Point Lookout Lighthouse Investigation

Location: Scotland, MD

Date: Friday, October 21, 2005, 5:30 pm - 11:15 p.m.

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous. 

Solar Weather: Normal, geomagnetic field unsettled.

Investigators present:  Robert H and John M.

Equipment:  Olympus 2000 Digital Voice Recorder,  Extech IR thermometer, Olympus C-4000 Digital Camera, Trifield EMF meter, 2 Sony digital Video cameras with night vision and IR extenders, 2 Sony digital HI8 video cameras with Nightshot and IR extenders, 1 Sony Mini DV video camera with Nightshot and IR extender, Extech EMF meter, 2 Olympus DS-1 Digital Voice Recorders, Extech IR thermometer, Kodak digital camera, 2 remote sensor 35mm cameras.


History: PRSNA has investigated this lighthouse numerous  times.

Investigator Robert Hall was recently granted permission by the U.S. Navy to conduct an EVP study within the lighthouse for several months in 2005. This investigation was part of his study. Complete history of Point Lookout Lighthouse can be found at:

http://www.ptlookoutlighthouse.com/

 

Investigation:

We arrived at the lighthouse at 6 pm. The weather was rainy, windy and cool.  Very few people were at the point fishing, presumably because of the foul weather. We unpacked the truck and I gave John an historical and paranormal tour since he had never visited the lighthouse.  In an effort to duplicate the “Abandon” EVP that Robert captured back in 2001 on this same date, Robert’s digital recorder remained in the North Side Den for the duration of the first night’s investigation.   When we entered the lighthouse, the light in the North Side Dining Room would not turn on when the switch was thrown. Several hours into the investigation, Robert and John noticed that the dining room light was on.  The wiring in the light looks very suspect, so perhaps John and Robert’s walking on the second floor caused enough vibration to allow the light socket's wiring to make contact.  Throughout the investigation, the tri-field EMF detector remained stationary near a camcorder in the north side living room, with sound activation set “on” for any EMF spikes; the hand held ExTech EMF detector was carried with us to each room. 

We began our formal investigation at 6:51 pm in the north side basement (furnace room) where the temperature was 57-60 degrees Fahrenheit and the EMF readings were flat (0).  At this time, John's digital recorder was located in the basement with us and camcorders were recording in both first floor living rooms, facing west toward the Potomac River. Two camcorders were recording upstairs in the hallways, facing East (toward Chesapeake Bay)

At 7:19 pm, we moved to the first room in the north side basement (the first room down the stairs) where the temperature was 62-64 degrees and the EMF readings were flat.   John's digital recorder was in the basement with us.

At 7:27 pm we moved to the south side basement, first room, where the temperature was 63-64 degrees and the EMF readings were flat.

At 7:39 pm, we moved to the middle room in the south side basement where the temperature was 63-64 degrees and the EMF readings were flat.  We observed that cricket and rain noises were prevalent.

At 8:04 pm, we moved to the north side bedroom where the temperature was 58-60 degrees and the EMF readings were calm (from 0.0 to 1.2).  At this time the only video that was still running was Robert's camcorder in the north side bedroom.   We recorded a brief EMF spike to 2.5.

At 8:15 pm, we moved to the north side small bedroom where the temperature was 59-60 degrees and the EMF readings were flat.

At 8:25, we moved to the south side den where the temperature readings were 59-60 degrees and the EMF readings were flat.

At 8:45, we moved to the south side small bedroom where the temperature was 61 degrees and the EMF readings were mostly flat, although we did have one spike to 3.0 occurring near John's shoulder, otherwise the readings were flat.

At 9 pm, we moved to the south side bedroom where the temperatures were 60-61 degrees and the EMF readings were mostly calm (.05 with spikes up to 5.0).   Soon after we entered the room, John followed an EMF spike from the south east corner (where the famous confederate soldier picture was taken in 1980) to the center of the room and eventually out the door into the hallway.  John was able to pursue the EMF spike for about ten minutes;  at 9:10, the room returned to the previous calm state.  John felt a chill during the time he was tracking the spike, but the digital thermometer did not identify a temperature change. At 9:24 pm, John was walking around the bedroom and felt like his right hand “bumped” into someone.

At approximately 10 pm, we returned to the north side living room and talked with the lights on.   At 11:15, we decided to call it a night as we knew we would be returning the next day and staying well into the night.   We left Robert's digital recorder over the doorway in the north side living room to see if any EVPs would be captured.   The only anomaly was a rolling sound, like furniture being moved, however, a thunderstorm rolled through the entire area in the early morning hours, so this anomaly had to be discounted.

Conclusions: The PRSNA has investigated this lighthouse several times, and we're always amazed at how light and airy the building feels. Many southern Maryland residents are too terrified to enter this lighthouse due to the stories they've heard, but this lighthouse seldom seems to have the heavy atmosphere usually associated with haunted sites. Even at night, the atmosphere within the lighthouse does not live up to its reputation. Once again, the PRSNA investigators left the lighthouse believing that we obtained very little in the way of positive results, and once again, we were proven wrong when we actually reviewed our results. Several stationary orbs were captured along with one moving orb.  We also obtained a good number of EVPs and posted the best on the EVP page for this investigation. We did obtain some positive video as well, but did not post it because we could not be certain that it wasn't just dust.   Due to a technical glitch, John M's recordings were rendered unusable, so perhaps even more EVPs occurred during this investigation.

 

Submitted by Robert Hall.