Episode 596: Spooky Lighthouses: Volume 4
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Hey weirdos, I'm Alayna. I'm Ash. And this is Morbid.

How do you guys feel about double-spaced documents? Ash has a lot of thoughts about it. Well, I just double-spaced my document and then I was like, that might be a little too much. So then don't you ask people to double-space their puttifus?

It's wild that you would just call me out like that on a national podcast, but okay. I didn't call you out. You say it. No, I do. You know? And people do it. And they do, and I appreciate it. So that's... No, okay. Good point, though, because... Thank you. You're welcome. On...

We're like real punchy today. We are. On PDFs, it looks good, but I was just in the Google Docs, if you will, and the double space is like, all right. Jarring. It's almost insulting. I'm not that blind. Yeah, it insists upon itself. Yeah. You know? I'm not old. I'm not old. I mean, do we drink carbonated sparkling water? Yeah. Not around here. I'm not that old. I took two sips of that shit and I said, bleh. Bleh.

Well, you know what's exciting? What? Why'd you look up when you said that? It dimmed a little bit. Again, I thought the sun had sneezed and blinked again. Oh, that did happen earlier today. That happened a few days ago. No, Mama, that happened 10 minutes ago.

You good, sis? Man, I need more coffee. That happened several years ago. Hey, Alina. I've been in this room for several years. That's like when I say something happened the other day. And it could be any time between like an hour ago and two decades ago. No, it was only a couple minutes ago. The sun seemed to have blinked real quick. Sneezed. Which was disconcerting. Yeah.

But we're all here still right now at least. So that's okay. And what's exciting is we're talking about a spooky lighthouse, guys. Two in fact. Two spooky lighthouses. We're doing a spooky episode because we, I mean, come on. It's been a minute. We haven't done one in a long time. And it's almost the Burr months. I am wearing a Halloween sweatshirt right now in full preparation. Shut up. Actually, by the time you hear this, will it be Burr? Will it be Burr? Will it be September? September.

No, we're not that far. No, we're not that far. Are we? Maybe. Who knows? We could be. So maybe it's the Burr Months. And if so, welcome to the Burr Months, my friends. And if it's not, get fucking excited. I do like your sweatshirt. Where's that from? Thank you. American Eagle, actually. Is it really? Yeah, everybody. I'll post it because it's very comfortable. Wow. It looks it's like a good slouch. Very slouchy. Very comfy. I actually saw Michaela.

On TikTok. Go to Patu. She said, I got this at American Eagle. And I said, holy shit, that's really cute. And I got it. She influenced me. Shop. Shop. Make it shop. I love her. I love her so much. Michaela, be our friend.

This is day 200 of saying Michaela, be our friend. She's like, okay, Stan. She's like, please leave me alone. You're weird. But yeah, she influenced me. And let me tell you. It's cute. She wasn't kidding. I like it. I'll post it on my Instagram so you guys can find it easily. You gotta shop my. Yeah, absolutely. There you go. We'll talk later.

But yeah, it's time for some spooky. We haven't done it in a long time. And these are just like, they're just kind of a, they get me so ready for the spooky season because it's like the haunted aspect. But there's also a lot of true crime in here. Oh, yeah. Mine has a murder. Yours has a murder. Mine also has a murder. Yeah. That was confused as like a suicide. But when you hear it, you're going to be like, um, why would they even think that? Mine was really senseless. Yeah. As they usually are. Yeah, typically. But...

I'll start with mine. Oh, okay. I'm going to start with mine. Oh, all right. It's me first. Me, me. I'm first. Oh, no. My fancy ice is not available on Instagram. What? You guys know those ice things? Like the big balls of ice? Yeah. Yeah.

I just really like those. I'll bring you my molds. Thanks. You're welcome. I appreciate that. I have an ice maker in my fridge now. It's a luxury I never knew. Yeah. And now I know it. I just, I really like those big ones because they take forever to melt. And then if I want like an ice cold Coca-Cola.

Then it doesn't get wadded down. This is unimportant, but I have to know. Do you drink other beverages in your Stanley other than water? No. Me either. Never. Me either because I feel it would taint it. I do have several, so I could like delegate one. I only have one Stanley and I only drink water in it.

It's crazy that you only have one. I gotta get you another one. But I feel like an ice cold beverage in your Stanley Cup, like with the ice in it, would be the equivalent to like when you get a McDonald's. Oh, I bet it would slap. So...

My lighthouse today is the Cape Romaine Lighthouse in South Carolina. Okay, cool. This is a very... It's in McClellanville, South Carolina. I like how you say that. McClellan. So in the spot where this lighthouse is today, and they're like abandoned now, I believe. I think people took care of them, but they're on a pretty lonely part of the island and everything. They're just really by themselves. Oh, that's sad. Now...

Where the lighthouse is today, there used to be a windmill. Okay. A lot of ships back in the day, in the 1800s, would mistake this windmill for the Charleston Lighthouse, which was another port. Oh, no. And they would end up tragically crashing because the waters are crazy treacherous off of this island where, like, the Raccoon Keys and Cape Romain are.

There were a number of fatal accidents because of this. And people said that they probably, because at first you're like, they confused a windmill for it? Like they have blades. But when it got like windy and shit, they would take the blades off of the windmill. So it looked like a lighthouse. Like the tower looked just like one. Well, I guess if they're going fast enough, you might miss them. Yeah. And it's dark, foggy, easy to get confused. Yeah. We're not sailors. We don't know. We're not. I'm not claiming to be maritime at all. So, you know.

Who am I? Who am I to say? Not maritime out here. I'm not maritime. Morbid is not going maritime. I'm not nautical. So the Spanish schooner, the Diamond or the Diamante, crashed there in 1816. And there was a loss of 21 lives in this crash. Oh, wow.

And after this incident, the National Advocate paper in New York City wrote, quote,

The loss of the diamond from Havana is attributed to that cause. The safety of vessels and security of persons and property renders it necessary that something should be done to prevent accidents of like nature. It would be well to take down the windmill or erect a lighthouse, we think. However, if the windmill is removed, it would answer the purpose. At present, the similarity between the Charleston Light and the windmill is the case of many unfortunate casualties."

That was only one crash. It just happened to be a very big one. Many happened because of this.

Now, that was in 1816 that that crash happened. In 1817, a man named Edmund Blunt wrote in some outlet, I'm not exactly sure where, he wrote, "...we will also give a hint to the owner of the windmill on Cape Romain, which has deceived many navigators and caused the destruction of their vessels, and remind him that as there is a curse denounced against him who removeth his neighbor's landmark..."

We presume and hope a double curse will be his who willfully holds out a false beacon to the mariner when approaching the coast. Oh, thems is fighting words. Like, damn. So that sounds like the guy who owned the windmill was like, fuck you, don't touch my windmill. And that guy was like, fuck you, we're not going to touch your windmill. We're just going to

re-up and double your curse back at you. We're going to double that curse because he was like, I curse the man who fucketh with my landmark. Yeah. And they were like, okay. We curseth you back. We double curse the man who fucketh with the mariners trying to navigate out there. No takesies backsees. So someone actually made up a poem about it and they referred to it as a murderous beacon in the poem, which is a hefty indictment. That's a slander, if you will. I would say so. So...

At the end of 1821, shit was getting intense and the pressure was getting pretty thick with all these people crashing and dying and all these tragedies happening. Yeah. So the South Carolina government was like, wow, we should probably fix this because it does kind of look like a lighthouse in the fog in the dark. Which he said, now that you mention it. You know what? You are right. Fun side fact for all my Bravo kids out there. Oh, me? Yeah.

Does everybody... All right. These are from my Southern Charm watchers. Okay. Okay.

Does everyone remember John Pringle? Yes. Was he only on like one season or something of Southern Charm? The season before last. There you go. So John Pringle came on. We were all like, who is this? I found what I assume to be his ancestor in this story. Yeah, because he has deep roots in South Carolina. Yeah, James Pringle of Charleston. Shut the fuck up. He was appointed as one of the commissioners on this task to like...

I'm obsessed.

As if people are going to see that in the fucking distance. Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you. Like what? That was very, I don't know. That was pretty Pringle-ish to me. It felt like. I don't know. John Pringle was an interesting vibe. Yeah. So obviously that wasn't a brilliant plan. So they agreed to build a lighthouse to actually aid in navigation.

I love that they were like, symbol. No. Okay. Lighthouse. Yeah. At first they were just like, let's just like slap a cross on it. And it's like, that's not going to help. And they're like, all right. Fair enough. They were like, I guess we'll build a whole lighthouse. And it's like, wow. So you could have done that? They were like, what if we spend $20 instead of $20,000? Yeah. But see, we finally got there.

got there. So they planned to erect it on Raccoon Key because the other place, I think like the other side of the place where they wanted to do it was like the tide was too crazy. It would end up like eroding where it was. Oh, and then there's no point. So in March 1827, they build one. They build a lighthouse 65 feet high. Damn. And it's made of brick.

They also build a keeper's residence on the area. Of course. But apparently the lighthouse wasn't great because it wasn't that tall when it comes to like...

people at sea and like being at sea level and seeing it, it was kind of like when you look at it now, you're like, wow, that was a little puny. Oh, that's funny. Mine is 66 feet tall. Yeah, this one was like pretty puny when it comes to like the sea level that we are at here. Like I think like it wasn't able to be seen very well. And I think part of that was also that mariners were complaining a lot that the light was super dim. Oh. And it would be super bright for a little while. And then as the night went on, it would kind of burn out. Oh, no. So they were like, this is a little

janky. They were like, hey, this isn't exactly what we were looking for. This actually is like less helpful. Close, but no cigar. So that was in, no, that was in 1827. Okay.

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Rediscover your curiosity with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com slash morbid today to get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash morbid. In 1852, they're like, wow, all right, we'll fix it. Like, 82. No, that makes sense. I have similar shit go on with me. Yeah. With me and my lighthouse. With me and my life and my lighthouse. Yeah.

It's always this way. But they finally were like, all right, we'll fix it. So they go to fix it because they got like some grant or something that said like you can fix up this lighthouse and make it usable. But then when they tried to, they were like, we actually can't fix this one up. Oh, no. Did they tear it down? Well, and then they were like, okay, we'll build another one. So they were like, leave the other one up while we build this one. Then normally when this happens, they tear the other one down. Yeah. But they didn't in this instance. Both of them are still standing. That's interesting. And they're right next to each other.

Huh. So they built another one. So I guess, you know, two for one. Yeah, there you go. And this one's taller. They also used slave labor on this one. So already we have some...

Not great vibes and not great energy already happening on this area. Yeah, I don't love that. Yeah, and that's something that in every source you will read or see is very like specifically they make sure you know that because I think like the shit that goes down here, you're like, oh, there's some bad energy here already. And this one is 150 feet high.

Holy shit. And even crazier, it leans slightly. It's like the leaning tower of Pisa. I was just going to say that. Also, you can have fun with photos, I bet. Yeah, just pretend you're holding it up. So, you know, it's fine. It's cool. It can lean. That's okay. They've had to fix it up a few times over the years to make sure it's not leaning to like a dangerous place, but it's still leaning. Yeah.

And that brings us, so that's, you know, what a beginning. What a beginning to this structure. Yeah. And let me tell you. Doesn't get better. Something pretty crazy happened there. So Tuesday, April 8th, 1873. Yeah.

At 5 p.m., Captain Andrew Johnson, which might be Joe Hanson, but maybe was changed to Johnson because he was from Norway. Oh, okay. He was married to a woman from Sweden. She is not named in any source that you can find. She is only Mrs. Johnson or Mrs. Andrew Johnson. That's fucked up. Yeah. She had a name. I know. She sure did, but we don't know it. Now, at 5 p.m., Captain Andrew Johnson, he was the lighthouse keeper.

He left his home, the residence on the area, and went on his way to light the lighthouse lamp and to do his normal, like, you know, lighthouse keeper business. Yeah, as one does. Exactly. He'd been the keeper for about six years at this point and had an annual salary of $700. Wow.

Huh. Yeah. And he was gone for a while because it's not an easy job being a lighthouse keeper. And his wife was back at the residence. Again, they're right next to each other, but like he's not in the house. Yeah. And the keeper said his wife was in good spirits and seemed completely fine when he left her. Nothing was amiss. Okay. He saw her around 6 p.m. outside tending to chores around the house. Yeah.

And he spotted her from where he was standing high above her. He was out on the gallery, which is like that balcony that surrounds the light. And she waved at him, he waved at her, and she went back inside the house. He looked at her, and she looked at him. That's literally what happened. Then, so Julius L. Lee, who was the assistant lighthouse keeper...

He also lived on the property. That's usually how it went. Like the keeper would live there and the assistant. And he stated a bit after the events that are about to take place that Mrs. Johnson came over to his residence at one point and had just like hung out with him and his wife for a little bit, like sat down and talked. Yeah. And they reported later that she was also in great spirits. Like they didn't see anything amiss either. She wasn't upset. She wasn't, you know, this is important to note. Yeah.

And so Captain Johnson stayed on his shift at the lighthouse until about 9 p.m. And then he was relieved by Julius L. Lee, the assistant. Got it. After only about, he claimed, so Julius Lee said it was about five or six minutes after he saw him go into his house. Captain Johnson ran out of his home screaming that his wife was dead. She had killed herself. Oh, God. So he and the assistant went back into the house and found his wife, 53 years old,

splayed out on the bed or on the floor, depending on the source that you look at. Okay. Absolutely soaked in blood in her nightclothes. Oh, no. Her throat had been cut from ear to ear. And they're claiming that's a suicide? Yeah.

There was a revolver next to her. It was his revolver, Captain Johnson's revolver. Yeah. But there was no, it had not been shot. Okay. Apparently they said, they somehow determined that the revolver was probably intended to be used at one point, but was not discharged for some reason. It got like stuck. Okay. Like it jammed, essentially. Yikes. So next to her was a straight razor as well. Oh my God. That was used to cut her throat. Oh, okay.

Yeah. Now, interestingly, too, once they called people to the scene, jewelry was missing, but only her jewelry. Huh. He had valuables, and none of his valuables were taken. And that's strange. And also, the room looked like it had been slightly ransacked. Her clothing was everywhere, which was not normal. And why would she do that before ending her life? And the door leading into the bedroom opened and locked from the inside and was clearly tampered with.

What? And witnesses say they later found a pair of her gold spectacles in the garden below the bedroom window and they were hers. In the garden below the bedroom window? Yeah. Okay. So Captain Johnson said he couldn't, he,

He couldn't understand what had happened here. He didn't see anyone go in there, but he wasn't looking the whole time because he was keeping the lighthouse. Yeah, you got to do that. And he said his wife did once tell him, like during their relationship, that she once had thoughts of wanting to kill herself potentially. Okay. But neighbors and friends all said their marriage was great. They were very happy together, very content. There was no signs of...

any slight indication of trouble or violence of any kind in that home. Wow. They were not violent with each other, nothing. And...

They all said they didn't see any indication that she would be upset. There's all these stories that come out where they say, like, you know, she wanted to go visit Sweden and go back to see her family and he wouldn't let her. Okay. So she got so despondent that she... It doesn't make sense, though. It's not suicide. Yeah. This is not suicide. And I don't think many people believe it is. Yeah, it doesn't sound like it. It just sounds bizarre. It does. And interestingly, too...

Apparently, the couple had a savings account with South Carolina Loan and Trust Company. The account had reached $1,400. That's big back then. Exactly. And 10 days before her death, Mrs. Johnson had gone into town, gone to the bank, and told the people at the bank that her husband had asked her to withdraw all the money for some kind of business venture he was entering into.

So she was given the money. She wrote a check. She did all the things, given the money because she had permissions to do it. But after her death, Captain Johnson said he never asked her to do that. There was no business venture and they have no idea where the money went and where her jewelry and valuables went. That's weird that she was the one to take out the money and then specifically her jewels were missing. Yeah. Isn't that strange? That's the thing. There's really no theories because people didn't know anything about them.

And it's like, whoever did, like, they either had to be on the island or they would have had to arrive by boat. And he's manning the lighthouse so he'd see somebody arrive by fucking boat. Exactly. So it's got to be somebody. One theory I did see from someone that, and they're just speculating like wildly here because what do we have to go on? Yeah. Is like, did someone at the bank or someone, like, did someone at the bank know she had that money, saw that she took it out for some reason, or like...

And fall, like, came to take it, you know? But somebody would have seen them arrive. But who was sending her to take that money out in the first place? Yeah. If she, or why was she doing it? Or did she owe somebody a debt for some reason? That's what I wonder. And people think, like, did she take out the money because she was going to leave her husband? So she took all the money and, like, sold her jewelry to, like, get money to leave. And he found out. Maybe. That's the whole thing.

That's the other side where people are like, did he find out and flip out? Interesting. I mean, it doesn't sound like we'll ever fucking know. That's the thing. So they did end up ruling it a suicide? I don't even know if it was officially ruled because this is even crazier. Back then they didn't do that. She was placed in a temporary grave at the lighthouse because they couldn't get the coroner out there or get her to the coroner in time and they had to keep her from...

and everything. And so they placed her in a temporary quote unquote grave on the lighthouse grounds, like buried her to keep her from like decaying as fast.

But no one knows if she is still buried there because there is no records of her not being buried there. Shut the fuck up. So her body could still be buried there. Shut the fuck up. And there's like all these stories about light keepers after these people like tending to the grounds like there's a grave there. Like making sure to like honor that there might be a person buried under here. But nobody knows where. Nobody knows where. That's chilling. I know.

And the spooky part about it is that bloodstains inside the Keeper's residence, like after this, couldn't be cleaned. And they remained no matter how much scrubbing was done. And sometimes they would get lighter and then they would darken again like they reappeared. And there's no scientific evidence.

Not that I could find because these are just like people talking about it. Like spoopy goopy. And this is like wood, you know, like why should it's like, and then droplets of blood would also appear around the residence. People who live there afterwards said like just drops of blood would appear. I couldn't do that.

I couldn't handle that. They would still hear soft footsteps going up and down the 195 steps of the lighthouse. Oh, you could never catch me in the afterlife climbing stairs like that. And they think that she was like, she's going around just walking through. Or it's like a residual haunting. Yeah. Yeah.

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And a keeper named August Frederick Wickman claimed... I think August is such a cool name. I love that name too. Right? Especially for a boy. Yes. I think it's a really cool boy name. I do too. He claimed that he heard them all the time. He's like, it used to freak me out and then I got used to it. And his son, who was born on the island and like took on after him, said he also heard it and would see like weird apparitions on the island.

On the grounds. Oh, it's so creepy. If you've ever heard, like, footsteps when you know that you should not be hearing footsteps, that's a weird-ass feeling. Because you heard the footsteps at Ma and Papa's house, right? I used to hear it all the time. Like, they wouldn't be home. I would be home alone, and I would hear footsteps and be like, oh, cool, someone's coming to murder me. Great. You're like, oh, cool. And then nothing would happen. It would just be fucking footsteps. It is so creepy. What the fuck? It's just...

It's really freaking me out that they don't know if she's buried there or not. That's the thing that really got me. And also, we have every reason to believe that she might. Oh my God!

Oh no, genuinely, why did that happen? You saw it. I saw it. I didn't touch my shit. Her headphones, as soon as she said it really freaks me out that she could be buried there, they slowly... And it wasn't like they slid down. They slowly inched. Also, they were on the other side of that stopper. They went over this little thing. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no.

It really grinds my gears that you're haunting me. What are you doing? Yeah. It really grinds my gears. I don't think it's that little guy's fault. I'm so scared. I really don't. I love you. I don't think it's that guy's fault. I was upset yesterday that it was here. No, no. He can, like, stay. Give him. Put him on Elena's side. Yeah, you can put him on Elena's side. He can stay here. It's okay. You can put him with his brother. Just please don't mess with me. It scares me. You know, maybe that's just.

Just saying hi. My heart. They weren't trying to hurt you. They were just being like, wiggle, wiggle. The TV. I mean, that was... Yeah, I remind you. That was so long ago, you know? Weeks. Weeks. That's fucking weird that that just happened. Sorry, I was saying, if I could finish, if that's all right, but...

Fuck, Jesus. I'm really excited to hear that back. Yeah, same. I'm going to listen to that. That was the most genuinely horrified reaction I have heard in a long time. No, that was really... I moved away. I didn't know if they were going to fly at my face. In case you guys are...

have no fucking clue what's going on right now because you are not in the room with us. Fair, fair, fair. We have like mic stands in front of us and both of us have our headphones like on the mic stands. Yeah. But there's like a little stopper between like the rest of the pole of the nightstand that would stop them from like falling down onto the microphone. Yeah, and mine are literally hung over that stopper.

And as Ash said, I think it's as Ash said, when she said, it really freaks me out to not know if she's buried there or not. They literally jumped over the little stopper. It was like they were pushed. And wiggled down to almost right into her face. And did you hear the, when they like hopped over the thing? Yeah. I like heard them as they came and I was like, as they came.

It sounds like they came a-running. I heard them as they approached. I did. I heard them as they came sliding down. It was weird. It was weird. I watched it. It's right in front of me, so I saw that happen. I wish we were recording. We probably should record these things. Oh, God. I know. We really should. Yeah, but if you want me to end on, like, a strange note, go for it. I just happened to find, so in the Vermont Union from 1873, like a newspaper, there

There's this little section that's called items. Okay. And it's just like little short news items, like back to back to back. And I'm reading through it because this, this situation, cause this was 1873. So this crime, this, what I think was murder. Yeah. Is in here as like an item cause it had just happened. Right. But when I tell you this is the most bonkers array of items back to back. Oh no. I'm going to read them to you really quick.

So it says,

And then there's a dash to show that we're going to the next item. And it says, the female applicants for clerkships in the Treasury Department pass better examinations than the men. Hell yeah. Then there's a dash and it says, a number of human scalps were recently discovered in a bale of rags received from the West by a paper mill in Petersburg, Virginia. What the fuck? Yep. Then the next one is a Newark man gave a friend a bottle of oil of vitriol to make his beard grow. It didn't work as the friend expected.

So we went from a murder to... Girls do better than boys on exams, says the Treasury Department. Then, hey, we found this bag of scalps that seemed to have come from Virginia. And then it goes right to, like, this guy gave this guy an oil for his beard, and he said your beard will grow, and it did not as expected. It was snake oil. What am I to do? What am I meant to do with all of those items? Back to back...

I don't know exactly. I mean, they're selling papers, that's for sure. To go from girls do better than boys on exams sometimes to I found a bale of human scalps. That's a bit cry.

I mean, that's a lot. And then, like, this guy's beard didn't grow like you wanted it to? Did you look further into the human scalps? No, but I'm sure going to. Yeah. If I know you. I'm definitely going to. Yeah, if I know you, you've got to. I'm going to look into the human scalps. What the poop. That's scary. So, yeah. So, old newspapers are hilarious and scary. Yeah. Yeah.

Wow, I want to know. I want to know about that headline specifically. But that's the Cape Romaine lighthouse, at least a story about it and why it's haunted today. Wow. Well, I have the Little Ross lighthouse murder. Ooh. I'm still fucking shook. I can't wait to hear that back. Oh my God.

Alright, so Little Ross Lighthouse is located in Scotland. Scotland! It's in Kirkid Bright Bay, and I looked up how to say that, so if you yell at me, don't yell at Google. Don't! Don't! The island Little Ross is only accessible by boat or helicopter, and it stretches about 29 acres.

It was designed by Alan Stevenson in 1843, and like your original lighthouse, it stands at about 66 feet tall. That little guy. Yeah, little guy. It was constructed to close the gap between other lighthouses at the Mole of Galway and Southerness. But author David Collin points out, before the lighthouse existed, before any lighthouse existed in the area, there was demand for one.

There was like shipwrecks going on. There was stormy weather. It was bad. It was bad. It was not a maritime good time. I love that. No, it was a bad maritime. It was a mala time. Yes. There you go. So the demand dates all the way back to 1792 when Reverend Dr. Robert Muter wrote, in stormy weather when vessels can neither keep the sea nor clear the land, this harbor is the best in the south coast of Scotland for shelter and on account of

on that account, is much frequented in the winter. But the entrance into it being narrow, a strong tide setting right across, and no lighthouse to direct them, it is dangerous to run for it in the dark and engage with a lee shore. Many fatal accidents happen by ships missing the harbor and being driven into Wigtown Bay or on the banks of Solway Firth.

The island of Little Ross affords an excellent situation for a lighthouse. One might be erected there at a small expense and kept up on moderate terms. It would be of the utmost utility to all shipping and particularly to strangers in the hour of danger. Were the government apprised...

the great benefit that would result from this. It is to be hoped they would think the matter worthy of their attention and cause a lighthouse to be erected at the public expense. Wow. So basically he said, it's really fucking dangerous around here. It'd be hella dope if we built a lighthouse and it wouldn't even be that expensive. Yeah, so they're like, why not?

It would take 48 years. That's a lot of years. 48 years. That's a lot of years. A whole bunch of back and forth with different lighthouse boards and people lobbying to make this happen and a ton more shipwrecks and deaths. But finally, in 1840, they got approval for the lighthouse.

It was given by Northern Lighthouse Board and Trinity House. So Robert Stevenson and his son Thomas were actually the first to start surveying the area for a good site, but Robert wanted to retire, so that's why ultimately his brother, Alan Stevenson, took over the design process with his nephew Thomas starting the actual building and engineering in 1843. Hmm.

So the construction would actually be completed on schedule, which might be the only time that's happened in the history of literally ever. 100% it is. Yeah, I think so. 100%. And the lighting system was so advanced that at the time, William Thompson, who later took the name Lord Kelvin, I don't know if you know who that is. I don't know who that is. As in the guy that discovered Kelvin's scale of temperature. Ooh.

He said it was, quote, undoubtedly of the three best revolving lights in the world. Damn. Isn't that crazy? That's a big honor. That's high praise, if you will. For a lighthouse? For a lighthouse? Yeah. Yeah.

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There's more to imagine when you listen. It is spooky season. It is Halloween. So you want to listen to a frightening title. I know it. And I just happen to know somebody who wrote a frightening title. It's called The Butcher Game. One of the best titles I have personally ever listened to. Joe and Sophie, the narrators, are so, so good.

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So

That light would shine bright like a diamond, baby. Hell yeah. From 1843 until 1960. Damn. That was when it became automated, most likely due to something pretty huge in the lighthouse's history. You don't say. According to one publication, though, the quality of design, construction, and maintenance of all the buildings comprising the lighthouse station has been so high that very few changes have been made in their entire history. Hmm. Which, like, wow.

That's crazy. Yeah, that's awesome. That's a good flex. I would say so. But the island made headlines again back in 2017 when it went up for sale for just €325,000.

Wait a sec. A whole fucking island. The entire island. The island went up for sale. Lighthouse, there was cottages still on it. They were definitely in need of some work, but the cottages were still there. Yeah. And the whole island for $325,000. The whole damn island. It sold for more than that. But they were willing to part with it. But yeah. Yeah.

And could that be because a grisly murder took place there decades earlier? I think it could be. I think so, too. In August of 1960, author David Collin, who I mentioned above, he was home visiting from college at the time. And he used to go out to Little Ross Island all the time. But on this specific trip, his father decided to join him.

And when they arrived on the island, they enjoyed a little lunch together. And they were going to kind of like explore around. But they decided, oh, you know what? We should stop in at the cottages and introduce ourselves to the keepers. Trying to be as, you know, polite and respectful as they could. Yeah. So they headed straight to the cottages on the island, which at that time were kept up because the keepers were living there. Yeah. They would usually kind of be like doing chores during the day, like bopping around, you know. Yeah.

Yeah. So they figured, you know, let's introduce ourselves, let them know that we're just here for the day visiting. But as they looked around the cottages, there was no one to be found. But they noticed that there was a dog who David said was, quote, very pleased to see us. And as they looked around some more, the dog just followed alongside them, like just stuck with them. The pupper tune. They kept looking and they noticed that like the closer they got, they were hearing a phone ringing.

And the phone was ringing over and over and over like hours long, nonstop, nobody answering the phone. Okay. So it was pretty clear that something was off here. Yeah. So David Collins' father decided they should look around a little bit more to make sure that everybody was okay.

Also, looking around that island must have been chilling because they didn't know it, but they were the only two living souls at that point and things were not great around here. Ooh, that is chilling. The more and more they looked, it just got more unsettling. I hate that. This is really sad and it ends okay, but they found a rabbit that was trapped under a wooden box. Aww. And they just had to free him and he was like panicked. But he's like, thanks, man. Yeah, he was so distressed.

but after letting him out, they kept looking around and they didn't see any signs of anyone. This dog is still following them around. They're like, what the fuck is going on here?

And it was getting close to the time that they were planning on leaving. And they obviously, because, you know, they're on an island and they have to use the boat to get home, they have to time it properly. I don't know anything about tides. I love that you're like, you know, schedules and times. I'm like, I don't know if you leave at the high tide or low tide. But the moon says you leave at one of those times. The moon is like, I tell you when you leave, bitch. And they said, the moon told them, he said, hey.

It's getting close to closing time here, so pack it up. Moon's like, I'm about ready. But still, they were like, that phone keeps ringing. This dog is, like, following us. No one's around. This is weird. Yeah, that is weird. So David's father decided to try to make one last try to see if anybody was around. And he ended up looking into one of the windows of a cottage. And what he thought he saw was somebody lying in bed. So he's like, I don't think they're sleeping because, um...

I feel like we would have woken them up, the dog might have, the phone might have. It was just a vibe. Yeah. So they made their way in there and they found an older man lying quite still in his bed.

David Collins recalled to the Scotsman what happened next, saying, Everything looked normal, but moving closer to him, my father could see there was a towel wrapped on his head and there was blood on the towel. Oh, man. Our assumption was that he had fallen down the lighthouse stairs and the other keeper had left to get help, but we couldn't understand why he hadn't come back. Oof. This is really creepy. Yeah. Imagine you just go for a day trip to this island that you go to all the time. Yeah. And this is what you find? And this is what you stumble across? Yeah. Yeah.

So rather than wait around for the other keeper to come back, they called the police and a doctor. But because the island is so remote, they had to wait three hours for help to arrive. See, this is what happens. That's why they had to bury Mrs. Johnson. Yeah, exactly. How fucking creepy is that? That's super creepy. Especially when you don't really have any association to this place and you just have to stick around. You're just staying here with what you assume is a dead body. Yeah.

Yeah. So police showed up and they came obviously with a doctor around 7 p.m. that night. And that was then when they realized that this man had died from a gunshot wound to his left eye. Later, when the body was formally examined, the bullet was said to have fallen out of the man's eye socket. Oh. The medical examiner flipped him around and that's when the bullet. And the bullet just dinged right out. Yep. Yep.

Damn. Not great. Wow, what a visual. So the man who was killed was identified pretty quickly as the keeper of the lighthouse, Hugh Clark. And he is an adorable man and was known to be like a really kind, great man.

That makes me so sad. Coincidentally, his assistant keeper, Robert Dixon, was nowhere to be found. You don't say. It turned out Robert Dixon had escaped from the island using Hugh Clark's dinghy to row to the mainland. Oh, no.

Or the mainland. The mainland. The mainland. And then he stole Hugh Clark's car to make his way even further from the scene. He then rented a car and made it all the way to Yorkshire before being apprehended on what David Cullen described as, quote unquote, impressively acute information. Look at that. When they pulled over the car that Robert Dixon had hired after ditching Hugh Clark's car, they questioned him about what he knew relating to the murder, and he replied, I

All right. I know all about it. Wow. Yeah. And they found, I think it was $80 in cash on him, which he shouldn't have had, and a gun with him as well.

That's pretty smokin'. Yeah. So no one really knows what exactly led Robert Dixon to murder Hugh Clark in his sleep, because it was believed that the man was sleeping when he was shot. Somehow that's even worse, you know? Like, his most vulnerable state, he's not doing anything wrong. Yeah. He's just sleeping. There really wasn't a lot of motive here. Yeah. Yeah.

He was found with money that was believed to have been stolen from a recent delivery of Hugh Clark's pay and pay for some tradesmen. But David Collins pointed out that they wouldn't have really been with each other like super often. Like there was a lot of time where Hugh Clark would have been up in the lighthouse and Robert Dixon could have, you know, stolen what he needed to steal. Yeah. With the man being away and he could have just left instead of killing him. Gone about his business. Yeah. Yeah.

So money could have been a motivator here, but there was still an air of mystery surrounding the case. David Collin wrote, to some, it was essentially a mystery story to be likened to the disappearance of the three lighthouse keepers at the, is it Flannan? Flannan, I think, yeah. At the Flannan Islands in 1900. To others, it was a tale of violent disharmony between the two men whose calling required them to live in close proximity to each other in an environment which petty squabbles could have easily broken out and then been magnified beyond endurance.

Yeah. And didn't you say Flannan Islands, like the disappearance of the Keepers, that was something you wanted to cover? Yeah, I really want to look into that more because it seems pretty fascinating. That's why. For like a whole episode. Yeah, that's why I included the quote. I was like. Smart. A little foreshadowing for you. A little smarty over there. Oh, you know. So Robert Dixon was arrested and ultimately tried for murder. And Dave and Colin and his father were both called as witnesses. His father, Thomas. Yeah.

Ultimately, Robert Dixon was sentenced to death by hanging. Whoa. And this was in the 19th. This was 1960. Damn. David Collin was among many, though, who wasn't quite sure that the punishment fit the crime given the circumstances. Huh. There was a lot of evidence that Robert Dixon was not a completely sane man. Oh, okay. Including the fact that a doctor had quite literally diagnosed him as insane. I mean, that's a good indication. Yeah.

Yeah, usually. He also had fallen off a horse at one point in his life and suffered really severe head trauma that resulted in severe headaches. He spent time in a psychiatric hospital voluntarily and sadly at one point had attempted suicide. So I'm assuming after they reviewed this evidence of his insanity, the court reproved his sentence of hanging five days before his planned execution. Wow. So they really... Whoa. Yeah.

He was still to remain incarcerated, and two years after he was given the reprieve, Robert Dixon overdosed in prison and died. Oh, jeez. So he really didn't serve much time for the crime. No. But he died in prison. Wow. So...

Many would believe and some would claim that because of the murder that took place on Little Ross Island that it must be haunted. Yeah. And some even question if that's why the selling price was listed so low in 2017. But those who knew Hugh Clark doubt that he would be a malevolent spirit haunting the area. And David Collins wrote, friends and colleagues of Hugh, friends and colleagues of Hugh have subsequently told me that if he was to have had a ghost, it would have been gentle, kind, and friendly like him. So there would have been nothing to fear. Oh.

Isn't that so sweet? Oh my God, break my heart. Yes. So that is the case of the murder on Little Ross Island and the lighthouse that's there. Jeez. That was like a pretty brief overview because obviously we cover two lighthouses in this, but David Collin wrote a book. It's called Life and Death on Little Ross. Oh, wow. And it's definitely worth checking out. I got a lot of information from there. Oh, I love that. Yeah, and it's available on the Kindle. Oh my

That's where I bought it. I love that. I think it was like not very much. I don't know how much, but not very much. I bought it a while ago. You know what the thing with lighthouses is? It's like

You don't think of it how lonely and, like, isolated of a job it is. Yeah. So these stories happen all the time. Yeah. With lighthouses, you hear of, like, people just losing it, snapping, murders happening, accidents happening, like, all this stuff. And so many hauntings related to them. So many hauntings, because there's also, like...

The fucking sea. The shipwrecks. The fucking sea. The sea is crazy. Exactly. Like the shipwrecks happen. They're usually happening right on these rocks that are right outside of these lighthouses. And then you have all these, you know, sea ghosts.

Singing sea shanties. I love a sea shanty. It's a lot. It is. But I love a spooky lighthouse. I really do. And we hadn't done one in like a year, I think. Yeah, it's been a long time. We're going to bring these back. We've got to bring back the spooky lighthouses, the spooky lakes, the spooky roads. But you guys...

have suggested a lot of them. So make sure you keep writing in your spooky roads, spooky castles, spooky lighthouses, spooky schools, spooky forests. I really want some spooky forests. Please help me on that. Yes. If you, if you will be so kind and send them into morbid podcast at gmail.com, but make sure you put spooky, whatever it is in the title of the email.

Yeah, and feel free to let us know if you've had like your own experience because we also love to share an experience when we're talking about whatever, the road, the lake, the whatever have you. I know there's like a million of these things or if, you know what, you guys have also come up with good ideas for like other installments of spooky things. Like I think you guys were the ones who brought up spooky schools to us. Yes. And we ended up finding some really cool stuff. So if you have another idea.

Bring it to us. Let us know. Spooky lakes, all that good stuff. Yeah. But yeah, we love these. We love them so much. If we want to bring them back a little more, sprinkle them in. They're interesting. They're spooky. They're fun. They're scary. And we're getting into the burr months. Getting into spooky season. That's what spooky season's all about. I'm ready for it. I can't wait. So we hope you keep listening. And we hope you keep it.

But not so weird that, um, you haunt a lighthouse. Or maybe you do keep it so weird that you haunt a lighthouse. I would keep it that weird. Oh, and definitely don't keep it so weird that you're so fucking haunted that your goddamn earphones fall on you because I'm really stressed out about how haunted I am right now. But they come from you. Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-

Before the boat had hit the water, the whale's tail came up and caught her. All hands to the side, harpooned and caught her when she dived down low. Soon may the wellerman come to bring us sugar and tea and rum. One day when the damning is done, we'll take a leap and go.

No line was cut, no whale was freed, and the captain's mind was not on free. But they belonged to the whales and the screechies, took that ship in tow. Soon may the weatherman come to bring us sugar and tea and rum. One day when the timing is done, we'll take our leave and go. La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la.

For forty days or even more, the line went slack and tight once more. Well, both were the last, there were only four, still that way they'd go.

Soon may the weatherman come to bring us sugar and tea and rum. One day when the timing is done, we'll take our leave and go. The skies are gray, the fight's still on. Now the line's not cut and the whale's not gone. The weatherman makes his regular call to encourage the captain through and all. Soon may the weatherman come to bring us sugar and tea and rum. One day when the timing is done, we'll take our leave and go.

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