The author of Michigan's Haunted Lighthouses shares tales of disaster and misfortune on the Great Lakes. Losing one's life while tending to a Great Lakes lighthouse sadly wasn't such an unusual occurrence. Death by murder, suicide or other tragic causes--while rare--were not unheard of. Two keepers on Lake Superior's Grand Island disappeared one early summer day in 1908, their decomposed remains found weeks later. A newly hired and some say depressed keeper on Pilot Island in Wisconsin's Door County slit his own throat after a consultation with a local butcher about the location of the jugular vein. A smallpox outbreak in the late 1890s led to the tragic death of a lighthouse hired hand on South Bass Island in Lake Erie. Join author Dianna Stampfler as she uncovers the facts (and debunks some fiction) behind some of the Great Lakes' darkest lighthouse tales.

The author of Michigan's Haunted Lighthouses shares tales of disaster and misfortune on the Great Lakes. Losing one's life while tending to a Great Lakes lighthouse sadly wasn't such an unusual occurrence. Death by murder, suicide or other tragic causes--while rare--were not unheard of. Two keepers on Lake Superior's Grand Island disappeared one early summer day in 1908, their decomposed remains found weeks later. A newly hired and some say depressed keeper on Pilot Island in Wisconsin's Door County slit his own throat after a consultation with a local butcher about the location of the jugular vein. A smallpox outbreak in the late 1890s led to the tragic death of a lighthouse hired hand on South Bass Island in Lake Erie. Join author Dianna Stampfler as she uncovers the facts (and debunks some fiction) behind some of the Great Lakes' darkest lighthouse tales.

The U.S. Coast Guard had long abandoned the North Lighthouse on Grand Island, erecting a pole light instead when, in 1972, summer residents, Professors Loren and Patricia Graham, became interested in buying and preserving the property which was in great need of repair. They were not aware of the mysterious disappearance of two Lighthouse Keepers in 1908 until Graham found a newspaper clipping from The Detroit Free Press of June 15, 1908, under the oilcloth on the rickety kitchen table in the lighthouse. It read: "Slain and Set Afloat, Grand Island Lighthouse keeper and his assistant are believed to be victims of brutal murder and robbery. Mutilated body of one found in boat. Keeper George Genry missing from his isolated post and thought to have met same fate." Graham began a thirty year investigation of the event and has recorded his findings in his new book, Death at the Lighthouse: A Grand Island Riddle. This non-fiction work begins with a systematic investigation.

The lighthouses of the Great Lakes, for so long guiding ships to safety across the rough waters, still stand as beacons to adventurous travelers. Rich with vintage and contemporary photographs, picturing the lighthouses inside and out, by day and by night, the book takes you into the fascinating history of the structures at Split Rock, Sandusky, Big Sable Point, Old Mackinac Point Light, and Marblehead Light, to name a few. Berger’s stories about keepers and their families, horrific storms, and even encounters with ghosts bring to vivid life the lost world of these historic lighthouses. A thoroughly engaging tour page by page, the book also makes travel to these destinations easy as well as edifying, with maps, directions, and a comprehensive appendix listing all the current lighthouses.

Lighthouses of the Great Lakes combines the fascinating history and lore of approximately forty-one lighthouses with stunning color and black-and-white photographs. Focusing on the lighthouses of Lake Michigan and Lake Superior, this beautifully illustrated book provides stirring descriptions of the lighthouses as well as directions and details on visiting these memorable Great Lakes landmarks.

A peaceful lighthouse at Prescott, Ontario, was once the flashpoint of American invasion in an undeclared war. Robbers called Blackbirds preyed on Lake Erie shipping, using false beacons to confuse their victims. The lighthouse at Oswego, New York, was the site of one of the worst disasters in the history of the United States Coast Guard. A Lake Huron lightkeeper wiped snow off the window of his lamp room and inadvertently caused a shipwreck. A 14-year-old Detroit River lightkeeper's daughter was the heroine in a courageous rescue. Lighthouses, from the Upper St. Lawrence River to the head of Lake Superior, have played an integral role in the history, romance, lore and legends of the Lakes. The towers and their keepers bore witness to, and participated in, the dramas of war, shipwrecks, and daring rescues. All while enduring the privations of one of the loneliest occupations on earth.