While in my opinion the most impressive site to behold at Point Lookout is the experience of watching Potomac River water charge into the water of the Chesapeake main stem, I recognize I might be in the minority there. For most people, when they think of Point Lookout, they think of one thing- ghosts. While the season for telling ghost stories is approaching, the Point Lookout Lighthouse has arrived in our lighthouse-themed journey up the Bay. So for this Shore Story, I'm in search of ghost stories. Do you have one? You can click the button below to submit one, or reach out eric@bayfibersstudio.com to tell your story. The goal is to compile as many as possible and share them with the Shore Story readers.
Being the park which was closest to my home growing up, I spent a few Halloween evenings around the park. Some of these were during officially sanctioned ghost walks, and some, later on, were more "self-guided". For many years, the park would host an official series of Ghost tours through the camps and to the lighthouse. For southern St. Mary's folks, it was one of the can't miss parts of the fall season. While they're a thing of the past today, the stories themselves remain.
The legend we told was to lay still on the ground near the former Confederate prison camp. If you lay there long enough, you'll feel a pinch on your toe. Why? That's how they'd tell if you'd frozen to death or not. Friends who lived close enough to the park "confirmed" this to be an encounter they'd personally experienced. Right before we broke out the ouiji board and tarot cards, in fact.
The most common- and perhaps legitimate- claim though was about voices. Listen closely, especially within the walls of the lighthouse itself, and you'd hear the voices of lost souls still trapped in the beyond. Something to that effect.
There was also the wailing voices from the river. Not siren song though. These were the lost voices of confederate soldiers who believed their only escape was across the wide mouth of the Potomac River and into friendly territory in the Northern Neck of Virginia.
In recent years, a friend told me about the Three Candles of Point Lookout. The legend says that if you light three identical candles at the lighthouse at the exact same time, they’ll all burn at different rates. Why? Noone knows… Is it even spooky? Debatable. Probably not if it’s the middle of summer. But when you’re 16 and looking for a reason to believe in ghosts on Halloween, watching a flicker in the flames of a candle is sometimes enough to make a trip to Point Lookout a memorable experience.Â
Fall is perfect at Point Lookout. If ghost stories aren't for you, there's still excellent fishing from the pier, the causeway and the creek. It's a perfect time to launch a kayak, paddle the creeks, and explore the islands. Just don't get caught out on All Hallow's Eve.
What about you? Any close encounters at Point Lookout?
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