Point Lookout

Point Lookout State Park & Lighthouse
No compilation of haunted areas would be complete without a close look at the Point Lookout State Park & Lighthouse in southern Maryland.  This is an area that is teeming with paranormal activity, with every type of sight, sound, and energy known to ghost researchers.  This fact that the entire area is haunted is acknowledged by the Coast Guard, the Navy, and the State of Maryland.  The rangers and workers in and around the park will talk to you freely about the things that go on there, and most even have personal encounters that they will share.  Some of the most famous ghost hunters in our century have done investigations here, providing page after page or reliable documentation, photographs, and EVP recordings.   This is a VERY haunted place!

Located in southern Maryland on a point of land where the Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac river converge, the park and lighthouse are in a  geographically perfect setting for paranormal phenomena.  Many ghost researchers believe that a setting between two converging bodies of water somehow amplifies psychic energy, and that theory surely does hold true for this area.  But that's only the tip of the iceberg, as this land also has a violent and sad history underscored by man's inhumanity to his fellow man, starting in the 1600's, when Indians invaded the area and brutally killed many of the settlers here. 

During the Civil War, the Point Lookout area housed the largest prison for Confederate soldiers of the war.  A crude fence was built around a swampy area to house the prisoners, who were only given tents for shelter.  As the population grew, the tents ran out, and soldiers were left out in the elements.  They subsequently died horrible deaths en masse from disease and starvation.  It is estimated that 4,000 men died in this relatively small area, only to be buried and exhumed 2-3 times before they were finally laid to rest in a common grave which is now marked with a monument bearing their names. 

If this is not enough, the lighthouse also plays an important role in the history of the area, and is the focus of many well-documented ghost investigations and stories.   Due to the frequent shipwrecks in the area, the lighthouse was built, but that didn't stop the violent deaths offshore.  Accidents continued, culminating in the explosion of a Union gunboat with several mutilated bodies washing up on the shore.  The lighthouse itself has also had its share of tragedy, with several keepers dying on the premises while on duty. 

Add to all this a hotel that was the diamond of the park in the 19th century that burned to the ground, another ship that was lost in a hurricane offshore, and multiple small vessel accidents, and you begin to see why this place has so much supernatural phenomena going on.

The lighthouse has been owned by the Coast Guard and the Navy for years, but it has recently been passed on to the State of Maryland.  Until now, it has been open to the public only one day a year - on the first Saturday of November.  However, renovations are beginning, and we are hoping that the State of Maryland will make it more accessible.  Until then, if you find yourself in the southern part of Maryland, try getting a campsite.  Many campers have reported strange phenomena, particularly on the "D" loop of the campgrounds.   Campsites 137 and 139 sit where the old hospital used to be, and would be the first choices for any serious ghost hunter brave enough to stay in that park all night. 

Point Lookout Park is located at the southern tip of St. Mary's County via Maryland Route 5.  For camping reservations, call 1-888-432-2267.

 

 

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