Point Lookout Lighthouse

On a spit of land far on the tip of St. Mary’s county where the Chesapeake and the Potomac literally collide, sits the small, weather worn and reportedly very haunted Point Lookout Lighthouse.
A group of us took a long motorcycle ride down Rt. 5 south, through the old First Landing of St. Mary’s City and onto Point Lookout State Park in order to visit the Lighthouse for it’s last open house of 2007. Because of it’s location, history and proximity to Ft. Lincoln and a former Civil War hospital and POW camp, the Point Lookout Lighthouse has garnered itself quite a reputation as a great location to see apparitions and possibly recorded paranormal data. So much so, that the College of Southern Maryland actually features it for field research in a class on paranormal studies (I swear, I’m not making that up!).
It’s almost impossible to get tickets to the «Spirits of Point Lookout» tours held in late October, but a visit without all the pomp of Halloween still isn’t disappointing.
The lighthouse itself is more of a plain, 1920’s farmhouse with a light situated at the top. It’s last resident, Laura Berg, was on hand to provide some insight to her experiences in the building while she resided there from 1979 to 1981.
Although the Lighthouse, built in 1830, has had it’s outer structure restored to it’s 1927 appearance, the inside has been left untouched since the 80’s, and even through all those years, little had been done to modify the house. Peeling paint, rust stained bathroom fixtures, crooked iron heaters, creaky floors and molded, rotting wallpaper all work in harmony to create an atmosphere of abandon and gloom. This isn’t pristine, restored colonial Williamsburg, this is what nature and age, wind and weather and a helpful vandal or two can do.
It isn’t hard to imagine ghosts at every corner with such an eerie pall cast by all the decay and the dark history surrounding the treacherous point and the nearby fort. And those tiny, curving stairs that lead to the porthole entry into the equally tiny light are just one more thrill. Getting up and down those ladder stairs without busting your skull is a minor miracle, made even more exhilarating by the lack of safety equipment (I love an «enter at your own risk» site!), is quickly rewarded by the panoramic view of the Bay, the Point, the park and the river, from that claustrophobically encased light.
The drive from DC to St. Mary’s County is a history buff’s weekend well spent and if you’re a Civil War enthusiast, Point Lookout should be a «must see» on your list of blue and grey stuff to do. And if ghosts are your thing, well… even if you don’t see one, I’m pretty sure you’ll still enjoy the atmosphere provided by the old Light and the stories it’s Docents enjoy sharing.