THE STORY
Reported Haunting
Execution Rocks Light has been linked to legends of pirates, shipwreck victims, and the infamous "Lady in Black." Lighthouse keepers and visitors have reported ghostly apparitions, mysterious cries, unexplained footsteps, and shadow figures inside the lighthouse. It is considered one of the most haunted lighthouses in the northeastern United States.
The rocks here were once a place where Revolutionary War criminals and other wrongdoers were executed. They were chained here at low tide and faced a slow, cruel drowning as the tide rose. The rocks were long a danger to ships, so the lighthouse was built in 1847. In the 1920s, the waters were also used as a body-dumping ground for serial killer Carl Panzram’s victims. Given its history, it’s no wonder that at the lighthouse witnesses have reported strange sounds and ghostly apparitions.