The Leamington Lighthouse and the Blue Lady

 Author: Skylar Shirey

The Leamington Lighthouse was a beacon of light used to guide sailors on their way. It is located in  Hilton Head and served the ocean’s sailors for many years. One night tragedy struck the lighthouse, and the area has never been the same. 

On a dark night in 1896 a gigantic storm hit Hilton Head Island. This storm affected the whole town, but most importantly the lighthouse. The lighthouse keeper, Adam Fripp, worked tirelessly to keep the light a flame. Despite his best-efforts Fripp had exerted himself too much and died from a heart attack. Adam Fripp left behind his daughter Caroline Fripp. After not hearing from her father, Caroline set out to the Lighthouse to check on him. When she arrived, she was greeted with the body of her deceased father. She placed pennies over his eyes to give him good fortune in the afterlife. Despite her grief she continued where her father left off servicing the lighthouse. While distributing oil up the lighthouse Caroline fell and died when she me the ground. Days later, once the storm had passed, rescuers found the bodies of the father and daughter. They were laid to rest, and the lighthouse never received another keeper. 

Over time the Lighthouses purpose shifted. SC Picture Project describes this shift in their article entitled, “Leamington Lighthouse.” The area around the lighthouse became a Marine base, and then later became a historic monument. Some say the have see a figure wandering the area on stormy nights. This figure is seen radiating blue in a white dress. She was given the name The Blue Lady. Witnesses say when the Blue Lady is spotted, she is heard wailing. Because of the description of the Blue Lady and the area she resides in paranormal experts believe she is Caroline Fripp. They say she is wandering crying out for her missing father. 

In the later years the keeper of the lighthouse home has been moved to a location within town. Dennis Woods, a real estate investor based in the state or Oregon who investigates real estate and the stores that coincide with it writes in his article, “The Hilton Head Blue Lady - Paranormal Activity on Hilton Head Island” about the sightings of the Blue Lady. He describes, during the demolition and construction, a blue phone would ring at the house’s new location. Once picked up the phone would scream the sound of cries. Some believes this was the work of the Blue Lady. Construction workers also say that when leaving the sight late at night the see a blue light glowing within the home. 

The Leamington Lighthouse still stands tall in Hilton Head. Plaques have been placed around it telling the story of the storm and the Blue Lady. Though it has been many years those who visit the lighthouse on stormy nights may still see the Blue Lady in all her glory. 

Works Cited:

Woods, Dennis. “The Hilton Head Blue Lady - Paranormal Activity on Hilton Head Island” Ezine Articles, 09 Dec. 2009, https://ezinearticles.com/?The-Hilton-Head-Blue-Lady---Paranormal-Activity-on-Hilton-Head-Island&id=3397164. 

“Leamington Lighthouse.” SC Picture Project, 16 Oct. 2022, https://www.scpictureproject.org/beaufort-county/leamington-lighthouse.html.

Rae and Dad. “Haunted Lighthouse/ The Blue Lady Ghost of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina” YouTube, 24 March 2021, https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=leeamington+lighthouse+and+the+blue+lady&qpvt=leeamington+lighthouse+and+the+blue+lady&view=detail&mid=656FA0A261C4A24E6EEA656FA0A261C4A24E6EEA&&FORM=VRDGAR.

Segars, Bill. “Leamington Lighthouse” SC Picture Project, June 2010, https://www.scpictureproject.org/beaufort-county/leamington-lighthouse.html.

“All About Our Island: Discover Hilton Head.” Hilton Head Island, 25 Oct. 2022, https://www.hiltonheadisland.org/our-island.

For Further Information:

“Haunted Places in Hilton Head” Haunted Places, 16 Oct. 2022, https://www.hauntedplaces.org/hilton-head-island-sc/. This article was written by an anonymous author and serves as a reference for haunted areas near Hilton Head. The source, Haunted Places, also shares haunted areas all around America.

Kauffman, Barry. “So the story goes: The Blue Lady” Hilton Head Monthly, 30 Sept. 2022, https://hiltonheadmonthly.com/living/lifestyle/1463-so-the-story-goes-the-blue-lady. This article was written by Barry Kauffman, a researcher and author who studies paranormal activity and human potential. This article describes the paranormal activity surrounding the Leamington Lighthouse and the story with it.

“Hilton Head/Leamington Lighthouse.” Discover South Carolina, 25 Oct. 2022, https://discoversouthcarolina.com/products/25688. This article was written by an anonymous author and describes the Leamington Lighthouse and the purpose it serves today. IT also discusses the environment around the lighthouse. 

Men in Black

Author: CBow

When you hear “Men in Black,” you might think of Will Smith in the movie Men in Black. Some think of the Men in Black as a “secret” government agency, but most think of UFO’s (Unidentified Flying Objects.)Most people don’t even believe that Men in Black nor UFOs exist. The first story that launched conspiracies about the Men in Black dates back to June 27, 1947, involving a man named Harold Dahl. Dahl was out gathering logs, when he saw “six donut-shaped obstacles hovering” (Justin Sablich) over him in his boat. Sooner than later, one of the obstacles fell, scattering debris and water, killing Dahls dog. The next morning after the ordeal, Dahl was visited by a Man in Black who told Dahl not to speak of what he had witnessed, or else bad things would happen. The mysterious man was able to tell him what exactly had happened, frightening Dahl, which enticed him to tell others. He reached out to a magazine editor, who then reached out to a pilot named Kenneth Arnold, who had also experienced a UFO sighting. In July of 1947, “two Army A-2 Intelligence officers came to investigate.” (Sablich) The next day, when the officers were leaving, their plane crashed, killing both of them. Was this just a coincidence? Or did it have something to do with the Men in Black?

Albert K. Bender was the man who really kicked the Men in Black Conspiracy into full gear. He was a ufologist and conducted multiple counts of paranormal research. Because of his love for paranormal activity, he formed the International Flying Saucer Bureau (IFSB). In November of 1952, Bender was at a local movie theatre in Bridgeport, Connecticut, when he noticed a “strange man with glowing eyes observing him.” (Bielawa). Bender also noticed that there was an increasingly worsening stench of burning sulfur filling his attic. In July of 1953, he was paid a visit by three men in black suits. According to Bender, they communicated telepathically with him, demanding him to stop all UFO work and research. In October of 1953, the last issue from the IFSB Space Review was published, including a cryptic message and warning of those who are engaged in “saucer work to be very cautious” (Bielawa). The IFSB was shut down by Bender, obeying the Men in Black that had threatened him.

Bender’s story attracted a UFO Magazine Publisher, Gray Barker. According to multiple sources, Barker was not considered the most factual reporter on UFO phenomena, as he was a “gifted writer with a gentle, understated sense of humor” (Radford). Barker wrote the book, “They Knew Too Much about Flying Saucers" and included Bender's story inside. The book elaborated upon the Men in Black and UFO conspiracy. For some it expanded their belief of the Men in Black existence, and for some it was just a goofy, fictional, book. After this book was released, more and more people started encountering the Men in Black.

So, what could be a possible explanation behind the Men in Black? Are they really a result of paranormal activity, or do they have nothing to do with aliens at all? It has been reported that many people have experienced the Men in Black when experiencing sleep paralysis. According to Spencer Heathcliff Peters, sleep paralysis “can be described as an inability to move or speak for several seconds after waking up from sleep.” Some say that when they have seen a Man in Black, they saw a black, shadowy figure. When some people experience sleep paralysis, they have also reported seeing a black, shadowy figure. In the 1970s, a survey was conducted by David F. Rudiak that studied the correlation between Men in Black sightings and sleep paralysis. The study concluded that there was no correlation between MIB sightings and sleep paralysis. Rudiak also found that since there was a large amount of people that had never seen a UFO but had an experience with Men in Black, most “alien abductions” are most likely sleep paralysis episodes.  

Other resources suggest that the Men in Black aren’t, have never been, and never will be real. According to Steve Rose, “the UFO community is a textbook case of a gullible group susceptible to manipulation. Having spent too long watching the skies and the X-Files, it's implied, they'll readily swallow whatever snippet of "evidence" suits their grand theory.” Rose claims that movies and documentaries about UFO/paranormal activity are clearly fictionalized and made to feed into the imagination of ufologists. Rose states, “Rather than covering up the existence of aliens, could it be that the real conspiracy has been persuading us to believe in them?” Roses theory is that the Men in Black phenomenon/paranormal activity is not real, but the government wants us to think that they are. But why? Is there something that we don’t know that we should? Are movies just a coverup of something that’s really out there? Or are we just a bunch of paranoid weirdos? I guess we might not know until we see a UFO for ourselves.

Works Cited: 

Bielawa, Michael J., “Bridgeport’s UFO Legacy: Men in Black and the Albert K. Bender Story” Bridgeport History Center, Bridgeport Library. https://bportlibrary.org/hc/authors/bridgeports-ufo-legacy-men-in-black-and-the-albert-k-bender-story/

Peters, Heathcliff Spencer. “Men in Black: Shadow Figures and UFOs throughout History.” Astral Citizens, Astral Citizens, 29 Sept. 2022, https://astralcitizens.com/men-in-black-shadow-figures-and-ufos-throughout-history/.

Rose, Steve. “The real Men in Black, Hollywood and the great UFO cover-up”. The Guardian, Guardian News & Media, 14 Aug. 2014, https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/aug/14/men-in-black-ufo-sightings-mirage-makers-movie

Sablich, Justin. “The UFO Sightings That Launched 'Men in Black' Mythology.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 23 Aug. 2018, https://www.history.com/news/men-in-black-real-origins.

“Who is the Hat Man? The Real-Life Nightmare Shared By Thousands.” AnomoAlien.com, Photograph, 20 Aug. 2020 https://anomalien.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/hatman-s.jpg,

Links for further research : 

Geers, Jacob. “9 Freaky Encounters with the Real 'Men in Black' That'll Seriously Give You the Creeps.” Thought Catalog, The Thought & Expression Company, LLC., 13 Sept. 2021, https://thoughtcatalog.com/jacob-geers/2016/04/creepy-stories-of-the-real-men-in-black/. This source explores different accounts of witnesses of the MIB.  

“List of reported UFO sightings” Wikipedia, MediaWiki, 7 Oct. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_reported_UFO_sightings This source provides multiple alien sightings, including the time they were reported as well as where they were reported.

“Real Men in Black Sightings Caught on Camera.” Slapped Ham, 10 Apr. 2019, https://slappedham.com/real-men-in-black-sightings-caught-on-camera/. This source provides pictures of the Men in Black as well as strange personal experiences of those who have encountered the MIB 

Robert the Doll

 By Jimir Johnson

Robert the doll is known as a famous haunted doll that was made 117 years ago . Robert was made in Germany by the Steiff Factory in 1904. The Steiff factory was known to make high end collection of bears. The doll was brought by Robert Otto grandfather from his trip overseas. His grandfather named the doll after him. Robert would give his new doll a sailor outfit. The sailor outfit would make Robert the doll appearance iconic because it was Robert’s child real outfit. Robert treated the doll like he was a living person. When Robert Otto would misbehave or something went missing he would blame the doll. Robert Otto would say “Robert did it” so much that it became the theme of the doll. The first  supernatural incident was in Robert Otto childhood. Robert Otto claimed to woken up by Robert The doll looking at him at the foot of the bed. Not long after he seen this unpleasant sight the house was woken by sounds of moving furniture. Robert’s mother rushed his room to find him under his blankets and everything around him in chaos. His mother asked him what happened Robert Otto responded with “Robert did it”. That would become ah habit of Robert Otto in his childhood, he would blame most of his wrong doings on the doll. Legend has it that Robert blaming his doll for everything made the doll behavior worsted and noticeable. Robert was said to move his doll to the upstairs because he was getting older and probably needed the space. Robert put the doll on a window seal and left it. Neborhood children was aware of the legend and would tell Robert would move in and out of the window seal. So one day Robert went upstairs to check up on his doll and found it in a rocking chair. Robert Otto just simply ignored it because it was his doll. Robert went to New York and Paris to continue his art education but the doll remained in Key West, Florida. When he returned he got married to his wife Anne but she didn’t like the doll in the house. The doll wasn’t moved out of the house but moved into the attic. Robert the doll probably happy with his new living quarter. Anne expressed that soon after they moved the doll she heard “footsteps and malicious giggling from the attic”. Robert Otto died in 1972 and his wife died in 1974, the was sold to Myrtle Reuter. Robert the doll was still in the attic in the house. Myrtle daughter discovered Robert and quickly feared him. She was convinced he wanted to hurt and haunt her. She even told her parents that Robert would be wandering around the room at night. In 1994 Robert was donated to East Martello Museum in Key West. This is now Robert’s home and now popular attraction .

Robert the Doll

Works cited: 

https://burialsandbeyond.com/2019/09/27/the-curse-of-robert-the-doll/

Links for Further Research:

Horror Obsessive https://horrorobsessive.com/2021/04/13/caution-mind-your-manners-when-
visiting-robert-the-doll/ Author Melissa Bastek explains how Robert the doll had strange
different effects on people. 

Medium https://medium.com/lessons-from-history/the-true-story-of-evil-doll-that-inspired-
chucky-haunted-key-west-for-100-years-be54e3624b5c Author Esh explains how Robert Otto
had a weird inseparable relation with Robert the Doll since his childhood.
 

Ripleys https://www.ripleys.com/weird-news/robert-the-doll/ Author Noelle Talmon
explains why Robert the doll was taken to the museum by Myrtle Reuter and how he
mysteriously started jamming electronic devices around him.

Scotland’s Edinburgh Vaults

Author: MaKayla Sims

Caption: Picture of Edinburgh Vaults Constuction 

The Edinburgh Vaults are a series of underground chambers located in the South Bridge in Edinburgh, Scotland. The vaults were constructed in 1788. A mysterious rumor lies that paranormal activity takes place beneath the streets of Edinburgh known as the underground city. It is said to be curse because the judge’s wife during this time was supposed to be the first to cross the bridge when it was first constructed because she was the oldest citizen, however, the woman died the day before its opening and the first person to cross the bridge was in a casket!  “The majority of the townsfolk refused point blank to cross the bridge for many years, preferring instead the awkward and impractical route through the deep valley of the Cowgate” (Palmer). After this happen, suspicion began to come about leaving fear in the minds of the residents of Edinburgh

Hidden Tour by Isabelle Vlogs 

Today, many people take tours through the underground vaults of Edinburgh. It is said that you can hear the voices of the dead in the rooms of the vaults. Tour guides often tell stories about the history of Edinburgh and the paranormal activity that is said to take place in these vaults. Many people that were in poverty or homeless found the underground city of Edinburgh to become their homes. However, due to the conditions of these homes, many died. There is a well-known story about a little 10-year-old girl named Annie that was killed in the underground city. It is said that she roams around looking for her lost doll as she wears a ‘dirty white dress and boots (Hotson). In Hotson’s article, she explains how a Japanese psychic, Aiko, encountered a moment with the spirit Annie in which she expressed being upset about her lost doll, so Aiko went and bought her another one.

Photo of William Burke and William Hare , Houlton Archive, Getty Images

In the early 1800’s, Edinburgh was the home of the infamous serial killers known as Burke and Hare. William Burke and William Hare found each other when they realized that they had interest in the medical field. However, their thoughts were extremely twisted. The two had the idea that if they could dissect the bodies of humans, they would get ahead of the medical team in Edinburgh. They began to grave-rob, which means that they dug up graves and took the bodies from caskets. When found that it was difficult to get great research from these decaying bodies, the two relied on “fresh bodies.” The two went on a killing spree, first targeting a young couple walking down the darkness beneath these streets. The two continued to “gain research” by going on a killing spree and killed 17 people in order to dissect their bodies (Top 10 Crime Duos). However, William Hare was never found guilty because there was no evidence pointing him to these vicious crimes, and he had to testify against his dear friend William Burke. Burke was found guilty and hanged in from of the town of Edinburgh. Here’s how the irony applies; Burke was publicly dissected in front of the Edinburgh Medical Center where his skeleton remains on display (Top 10 Crime Duos). 

References: 

Hotson, Elizabeth. “Exploring the Lure of Edinburgh’s Dark Tourism.” BBC News, 31 Oct. 2014. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-29832743.

Palmer, Claire. “Edinburgh Vaults.” HistoricUK, Accessed on March 23 2019. https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryMagazine/DestinationsUK/Edinburgh-Vaults/

StrangeRemains. “The Skeleton of William Burke, Body on Display.” Strange Remains, 4 Sept. 2013. https://strangeremains.com/2013/09/04/body-snatcher-on-display-william-burke/

“Top 10 Crime Duos.” Time, Accessed on March 27 2019. http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1900368_1900369_1900364,00.html

The Hampton Lillibridge House: The Most Haunted House in America

Cayla Nunnley

The Hampton Lillibridge House, located in Savannah, Georgia, was built in 1796. The house was originally owned by Hampton Lillibridge, but after his death his wife remarried and sold their home. In 1963, the house was purchased by Jim Williams, where he moved the home onto East St. Julian Street. Williams hired people to work on the house and strange things started to happen. Tools would disappear and or move across the room. There were reports of “mocking-like” laughter and sounds of footsteps throughout the house. Regardless of these paranormal activities, Williams continued to move into the house. While the house was vacant and being restored, many neighbors reported seeing shadowy figures of people in the windows, a woman screaming, singing, and dancing figures in the windows. Williams invited some of his friends over one afternoon, when they began hearing footsteps upstairs. Only one of them was brave enough to investigate. When he hadn’t returned they went in search for him, only to find him laid out, completely paralyzed with fear. He reported that when he walked into the room it was as if he was submerged into a pool of ice-cold water. He then felt a force that tried to push him down the chimney shaft and the only thing he could do to avoid his certain death was to drop to the floor.

Hampton Lillibridge from Crime Library on Vimeo.
Jim Williams finally had an exorcism performed on the house, on December 7, 1963, by the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia. The exorcism remained ineffective. Within a week the paranormal activities began again, ready for vengeance. Williams had finally had enough and decided to look into a paranormal researcher. He found Hans Holzer, a famous paranormal researcher, who had confirmed that numerous unearthly presences in the home. Unfortunately he was unable to make them go away but he was able to write a book about Williams house, titled The Phantoms of Dixie.

There are many questions as to how the house became haunted in the first place. Did Hampton Lillibridge and his wife experience any paranormal activities in 1796? The house could have become haunted when a young sailor, who had lived in the house before Jim Williams, committed suicide and his spirit still remains in the house. The paranormal activities could also be due to the crypt they found under the house during relocation. The workers said it was made of tabby; half filled with water, and had assumed it was from colonial times. They reburied it and never investigated any further.

The book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, by John Brendt, tells the story of Jim Williams’s four trials for the murder of Danny Hansford in May, 1981. Between trials, Williams had asked for the assistance of a local occult practitioner named Minerva, to join his legal defense team. It was odd that Williams knew about Minerva because he never seemed to have placed faith in spell-craft. It was especially strange because Williams nearly twenty years before Hansford’s murder, Williams was completely familiar with hauntings, exorcisms, and paranormal activities. Haunted Savannah, a book by James Caskey, explains that maybe it wasn’t so weird that Jim Williams wanted Minerva on his team. He couldn’t beat them in 1963, so he joined them 20 years later.

Works Cited:

Allen, Chris. “An Exorcism in Savannah” Haunted Savannah, 18 Oct. 2016, hauntedsavannahtours.com/exorcism-savannah/

Gazala, Richard. “Way Before Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” Gazalapalooza, 18 Oct. 2016, rgazala.blogspot.com/2012/03/way-before-midnight-in-garden-of-good.html.

Hampton Lillibridge – The Most Haunted House in Savannah. 2014, www.mysteriousfacts.com/haunted-house-hampton-lillibridge/

Library, Crime, director. Hampton Lillibridge. Performances by Katherine Ramsland, Vimeo, 2011.

Links for further research:

Story of Jim Williams, focus of “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”

http://savannahnow.com/latest-news/2012-03-07/slideshow-story-jim-williams-focus-midnight-garden-good-and-evil This post is about John Brendts book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and Jim Williams trail for murder.

Haunted Georgia: Ghosts and Strange Phenomena of the Peach State https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=vTN69J5xSTUC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Hampton+Lillibridge+House&ots=zQnShs6toU&sig=kFxM5ZmmsO1OFwIxEfzrIZHToeQ#v=onepage&q=Hampton%20Lillibridge%20House&f=false This book is about paranormal hauntings in Georgia.

Savannah Historic Landmarks http://savannahgavisitors.com/attractions/landmarks/1593-hampton-lillibridge-house This article is about historical landmarks in Savannah that you can visit, such as the Hampton Lillibridge House.