00:00Hello and welcome to the Dark Mystery Lounge.
00:04Since the spooky season is just around the corner,
00:07I wanted to talk about a haunted location here in Pensacola.
00:11The Pensacola Lighthouse.
00:14Just when I thought I ran out of things to talk about when it comes to my hometown,
00:18I was able to dig up a place I had almost forgotten about.
00:23So let's go ahead and dive right into this one, shall we?
00:30The Pensacola Lighthouse and Maritime Museum, a.k.a. the Pensacola Light,
00:37is located at the NAS Naval Base in Pensacola, Florida.
00:42The lighthouse sits at the entrance to Pensacola Bay on top of a 45-foot bluff.
00:48Construction of the lighthouse was done by hand and completed in 1858.
00:53It was first lit on New Year's Day, 1859.
00:57The Keeper's Quarters were built in 1869.
01:02During the day, visitors from all over the country and even locals
01:06flocked to the lighthouse to learn about its history
01:09and, if you can make it to the top, all 177 steps,
01:15there is a breathtaking view that you can't find anywhere else in Pensacola.
01:19You can even get a bird's-eye view as the Blue Angels practice their aerial stunts during the week.
01:25This lighthouse has survived many hurricanes, an earthquake, struck by lightning several times,
01:32and even survived the Civil War.
01:36But when the sun goes down, visitors of a different kind like to come to the lighthouse.
01:42The ghost tours.
01:43With a lighthouse this old, you know it has to be haunted.
01:46It has been confirmed by those that maintain the lighthouse and museum
01:51that there are at least six to eight ghosts who call this lighthouse home.
01:56But in order for me to tell you about these ghosts, we have to turn the clock back to 1824.
02:03You see, the lighthouse that is there today is not the original lighthouse.
02:08The original lighthouse was built one and a half miles east of the lighthouse we know today.
02:16The tower was only 30 feet tall and consisted of ten whale oil lamps and a seven-foot lantern.
02:23It was first lit on December 20, 1824, by Bachelor Jeremiah Ingram.
02:30Two years later, Jeremiah got married and brought his new bride, Michaela, home to the lighthouse.
02:36Michaela wanted to learn everything there is to know about how to be the perfect keeper's wife.
02:42She grew to love the lighthouse.
02:45She would not only keep everything spotless, but she would work side by side with her husband,
02:50learning how to maintain the light and polish the lenses,
02:54which would get quite dirty and smoky from the oil-powered lamps.
02:58She would polish them to perfection.
03:00Michaela was the perfect keeper's wife.
03:02As the years went on, it seemed like Michaela loved the lighthouse a little too much,
03:09even to the extent that she preferred it over her husband on the scale of affection.
03:15Michaela often pressured her husband into being cleaner when it came to the maintenance of the light.
03:20The couple disagreed with many procedures.
03:24Michaela wanted to change things to make them more to her liking.
03:27However, Jeremiah was the keeper, and she his wife.
03:34No one saw much of the couple together.
03:37When Jeremiah would come to town for supplies, he was alone.
03:41In 1840, Jeremiah died.
03:45No one knows how he died.
03:47Some believe that he just became ill.
03:49Others believe that Michaela murdered him.
03:51Since they spent most of their time in the tower alone.
03:56Jeremiah had mentioned some very strong arguments over the tower.
04:01It was believed that Michaela became enraged with Jeremiah during one of their frequent arguments.
04:07She grabbed a butcher knife and plunged it deep into his chest,
04:11leaving a large stain on the floor and blood trailing into several rooms.
04:15It was an interesting theory, considering afterwards, Michaela became keeper of the lighthouse until her death in 1855,
04:25when her son-in-law, Joseph Palmer, took over as keeper.
04:30Even though everyone thought that the murder theory was just a rumor, fiction became truth.
04:37When years later, many layers of tile flooring were removed to expose the original wood flooring.
04:43A large stain that looked like blood was discovered in one room, and so was the legendary blood trail.
04:51No amount of scrubbing removed the stains.
04:54For those who had always suspected Michaela murdered her husband, this was pretty damning evidence.
05:01Even in the newer lighthouse, you can hear the couple as they roam the grounds,
05:06and other keepers reported the sounds of a human breathing in the lantern room,
05:10and others have reported hearing footsteps going up and down the tower.
05:16Some think it's Michaela, who cannot leave her beloved lighthouse.
05:21Others say it's Jeremiah, who will not surrender the light to his wife.
05:27For several years, many ship captains and other people complained about the lighthouse.
05:32The light was too dim, the tower was too short, and even trees were blocking the light.
05:38A new lighthouse needed to be built.
05:42In 1852, the newly established Lighthouse Board recommended that a first-class seacoast light
05:49with a height no less than 150 feet be built in Pensacola.
05:55Congress allocated $25,000 for the lighthouse in 1854,
06:01and an additional $30,000 in 1856.
06:06A site was selected one and a half miles west of the original lighthouse.
06:12Once construction was finished, the tower stood 159 feet tall and was painted white.
06:20Later, it would be repainted black and white.
06:23The base of the tower had a diameter of 30 feet, tapering to a diameter of 15 feet at the top.
06:31The foundation was made from granite,
06:33and the lamp in the tower is a first-order Fresnel lens,
06:37which were the largest lenses made for seacoast lighthouses.
06:41It measured 6 feet wide and 10 feet tall.
06:45It contains 344 crystal prisms and 8 bullseyes.
06:50Only 10 of these lenses were ever made.
06:53Like I mentioned earlier, it was first lit on New Year's Day in 1859 by keeper Joseph Palmer.
07:01The old lighthouse was demolished after 34 years of service.
07:06The keeper's quarters were built adjacent to the newer tower in 1869.
07:11One unique feature is that it has a basement,
07:14which, if you live in the South, you know that we don't have basements, ever.
07:20But because it was built on a 45-foot bluff,
07:23placing the light at 190 feet above sea level,
07:27the chances of its flooding would be pretty slim to none.
07:31When you visit the basement during the ghost tour,
07:33if you are a woman with long hair, you will feel it being grabbed and pulled.
07:38The two responsible for the hair-pulling are Thomas and Raymond,
07:42two runaway slaves that were hanged on the property before the lighthouse was even built.
07:49Raymond supposedly murdered his wife,
07:51then ran away with his friend Thomas.
07:54Their angry spirits still mess with visitors,
07:57trying to make them go away.
07:58Another ghost that lives at the lighthouse is Sam Lawrence,
08:04who became head keeper in 1877.
08:08He's often found at the top of the tower and in the original keeper's quarters.
08:13If you happen to leave the hatch open when descending the stairs,
08:17you will hear it slam shut.
08:20It's as if his duties never ended after his passing.
08:23Another room to visit is what is known as the Bloody Bedroom.
08:29This is the bedroom of Ellen Mueller.
08:32She grew up and got married at the lighthouse.
08:35Unfortunately, she died from giving birth and bled to death in 1911.
08:41A bloodstain on the floor still remains to this day.
08:45Those that have seen her describe her as a lady in white.
08:49Perhaps her spirit remains to make sure that her daughter was cared for
08:53after she passed.
08:55Sometimes you will hear a whisper or a voice telling you to go away while in her room.
09:02The final two ghosts that called this lighthouse home
09:05are two children, Lizzie and Joey,
09:09who died from yellow fever in 1922 during the epidemic.
09:14Those that have visited have noticed that they feel a quick cold chill
09:18as the kids pass right through them, giving them a quick scare.
09:23If there are kids visiting the lighthouse,
09:25sometimes they will hear their name being called.
09:29Visitors during the tour experienced being pushed,
09:33hair pulled, voices, screams, arguing,
09:38a piano playing,
09:39the smell of cigar or pipe tobacco smoke,
09:42and even batteries have been drained from electronics.
09:47Despite there being air conditioning only in certain places in the house,
09:52the lighthouse stays pretty cool in all rooms year-round,
09:56thanks to all the ghosts that live there.
09:57When the lighthouse became automated in 1965,
10:02there was no need for a keeper anymore.
10:05The Coast Guard took over the tower,
10:08and Pensacola Lighthouse Association maintains the keeper's quarters and the grounds.
10:13The Pensacola Lighthouse is still active to this day,
10:18shining its powerful beams of light every night,
10:21giving a bit of comfort to those sailing in the dark,
10:24letting them know that they are close to land.
10:27And the residents of this lighthouse are always ready to greet you in their own special way.
10:35The question is,
10:37are you brave enough to visit the lighthouse?
10:39At least once you're there,
10:41you know you'll never be alone.
10:43So, what do you think?
10:47Do you believe in ghosts?
10:49Let me know in the comments down below.
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11:09I will cover next.
11:10Thank you for hanging out with me in the Dark Mystery Lounge.
11:14This is Phoenix, signing out.
11:17Have a good evening,
11:18and stay safe.
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