I grew up among the deep frozen waters of Lake Superior, and under the obtrusive lights of its guardian. A vast lighthouse gazed over the harbor of my hometown, illuminating everything under the weary eyes of the stars above. As a local, there are many rules to living here that are almost unsaid, but respected. One is that when a barge passes by, pull yourself out of the water. Otherwise, you might end up like the boy who got sucked under one. Another is to secure your doors at night, so a bear cannot rudely interrupt your dinner plans. The biggest rule, however, is the most unspoken of all. Never walk on the beach below the lighthouse at night.
Now, no one had ever explained to me exactly why this rule was in place. When your parents give you a rule like that, ominous and unexplained, it feels like a perversion to ask. I remember them telling me exactly one time, and then I just knew.
I have an older brother, he’s twelve years older than me. When my brother was a senior in Highschool, I was a rowdy five years old. I don’t remember the events that led to this, but his friend ended up taking a girl to the lighthouse beach late at night. That was the last anyone had seen the pair. Their shapes were illuminated on the shores, shoulder to shoulder, looking out at the dark depths of Superior.
It’s been twenty years, and no one has seen or heard from the pair since that night. They were remembered by an honorary bench or two, and live on as a morbid footnote for my town. I had pretty much forgotten about the pair, until I had my own experience with that beach.
This fall, I decided to return to my hometown after retreating south for several years. Since I’d left, I’d made lots of new relationships, including with my new girlfriend. When you live in a small town in the upper peninsula, there aren’t a lot of options for dating. I’m not going to lie and say that wasn’t the main reason I moved under the bridge, it gets lonely in the long winters with no one to keep warm with.
I was so glad when Peach came into my life. A bubbly girl from Florida, she was different from anyone I’d met in the great white north. Peach was daring, impulsive, and outgoing. All the things I’d wished I could be. This fall, I was so excited for her to meet my family. Even though my mom and dad could be a little respected, I knew they’d love her. By this point, my brother had gotten married to a lovely girl he’d met on the road while long-haul trucking. The pair quickly fell in love, married, and gave me a herd of nieces and nephews to adore.
My family hadn’t liked that I’d moved away from them, but they were overjoyed to see me now. The first day of being with them was amazing, my mom was so welcoming to Peach. My parents did make us sleep in separate rooms, which did seem silly, seeing as we did live together, but we followed their rules.
This left an absence of intimacy in our relationship that was normally abundant. Peach was adventurous, and liked thrill; I wasn’t surprised when she asked me to take her on a late-night adventure the second night of our stay.
My parents’ home was only a two minute walk to the shores of Lake Superior. Peach and I bundled up and made our way to the soft sandy shores of the world’s largest lake. Walking along its inky black waters, the moonlight illuminated various patches of water. This created a beautiful tapestry of images to adorn our midnight walk.
That’s when a beam of light joined the moonlight, lighting up the water, and illuminating our path. Peach’s face lit up, and she turned to me excitedly.
“Is that a lighthouse? I love lighthouses!” She said happily, moving faster toward the lighthouse.
I looked ahead at the great white monolith jutting out behind an abandoned dock. Its high white pillars, and bright red roof called to me like an omen of misfortune. I quickly grabbed Peach by the wrist, locking her in place. Peach turned and looked at me confused.
“We…We don’t go here at night, Peach. We have to turn around.” I said, voice thick with worry.
Peach looked at me and softened her smile.
“Local legend, huh? We had that in my hometown too. The lighthouse keepers made rumors up about hauntings at the lighthouse to keep people away from their homes at night. That’s all it was! Old fashioned home security.” Peach said, pulling her wrist from my grasp. Peach began to move toward the lighthouse again, and I felt something heavy in my stomach.
Something was keeping me from following her, but I had a full view of the beach from where I stood. I watched her, silently and nervously.
Peach got very close to the lighthouse, standing just underneath it, staring straight up at the beacon above her. I began to relax, and just watched my girlfriend from afar, glancing between her and the moon,
I took in our surroundings. The beach was defined by a line of tiny white rocks that created a barrier from the side I was on, to the side my girlfriend was on, near the lighthouse.
THUMP
THUMP
THUMP
A deep rhythmic drumming started, and I looked to my girlfriend. Peach stared back at me, panicked. Peach began moving toward me, but she was slowed down by the sand. No, not by the sand. White spectral hands were reaching up from the sand and holding her ankles in place. Peach began to scream loudly. I stood frozen in place, watching as a score of spectral men began to ascend from the water of Lake Superior.
The men were ancient, and proud. They had long thick hair, and strong veiny hands holding well fashioned weapons. The ghost men were silent as they approached her, and wrapped their ancient hands around her and began to drag her into the icy waters. Meanwhile, Peach was kicking and screaming for my help. I moved toward them, about an inch, and the heads of one of the men snapped toward me. The man stared at me, flashing black hollow eyes at me that bore into my soul. It was a warning.
I gulped and stepped back, as Peach screamed and swore at me, while being dragged into the freezing water of Lake Superior. The water was so cold, it must have shocked her system, because as soon as she was halfway submerged, the screams became low moans of fear. Peach was soon drowned out by the water that now overtook her whole body. The woman I loved was soon dragged away so deep underwater that even with the beacon of light from the lighthouse, I couldn’t see her anymore.
The drumming was gone, and everything around me was silent. Not even birds, or bugs could be heard. I was drowning the sounds of the waves softly attacking the shore, one after another.
I fell on my ass and began to sob, staring at the beach before me. There were no more ghosts, or spectral hands. There weren’t even footprints from the soldiers from the lake. Just dark drag marks from Peach’s body. Even so, the waters of the dreary Lake Superior disposed of that soon, wiping the white sand into a clean slate. Mother Superior always cleaned up her childrens messes.
I stayed there until morning, my brother had heard I’d gone missing in the night and came looking for me. The grizzled man sat beside me when he found me, and let out a knowing sigh. My brother pulled me into his arms, and let me sob into his chest for what felt like hours. Finally, he pulled me to my feet and pointed to the beach under the lighthouse.
“You do not go there. Before that lighthouse was there, this is where one of the most violent battles to ever happen in the country happened. Thousands of dead men lined this beach, and it’s forever soaked in its blood. The night is their time to rest, and coming here and walking on their place of rest is disrespectful. Don’t ever come here, especially at night. Okay?” He said, gripping my shoulders tightly. I gave a pathetic nod and gazed at the beach.
I looked at my brother and spoke softly.
“Why didn’t you warn me?”
My brother looked beyond me to the beach and then responded.
“The more you talk about this type of thing, the more power it has over the community. This beach is probably going to get a little longer now, and a little more aggressive. That’s why in places like this, it’s better to leave things unsaid.”
With his response, I felt sick to my stomach, and started to walk toward home.
I’m headed back to the southern peninsula tomorrow. My parents and brother know I’m never coming home again. I don’t want to live in fear, and I don’t want to see the ghost of my girlfriend staring at me from that beach.
Lake Superior is the biggest, and deepest lake in the world. In her depths, she keeps the most sinister of things at home, living and thriving in her cold depths.