the lighthouse itself. 219 cardiac-threatening steps of spiral stairs that seem to wind forever reach the beacon that juts 165 feet into the salt air—visible for 25 nautical miles. Of course, once at the top, the view is breathtaking. The scene is of the entire area including Anastasia Island, the Intercoastal Waterway, Vilano Beach and the historic downtown. It worked to a great advantage during WW II as a Coast Guard facility for detecting German U-boats that slithered along the Florida coast. At its exceptional height, it’s not surprising that birds occasionally fly into the light—to their own demise, and that of the glass windows. At least one time, the projection lens was even damaged by a winged marauder. The lens is a Fresnel designed by the French in the early 1800’s. It rotates by clockworks that at one time had to be wound by hand. It wasn’t until 1936 that hand power was replaced by an electric motor. Originally too, the light was a mere flame, not electrified, and every few hours, night and day, the light keeper carried a five-gallon container of fuel-oil up the twisting stairs to keep the flame burning. In 1955 the operation was automated, and one might think that the new system made the caretaker’s task easier, but that is when the lighthouse poltergeist became active—living up to the ethereal reputation of this old city. Perhaps the spirit didn’t like the change, or maybe the new energy interfered with its own. Due to the hardships in a new world—disease, famine, war, shipwrecks—there were untold numbers of unprepared-for-deaths in this old city. Granted, disembodied spirits are not recognized by everyone, but in St. Augustine they seem to be accepted as ordinary as well as benign. There can be exceptions however, and few have posed the threat of the lighthouse specter. There was a series of failures when the all-important automatic beacon stopped turning, and the caretaker in the middle of the night climbed the stairs to investigate. Several times he reported hearing footsteps clanking behind him on the metal steps, and never was there a valid reason for the power failure. He would flick the switch off and back on, restarting the motor that again ran perfectly. Then, seemingly satisfied, the sabotage stopped as suddenly as it started, but there was no question that shutting down the beacon was a danger to mariners. The maritime hazard ceased, but the activity only moved across the way to the keeper’s house—now the museum. It has two floors of seafaring artifacts and the history of the lighthouse, plus an interesting story of the oldest port and shipbuilding along the coast.
In the after hours, the museum docent told of seeing the shadowy image of a tall man who then disappears as if dissolved by her gaze, and when the quarters were lived in—until 1967—there were incidents of the inhabitants witnessing a woman in a white lacey dress who would stand motionless for minutes, then simply fade away. She is thought to be the daughter of a long-ago keeper of the flame who drowned in the coastal waters. In 1970 the keeper’s house burned and remained a charred skeleton until the Junior Service League of St. Augustine began restoring it in 1981—but it was not without occasion. During the reconstruction, beams fell, tools disappeared, and a scaffold collapsed for no reason. Thoroughly spooked, several workers quit and refused to go near the place. It wasn’t finished until 1988. In the gift shop, lighthouse replicas and various maritime gifts are available, and though visitors do not notice, the attendants in the shop say that strange things happen almost daily. Items get moved about and often disappear for a time. It’s nothing malicious—just a presence, they say.
The lighthouse location is a fascinating place. It’s difficult to determine whether it’s the history or the phantasmal influence that makes it so appealing, but there is an opportunity starting this month that will help clarify any indecision. Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night at 7:30 pm there will be a “Dark of the Moon” after-hours paranormal tour. The exploration leads up the lighthouse corkscrew and through the keeper’s house with the guides sharing tales and personal experiences. Reservations are required, don’t forget your camera—they seem to record things the human eye cannot. Brrrrr. October after all, is the spooky month.
The St. Augustine Lighthouse is located at 81 Lighthouse Avenue. Go to www.staugustinelighthouse.org or call 904-829-0745 for more info.
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October 2012 Vol. 2 Issue 10 
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Publisher: Stories Inside: Bonus: |
© 2010-2012 Lisa Loucks Christenson, Florida Trips Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Florida Trips Magazine is an Imprint of Loucks-Christenson Publishing.
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Florida Trips Magazine™ an Imprint of Loucks-Christenson Publishing, published monthly and available online, paperback, and hardback formats. An annual edition is planned.