Haunted World

Anastasia Island near St. Augustine, Florida, may very well have been the location of the first lighthouse in America.  Originally settled by Ponce de Leon, in the early 1500’s, a wooden watchtower, which was described to be a sort of beacon, was built.  This watchtower was later replaced with a coquina (shell like coarse material) version which was definitely used as a lighthouse.  That lighthouse was replaced by the St. Augustine Light in 1874.  Shortly after its construction, the original coquina lighthouse collapsed due to beach erosion.  The earliest residence on Anastasia Island that is still standing is the Keeper’s and Assistant Keeper’s house built for the new Lighthouse.  During World War II, the Coast Guard occupied the Lighthouse.

This Lighthouse location has more than just an extensive history spanning half a millennium, it also is home to at least 3 known spirits. The first spirit is of a small girl who was hit by a train and killed there around the year 1900.  Another spirit is of a man who hung himself from a rafter within the current lighthouse, and the last known spirit resides in the basement of the keeper’s house although this spirit is unidentified.  In the 1980’s when the keeper’s house was being restored, the workers would spend the night in the house to protect it from vandals.  They reported that they would often wake up in the middle of the night to see a small girl in very old dated clothes watching them.  Once noticed, the girl would then disappear.  The workers also reported other experiences during their work such as seeing a man hanging from a rafter.  The unknown spirit in the basement has never been visually seen, but all of the workers at the lighthouse all report an uneasy feeling when they’re down there alone, especially at closing time when the place is very quiet.  Also, footsteps have been heard on the lighthouse stairs when there’s no one around.  The tour guides who work at the lighthouse are very open about the ghosts.  Due to the extensive history of the lighthouse and the keeper’s house, it is not much of a surprise that this place is haunted. Between the man who hung himself, the little girl who was killed by the train, a lightkeeper who fell to his death while painting the former lighthouse, and 13 executed pirates who were buried behind the lighthouse.