The Atlas Obscura Podcast Maine Week: All Lighthouses Have Ghosts (Classic)
Dec 25, 2025
Richard Parsons, author of *Wood Island Lighthouse: Stories from the Edge of the Sea*, and George Bruns, head of the Friends of Wood Island Lighthouse, delve into intriguing tales of Maine's lighthouses. They share the eerie legend of a 200-year-old curse, the famous collie Sailor who rang the fog bell, and a grisly murder linked to the island. Listeners will be captivated by stories of ghosts, heroic rescues, and the passionate volunteers preserving this historical treasure.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
The Pickpocket's Curse
- Keeper Edwin Tarbox was pickpocketed and cursed in 1869, then a violent storm followed washing trees away from Wood Island.
- The island became denuded and earned the name that contrasted with its original wooded description.
Why Lighthouses Were Lifelines
- Maine's 3,000 miles of jagged shoreline made lighthouses essential for commerce, fishing, and shipbuilding.
- Lighthouses required constant labor and proximity, so keepers lived onsite to maintain oil lamps before electricity.
Sailor, The Bell-Ringing Collie
- Thomas Orkett brought a shaggy collie named Sailor to keep his children company at Wood Island in 1866.
- Sailor learned to ring the fog bell and became internationally famous, even earning an obituary when he died.