Who wants a Haunted Lighthouse?Follow

Feds trying to sell lighthouse with ghostly past
July 8, 2007

FAIRFIELD, Conn. --For sale: $1 property surrounded by Long Island Sound off the coast of Fairfield. Must be able to cope with possible haunting.
The U.S. General Services Administration is seeking a buyer for the Penfield Lighthouse, which was built in 1874 about 1.1 miles from Fairfield Beach and is said to be the site of strange occurrences following the drowning of lighthouse keeper Frederick Jordan in 1916.

The agency is offering the lighthouse for $1 in "as is" condition to local, state or federal government agencies or nonprofit organizations. Those interested will have to submit an application identifying their proposed uses of the lighthouse, besides that of a navigational beacon, and how they will pay for that use and maintenance.

Fairfield First Selectman Kenneth Flatto said the town is very interested in acquiring the property, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

"Obviously, the first choice would have been for the federal government to continue to take care of the lighthouse," he said. "But since they want to dispose of it, the town feels obligated that we want to save it."

The town is looking into how much it would cost to fix and maintain the property, and how it could pay for it. It has also talked with the Fairfield Historical Society and Fairfield Beach Residents Association about their helping with maintenance.

The 51-foot-tall lighthouse sits on a concrete foundation surrounded by rocks. It is attached to a two-story keeper's residence made with granite and timber frames.

According to a 2004 report by the town of Fairfield, the foundation, structure and roofs were in good condition, but the wood framing that supports a balcony around the light tower needs major repairs.

There is also asbestos tiles on the floor, lead paint on the walls, mold on all levels and decaying brick and mortar in the basement, the report said.

The last repairs were done in 2003, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

There is also the reported haunting to deal with. According to legend, Jordan drowned in December 1916 when his boat capsized near the lighthouse and appeared as a ghost two weeks later to his assistant, Rudolph Iten, the Connecticut Post reported Sunday.

Iten took over for Jordan after his death. In his log, Iten wrote that Jordan's apparition glided down the tower's stairs and disappeared into darkness. Iten then found the keeper's log opened to the page that documented Jordan's death, the Post reported.

Iten also reported that the lighthouse's light began "behaving strangely" when Jordan's apparition appeared.

In the strangest folk tale, two boys who were rescued after their boat capsized near the lighthouse in 1942 identified Jordan as their rescuer after seeing his photograph.

Jeremy D'Entremont, who wrote "The Lighthouses in Connecticut," said many lighthouses have ghost stories, but the Penfield Lighthouse's tales are more believable because they are based on a well-documented death.

D'Entremont said other lighthouse keepers reported seeing Jordan's ghost over the years, and Iten had them sign affidavits about what they witnessed.

He said it may be difficult for the new owners to raise money for repairs and maintenance because the lighthouse is offshore.

"You have to be creative. You kind of have to bring the lighthouse to the community," D'Entremont said. "I really wish the (federal) government could set up a fund that would help with the maintenance of these lighthouses."

Jason Hawes, one of the founders, is notorious for refusing to say a place is haunted unless enough activity happens that they can capture it on film that they can not debunk in any way/shape/form. This was one of the few that the team gave the Haunted stamp of approval, if I remember correctly.

Wait, a guy from a TV show about hunting ghosts said it was haunted? Well, @#%^, that makes it 100 times more credible. Nothing is "haunted". Grow up, you're not 12 anymore. It's time to accept that things people have been searching for evidence of for 100 years and finding absolutely none aren't real. There are no "ghosts" there are no "psychics". There are just lots and lots of people willing to take money from people.

Wait, a guy who has over ten years experience of investigating paranormal activity and who is acclaimed throughout the country and UK as one of the most thourough paranormal researchers stated it was haunted? One who does not charge fees but does this out of love for the field? One who did such a good job that they were offered a show? Yeah, I'll take his evidence and opinions more to heart than yours, hands down. We can sit here all day and jab at one another about the authenticity of hauntings, but I have better things to do. You are either an ignorant believer, one who things everything is paranormal, a skeptical believer, who knows that 90% of cases are shiat but there is still enough out there that is unexplained, or a closed mind idiot, who tosses away that which hasnt yet been explained with a shrug. Whether or not it's "ghosts" is moot. Unexplained means there is still enough out there for science to get dirty and try to figure out.

Now if you'll excuse me Mythbusters is on.

In 1610 Galileo found and published evidence proving the Copernican theory, or how the earth revolved around the sun, not vice versa. Even with the evidence he had there were too many skeptics who refused to take any of it seriously. It was much later when Galileo was proven time and again to be correct.

That and look up ironic in the dictionary.

off your meds again, Smash? You're truly ornery when you do that.


In 1610 Galileo found and published evidence proving the Copernican theory, or how the earth revolved around the sun, not vice versa. Even with the evidence he had there were too many skeptics who refused to take any of it seriously. It was much later when Galileo was proven time and again to be correct. There is enough that is unexplainable to our scientists now to be that arrogant and believe that we can definitively write off something as ghosts. I wont argue that it is or is not. I will however point out your ignorance if you truly believe you know more than scientists out there who still have no answer.

Sure, but the earlier believers of a geocentric system didn't invent it out of whole cloth; it was the summation of their knowledge, at the time, of how physics and astronomy worked. It was believed that, if the planet was spinning fast enough to account for the rotation of the sun and stars, then we'd (and the oceans, etc) be flung off of the planet. Knowledge of how massive the planet was and the relationship between mass and gravity wasn't developed yet. Without it, the concept of a stationary Earth and a revolving celestial sphere was the only thing that made sense.

It wasn't until mathematics became more sophisticated that Copernicus was able to see flaws in the geocentric system and propose his own heliocentric system (which was still flawed, but getting there). And it wasn't until the invention of telescopic optics that Galileo was able to observe new things which supported heliocentic theory. But neither one just guessed that the sun was probably the center and worked to prove it -- they used new innovations to observe and found flaws which changed their perceptions and allowed them to create new, sounder, theories.

I don't think you should mention "science" in an argument supporting the possible existence of ghosts.

Really, you are being quite a twit. I don't think even most true believer religious-types believe in ghosts.

And this is my point.