St Augustine Lighthouse -
Originally built in 1824, the St Augustine Lighthouse in Florida has so many ghosts attached to it the owners have lost track of them all. The first known ghost is that of the original owner, Dr Alan Ballard. He wanted to sell the lighthouse to the government but after the Civil War Florida’s funds were low and the government offered him a much smaller amount than Dr Ballard was expecting. This threw him into a rage so the government threatened to just take the lighthouse from him. He vowed to never leave the lighthouse and some say that he kept his vow and his ghost has been seen around the property.
Another ghost that is commonly witnessed around the lighthouse by staff several times a week is that of Peter Rasmussen. Peter was a lighthouse keeper who enjoyed his cigars and had a reputation for being very strict and meticulous. After he died the smell of his cigars could still be detected as though he were just wandering by smoking happily. Peter is not the only cigar smoking ghost. Another is the ghost of Joseph Andreu who was a keeper who died in the 1850′s when he fell from the lighthouse. Some say that his cigar smoke, footsteps and figure have all been witnessed on the tower stairs and that it is his ghost that was photographed sitting at the top of the lighthouse.
The most well known ghosts of the St Augustine Lighthouse are the spirits of the 13 and 15 year old daughters of Hezekiah Pity. Pity was hired to renovate the lighthouse in the late 1800′s. One day in 1873, Eliza, 13, and Mary, 15, were playing in the grounds of the lighthouse. The two of them climbed into the cart used for carrying building materials from the bay to the lighthouse. The cart broke loose and both girls drowned when it rolled downhill into the bay. Today the two girls can be heard laughing in the tower at night. The eldest girl is spotted in person from time to time, wearing the same blue dress and hair bow she died in.
There are many more ghosts that are said to haunt the grounds of St Augustine, including those of an entire crew of pirates.
