Presque Isle, Michigan
The lighthouse built in 1840 and decommissioned 30 years later was left to neglect until the early 1900's when a family purchased the property and refurbished it and used the keeper's dwelling for a summer home. Later, the family turned the care of it over to George and Lorraine Parris, who moved into the keeper's home every spring.
George loved the lighthouse and the visitors, whom he played pranks on. He'd have them blow the foghorn in a 'muscle test' and watched them get knocked off their feet. The people loved George and returned year after year.
At one point, George helped the Coast Guard disengage the electricity to prevent it from being accidentally turned on and confusing ships. For extra precaution, the gears were removed from the lens to prevent it from rotating.
On January 2, 1992, George died from a massive heart attack. His wife no longer had any inclination to spend her summer at the lighthouse since it reminded her so much of her husband. Their children finally convinced her to return and while driving home one night, her eyes were diverted to the light glowing from the tower of the lighthouse.
The next morning, Lorraine checked to make sure the power wasn't reconnected by someone and found it tamper-free.
She continued to see the light, and more people began seeing the mysterious light and reported it. The description was always the same -- an amber light, as if cast by an old-fashioned oil lamp. The same light was even seen by the Coast Guard when they flew night missions over Presque Isle Harbor.
Then, on July 4, 1992, a girl reported seeing a man at the top of the stairs of the tower. She said he was tall, with a snow-white beard and glasses. She recognized him as George Parris when shown his photograph, and added that he was "brighter white."
People have claimed that the mysterious light guided them through fog on dark, stormy nights. While visiting the lighthouse, some have succumbed to pranks by unseen hands.
It would seem that George's spirit still takes his living job seriously, and still guards over the tower and the harbor.
Except that the light has recently been debunked by parapsychologists researching the stories of the lighthouse. Featured on the Sci-Fi channel's Proof Positive: Evidence of the Paranormal, the researcher went to the lighthouse where he saw no light up close, yet it was still visible to his contact across the harbor. By cloaking the windows of the tower with his jacket, they were able to determine the eerie light was nothing more than a reflection of a newer building.
However, while investigating the tower, it was mysteriously locked and a crew member broke in through a window and unlocked the door from the inside -- just before bursting through the door, screaming that he saw something. The crew chalked it up to imagination, until they were finished and tried to leave, only to find that the door was again jammed and wouldn't budge for several minutes. One of George's pranks? Possibly.
Lorraine is confident her husband haunts the lighthouse and watches over her, even if the light isn't George's spirit.
