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Back The Lighthouse
Chapters (50)
  1. PART ONE
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. 6
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. PART TWO
  13. 12
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 18
  18. 19
  19. 21
  20. 22
  21. 23
  22. 24
  23. 25
  24. 26
  25. 27
  26. 28
  27. 30
  28. 31
  29. 32
  30. 33
  31. 34
  32. 35
  33. 36
  34. 37
  35. 38
  36. 39
  37. 40
  38. 41
  39. 42
  40. 43
  41. PART THREE
  42. 44
  43. 45
  44. 46
  45. 47
  46. 49
  47. 50
  48. 51
  49. 52
  50. EPILOGUE

“I know, right? Anyway, the whole affair was so sad that nobody in Seabrook could bring themselves to talk about it. The very mention of Theodore’s name became taboo, and the town tried to move on. Decades went by, memories faded, and by the time the lighthouse was decommissioned in 1956, the story of Theodore was all but ­forgotten. Then, fifteen years later, a group of boys came up with a plan to fool the town. On the anniversary of Theodore’s death, under the cover of night, they broke into the lighthouse with a bucket of kerosene and a fresh wick and managed to fire up the lamp. It blazed all night long and rumors quickly circulated, all of them started by the boys, of course—whispers of a ghost and the forgotten story of a mad lighthouse keeper. Come morning, Theodore was the talk of the town, and it wasn’t long before everyone in Seabrook was discussing the possibility that his spirit still lurked inside the lighthouse, that he had returned to resume his watch.”

“That actually gives me shivers! Pretty imaginative on the boys’ part, I have to say.”

“It was, but they didn’t stop there. They were so keen to keep the charade alive that they repeated the hoax the next year on the very same day, and as you can imagine, this really set the cat among the pigeons. News spread and soon people were traveling from far and wide to witness the phenomenon. As a result of all the attention, the symbol of the lighthouse became synonymous with the town’s identity. Its image was used to promote Seabrook, an annual festival was established in its honor, and as for those boys, well, this growing obsession only spurred them further and they continued their deception for years to come.”

“How were they never caught?”

“People became so afraid of the building that the boys were able to use the town’s fear to their advantage. They later bragged about how easy it all was.”

“What finally made them stop?”

Ryan took a dramatic pause. “The lighthouse itself.”

Amy’s eyes grew wider. “Come again?”

“On the seventh year, as the boys were making their way up to the lantern room, the staircase broke away from the wall and collapsed to the ground.”

“Were they all right?”

“Aside from some broken bones and one hell of a fright, yeah, they were okay—but that put a definite end to all their fun.”

“And what was the reaction from the town? Was everyone furious once they found out the whole thing had been a sham?”