{"id":3228,"date":"2023-05-03T22:25:47","date_gmt":"2023-05-04T02:25:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nelights.com\/blog\/?p=3228"},"modified":"2025-03-06T13:58:21","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T18:58:21","slug":"the-three-ghosts-of-seguin-island-lighthouse-in-maine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nelights.com\/blog\/the-three-ghosts-of-seguin-island-lighthouse-in-maine\/","title":{"rendered":"The Three Ghosts of Seguin Island Lighthouse in Maine"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Seguin<\/a>

Seguin Island lighthouse<\/p><\/div>\n

Seguin Island Lighthouse is the
\nMost Haunted Beacon in Maine<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n

Seguin Island Lighthouse<\/a> <\/strong>is Maine\u2019s second oldest lighthouse, built in 1796, and the highest lighthouse in the state, at 186 feet above sea level. In 1857, the tower was rebuilt, and because of the heavy shipping in the area, a first-order Fresnel lens, the most powerful light, was installed in the lantern, which still resides in the tower today. It remains the only operational first-order Fresnel lens north of Rhode Island. The beacon is one of the most fogged-in lighthouses in New England and has one of the largest foghorns to accommodate the nearly 30% foggy days each year that blanket the island. The beacon is also famous for lots of paranormal activity witnessed by many keepers, tourists, and mariners alike. It is considered the most haunted lighthouse in Maine and, arguably, New England.<\/p>\n

The Three Ghosts of Seguin Island<\/span><\/h1>\n
\"Fog<\/a>

Seguin Island Light is in one of Maine’s foggiest locations<\/p><\/div>\n

The Old Captain<\/span>
\n<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Seguin Island Light\u2019s first keeper was Major (Count) John Polereczky, a Count of Hungarian nobility going back many generations. He was born in France and fought with French troops during the American Revolution. He settled in Dresden, Maine, and was their town clerk for 25 years until he applied for and was granted a position as keeper of Sequin Island light in 1796. His meager salary was unfit for living off the island in such harsh conditions due to its remote, exposed location, and he constantly requested increases in his salary but was always denied. His brother-in-law, Christopher Pushard, served as his assistant and briefly brought his wife to the island, where they had their first child, Jane. However, Pushard didn\u2019t get his family to stay, as relations were strained between the two men.<\/p>\n

In 1804, after serving for eight years, Polereczky died penniless on the island. For years afterward, some say his ghost has haunted the keepers who came after him. There have been sightings of a ghost named the “Old Captain” climbing the tower’s staircase.<\/p>\n

\"Seguin<\/a>

Seguin Island lighthouse has many strange incidents.<\/p><\/div>\n

One incident occurred after the lighthouse was automated in 1985 when the supervisor in charge of the crew to move the furniture reported months later that the \u201cOld Captain\u201d ghost awoke him in the middle of the night, dressed in oilskins and shaking his bed. The entity asked him not to take the furniture away and to leave his home alone. Convinced he was in a deep dream, the supervisor decided not to oblige the captain\u2019s ghost and to move the furniture anyway, as he and his crew were paid to complete it. The next day, all the furniture had been successfully loaded onto a boat, which sat on a skid on a track leading to the water. As it was being lowered 200 feet below into the water, suddenly, the cable mysteriously snapped, causing the vessel and all its contents to race down the track into the water. The boat sank on impact, taking the furniture with it.<\/p>\n

Over the recent years, many responsible volunteer caretakers who sign on to help upkeep the lighthouse for summer tourists have reported various sightings and strange paranormal events. Items have been moved inside the house or tossed from shelves onto the floor, mysterious cold spots, tools disappearing and reappearing randomly, and doors have been observed opening and closing. If the caretakers move the furniture, it is sometimes restored to its original spot the following day. Some have reported hearing coughing from an unseen source. Many people believe these events are of the \u201cOld Captain.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Seguin<\/a>

Seguin Island Light is Maine\u2019s most powerful lighthouse.<\/p><\/div>\n

Piano Playing Caused the Keeper\u2019s Insanity<\/span>
\n<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This story is legend, and documentation has been very difficult to find. It is perhaps the most tragic incident that occurred on Seguin Island.<\/p>\n

According to the legend, around the mid-1800s, a caretaker or keeper of the beacon, newly married, brought his young wife out with him to tend the light. Not used to the isolation on the island, she became increasingly bored and depressed, constantly complaining about not having anything to do. Thinking it would occupy her and keep her mind off the boredom, the keeper ordered a piano to be brought to the island just before winter set in. He proudly presented it to her after numerous attempts to get the piano up the side of the rocky ledge and carefully hauling it to the keeper\u2019s house with many friends.<\/p>\n

His wife was delighted but could not play without sheet music. Fortunately, only one song had come with the piano, so she set to play it\u2014a simple Scot Joplin tune. Soon afterward, the island was icebound; no other deliveries could come in. She continually played her piano, with the same song, over and over and over again.<\/p>\n

The isolation and constant playing of the same tune over countless hours and days eventually drove the keeper insane. Finally, he had enough, took an axe, and chopped the piano to bits. When she bitterly complained, he turned on and attacked her, chopping her up with the axe. Realizing the ghoulish action he just completed, he killed himself.<\/p>\n

On the Kennebec River, during foggy nights, you can hear the ghost of the lighthouse keeper\u2019s wife playing the same ghostly tune on her phantom piano out over the waves on those still, calm evenings. Many mariners and former keepers claimed to have had some piano tune playing over the waters.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Young Girl<\/span>
\n<\/strong><\/h2>\n

It has been reported that a young girl died on the island, and her parents buried her near the generator house or somewhere close to the property between the lighthouse and the fog horn. She has been witnessed by many running playfully around the gardens, laughing, smiling, and sometimes coughing as if she has an illness. She\u2019s been seen not only by visitors to Seguin Island but by previous keepers who\u2019ve called the lighthouse their home and has also been witnessed running up and down the stairs, waving to her onlookers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n