The eastern seaboard is beautiful.
From the northern to the southern coast, there is no shortage of rocky shorelines, sandy beaches and marinas. However, most don’t give thought to the lighthouses that enthrall children with their sheer size and serve as beautifully scenic backdrops for proposal photos and whatnot.
I grew up here, ever so familiar with the scenery in question. The fantastical sunsets comprised of hues you’ll only ever see over the sea. This coastal town of mine, this small tourist attraction of seafood shops and fresh fish markets, has always been somewhere I never felt the desire to leave. Honestly, not until recently, when I noticed something odd going around the lighthouse on the very peninsula of my town.
Haunting, beautiful or historical marvels, call them what you will; however, I will never be able to bear witness to a lighthouse in the same light again. I guess I’ll start at the beginning of all the weirdness.
Two weeks ago, coming off the boat for the day, the crew and I noticed several vehicles with out of state plates driving through the market area, which was the only way to get to the lighthouse. The massive structure was built sometime in the mid-1850s, and still stands stoic and very functional to this day. It lingered about 20 minutes truly outside of the town, down a very narrow and often wet road. The shape of the coastline and the massive rocks that comprised its walls made for very treacherous tides and waves.
I couldn’t say for sure if they were tourists or not, though it’s not exactly tourist season right now. Something about the way the vehicles moved just jumped out to me. It was too uniform and too confident for the speed they were driving through such a pedestrian heavy area. As if consequences did not exist for them.
I looked toward the lighthouse and stared a moment, waiting for the light to make its way full circle a few times before turning my attention back to the vehicles. I watched as they continued their journey confidently towards the lighthouse and wondered about the man who worked there. Everyone knew him as Ernie.
He arrived a little over a decade ago to assume the caretaker role of the lighthouse. After the old man before him retired, someone who was qualified properly had to be brought in from out of town to take over. He wasn’t from here, but he was certainly from the east coast, just a bit more inland I believe.
Everyone was fine for the first few days. Those vehicles were still stationed up at the lighthouse. I had mostly forgotten about it. I had just assumed that they were possibly scientists or some type of class or study group or something. They weren’t bothering anyone. I want to say maybe even the first whole week went by without issue.
It was a little after 1AM Friday morning, when I was woken up by a light so brought that it flooded my room, hell it flooded everything with such intensity that it was hard to keep my eyes open at all.
What the fuck? A whir of thoughts slammed through my mind, all possibilities all at once in my still slightly tired stupor. An explosion, some type of asteroid or invasion. Hell, even aliens. I slid out of bed quickly and made my way to the window, hoping to see something through the light that seemed to be only growing brighter and brighter. I swear it started to make skin tingle, or itch or something. Almost like when you drink pre-workout.
I made my way out to the hallway, which wasn’t as bright due to its lack of anyway windows at all, but it still appeared bright thanks to the whiteness making its way through the cracks of other doorways and even up the stairs. I almost fell down the stairs trying to see my way down and burst out the front door just in time for the light to start receding, until it returned to normal and started rotating again.
It was the lighthouse’s light? What?
I could see other lights on in the neighborhood, but I guess I was the only one brave, or foolish enough to rush outside, so I went back inside and started typing this up. I’m going to try and get a little more sleep after I upload this, but my pounding heart and sore eyes might make that a bit difficult. Anyone have any idea what could have caused that? I have never witnessed anything quite like that in my life. Only in those old videos of atomic bomb testing and shit like that.
The next morning on my way to the supermarket, I spent most of the ride deep in thought and rubbing my eyes, replaying the previous night’s events in my mind. The more I focused on my memory of the light, the stronger that skin tingling sensation would creep its way back up my arms. However, as I reached my destination and pulled into small parking lot, I happened to catch the end of a news broadcast where they seemed to be talking about it!
“Local authorities reported a massive influx of phone calls early this morning in regard to what appears to be the testing of a new, more efficient type of bulb for lighthouses and FAA lighting across the nation.” The newscaster sounded young, but I couldn’t help but notice how out of place their voice sounded on the radio, if that makes any sense.
“An interview early this morning with a local lighthouse keeper may shed some light on what may have occurred.” They continued. How early are these reporters interviewing people on weekends? It was just before 8AM. “According to the man we spoke to, the lighthouses are simply old enough that any new technology introduced to the structure also has to be accompanied by the proper retrofitting.”
I shrugged to myself and turned the car off, making my way up to the entrance of the market only to be greeted by several other shoppers and a locked door.
“The girl who usually opens the store today hasn’t come in, yet I guess nobody can get a hold of her. I believe the owners are on their way now to get the day going.” An elderly woman approached me as I walked up.
I felt a sense of dread wash over me for some reason, and I couldn’t help but let my mind wander back that damn light. I turned towards the lighthouse, my gaze finding its way to the light. I could see the housing swirling its way around the glass at the top from where I was standing. Everything looked normal; however, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong or out of place.
To be honest I don’t really know how to explain what I meant, but as my eyes were wandering around the lighthouse property, eventually they settled on those cars. They were still there. It didn’t sit right with me for some reason.
Anyway, the rest of the day and even the weekend carried on without anymore issues, though I’m not sure if that girl from the market had turned up yet. I had somewhat let the thought of her slip my mind. Come to think of it, I let a lot slip from my mind until the time of typing this. Nothing else happened with the lighthouse, though.
The more I think about all of this, the more my head starts to hurt. It’s borderline throbbing after writing this all up, so I’m going to go rest for a while.
I will update you all if anything else occurs!