Post by aneaglesangel on Mar 27, 2007 10:05:49 GMT -5
Bird Island lighthouse was built in 1819 off the coast of Marion, Ma. It was only 29 feet
high, and was recently restored by the Bird Island Light Preservation Society. But the
history is a long and interesting one!
A reputed former pirate named Billy Moore took over as the lightkeeper in 1830. He was
accompanied by his wife. It is said that his wife had quite a liking for tobacco, and
many residents who made frequent visits to the island would bring her gifts of tobacco.
Billy Moore, tried to discourage the residents from bringing the tobacco to her, stating
that she had a 'consumptive' cough. Noticing that Mrs. Moore frequently had black eyes, the
residents continued bringing her their gifts.
On a cold morning in February of 1832, the distress flag went up on Bird Island. When residents
arrived on the island, they found Mrs. Moore dead. Billy Moore stated that she had finally
succumbed to nicotine. He convinced the residents that she had been suffering from tuberculosis
and the grave was dug in the soft sand to erase any chance of the contagion being spread. Later,
the residents convinced the sheriff to do an investigation, but by then, Billy Moore had
disappeared.
Shortly after, a new lighthouse keeper was hired to take over the position. But he didn't
last long. When he quit he insisted that the ghost of an old woman would knock on the door in
in the middle of the night. The following keepers had the same experience, and one said his
children were frightened by a spirit with stooped shoulders, and one arm reaching out for
something.
The keeper's house was demolished many years ago, but people still claim to encounter Mrs.
Moore's ghost around Bird Island Lighthouse. In 1982, a Marion fisherman and Adam Larkin
witnessed a 'disfigured and tattered looking old woman crossing the ice with an old corn
cob pipe clenched in her jaw.' Larkin reported that they knew she was real because 'she
seemed to float over the ice.'
Does Mrs. Moore's ghost still haunt the premises of Bird Island Lighthouse? You already know
what I'm going to say!! There's only one way to find out......