Foggy Point Light

Jeff Burns

Copyright © 2015

www.foggypointlight.com

Chapter 1

March 11, 2016

Dan Nelson saw the road sign, “Asheville 28 Miles”.   He looked at the clock on the dash of his truck  – 5:30.  He had been driving now for a little over six hours, having left Cincinnati at around 10:15 that morning.   He had stopped for lunch earlier in the day, so he wasn’t particularly hungry, but as he approached Asheville, he thought of the vacations he had taken there with his family.  The North Carolina Mountains, especially around Asheville, was one of their favorite vacation spots.  It had only been six hours, but already he was missing them.  It was probably the realization that he wouldn’t be seeing them much for the next three months.   Of course, he would see them occasionally.   He planned to fly home some weekends when time would permit.  But there was a lot that he had to take care of, so he didn’t know how many weekends he’d be able to do that.  Since the kids were born, he hadn’t been away for more than a few days at a time, so this was going to be particularly difficult.  He liked coming home every evening, always awaiting their cheerful greeting.  Amy was 13 and Dan Jr., who went by Danny, was 10.  Like most brothers and sisters, they had their disagreements at times, but usually they got along well enough with each other.  He hoped that having each other would help them settle in when they joined him in June at Green Island.  But right now, June seemed a long way off.  He planned on staying busy, so he hoped the time would pass quickly.  He knew that he had a lot of work to do before his family could join him, and three months seemed such a short time to have it all done.

He thought again about the sign.  Another one was up ahead, “Asheville 18 Miles”.   It was only 5:35.  He could probably drive for at least another three hours, and be that much closer for the drive tomorrow.   But remembering the vacations to Asheville with his family only increased his desire to stop here for the night.  They always stayed at an older hotel called the Mountain Park Inn.   It had been built in the late 1800s and still retained much of the charm of that era.  In early spring and fall, when the air was cool and crisp, it was relaxing just to sit out on the long porch overlooking the mountains.  He could sit there for hours, reading a good book, or just taking in the view and the mountain air.  And today was just one of those early spring days.   The air was crisp and cool up here in the mountains, and the sky was clear.  It seemed just what he needed before continuing the trip to the seashore.   His mind was made up.  He’d stop off at the Mountain Park Inn for the night, and continue on in the morning.

As he pulled his burgundy Ford F-150 pickup into the long circular drive leading to the main entrance, the sun was low in the sky, and casting a brilliant orange glow on the front of the inn.   He could almost hear the kids squeal with delight, the way they’d always done after finally arriving from the long trip.  At once, he recognized a familiar face.

“Good evening Mr. Nelson!  I wasn’t expecting you today.  Where’s the family?”

“They’re not with me this time, Jerry.   I’m just stopping by on my way to the coast.” replied Dan.

Since he and his family had been coming here for vacations, he’d developed somewhat of a friendship with Jerry, the Bell Captain, and this was the first time that he remembered seeing Dan without his family.

“Nothing’s wrong, I hope?” Jerry inquired.

“No, everything’s fine.  The family’s well.  I just have some business to attend to along the coast.   I’m on my way there now.   Meet me in the lounge in a bit, and I’ll tell you all about it.”

Jerry’s full name was Gerald Hensley.   He’d grown up in Asheville and began working at the inn while in high school.  His school had always held their proms in the large ballroom, and from the first time that he set foot in the inn, he knew this was where he wanted to be.  He’d started coming to the inn just to walk around.   He really loved the atmosphere.  After his junior year in high school, he’d gotten a summer job working with the maintenance crew.   This consisted mostly of changing light bulbs, sweeping the floors, and any other odd jobs that needed doing, but he approached every one as if it were the most important job in the world.  It was hard to find a burned out light bulb, or dirty floor anywhere in the inn when Jerry was on duty.   It was HIS inn, and he intended to make it the finest in the country.  During his senior year, he worked part time in maintenance, since his class load was light.  He was given more responsibility, such as planning and scheduling vendors to perform routine maintenance, and supervising and signing off on their work.   After graduation, he was offered the position of Maintenance Supervisor after the current maintenance supervisor, Ron, who was now in his early 70’s retired.   As Ron had always said, he didn’t want to turn the inn over to just anyone.  He preferred to “keep it in the family”, so to speak, and Jerry had definitely become part of the inn’s family.   He and Jerry had also become good friends over the years, and he knew that Jerry would care for the inn as he always had.  Jerry married his high school sweetheart, Glenda, in the Grand Ballroom, and they had their honeymoon at the inn.  Now in his late 50’s, after nearly forty years of service, he had worked his way up to Bell Captain, and he and his staff were one of the reasons that folks kept coming back.   He had a unique ability to make every guest feel as if they were the most important guest there.

Jerry motioned with his hand, and a young porter in the familiar burgundy uniform immediately scurried over with a luggage cart.

“Take these bags to 215.” he told the boy.   He motioned again, and another porter came over.

“See that his truck’s taken care of.”  he instructed.   Then he and Dan walked into the spacious lobby.

The lobby of the Mountain Park Inn had always impressed Dan.  The check in desk was to the left as you walked in the entrance, not blocking the view, so you were able to get the full effect of how large and spectacular the lobby really was.  A marble fountain was the centerpiece of the lobby.  It was surrounded by four ornate wooden columns that went from the floor to the ceiling.  There was a stone fireplace at each end of the room which must have been at least two hundred feet from one end to the other.  The fireplaces were tall enough that Dan could have walked into them standing straight up, if the fixtures and wood hadn't been in the way.  There were round tables with chairs set up around each fireplace so that guests could dine by the fire during the winter months, and enjoy the flowers and greenery that was set up around the fireplaces the rest of the year.  If you walked straight through past the fountain there were two large wooden doors with glass panes which opened onto a long porch that ran the length of the lobby.  There were tables where folks could sit and dine, as well as wooden rocking chairs for the folks who just wanted to sit and admire the view.  He paused out on the porch, remembering all of the good times that they had there.  Thoughts of their first visit came back to him.  He remembered Danny, who had only been 4 at the time trying to catch the fish in the pond at the base of the fountain, and Amy reminding him of the trouble that he'd be in if mom and dad saw what he was doing.  That was the first time that they had met Jerry.  He came running over to where Danny was, obviously concerned that the child might fall in.  Dan and Jerry had introduced themselves then for what was to become a lifelong friendship.   Jerry's voice brought him back to the reality of the moment.

“If you want to go on over to the lounge, I’ll take care of your room.” he told Dan.

“Fine, see you in a bit.”

A few minutes later Jerry joined him in the lounge where they sat and talked for the better part of an hour.

“So, what’s this business along the coast?” inquired Jerry.

“Remember on one of our visits last year that I mentioned I had put in a bid for some coastal property?   Well, it came through earlier this year.  I’m now the proud owner of twenty seven acres of beachfront property on a small island off the North Carolina coast.  And the best part is that there’s an old lighthouse on the property!”

“I do remember you mentioning something about that now.” replied Jerry.  “How’d you come across that exactly?   Something your wife found in the paper, if I remember right?”

“That’s right.  She came across an article one day about how the government was selling some of the old lighthouses.  She mentioned it in passing, as if it were funny that the government had gone into the junk business on a large scale.  But I was more than a little intrigued by the idea.  I read the article and went to the web address printed at the bottom.  It seems that the government was auctioning off eight of their older, and more run down lighthouses to the highest bidder.  Three were along the west coast and five were along the east coast.  I was especially interested in the one on the North Carolina coast.  I remembered it from my teenage years when we would vacation there.   It had been featured in the issue of Coastal Magazine that was out at the time.  I had also read accounts of the lighthouse in a book that I picked up on another occasion ‘Mysteries of the North Carolina Coast’.   The book was by a local historian, Jack Carlson, and he had researched quite a bit about the old lighthouse.

“It seems that there were quite a few unexplained events happening around it.  It was built in 1866, right after the Civil War ended, but there were several accounts of a mysterious light being seen exactly at the spot of the current lighthouse.  The earliest one was by Colonel Nathaniel Forrest and his men while they were stationed on the island DURING the Civil War.   Colonel Forrest himself actually claimed to have seen the lighthouse up close on the night of October 14, 1864 while he and several of his men were returning to camp after their watch.  As they were nearing camp, they were caught in a dense fog that came up seemingly out of nowhere.  It was so thick that they couldn't see to continue.  While they were stopped, Colonel Forrest saw a light up in the sky to his left.  Upon investigating, they discovered that the light was shining from the top of a large brick tower.  He claimed to walk up and actually touch the base of the tower, a story which the men who were with him corroborated.    He later retracted this story.    But one of the men with him, a young lieutenant named William White actually stuck by the story.  He supposed that the Colonel may have retracted his story due to pressure from his superiors, since on subsequent visits by military officials there was no evidence of anything out of the ordinary, especially not a large brick lighthouse.  But William White maintained that he was there that night, and that the original account by the Colonel was the story exactly as it happened.   When it was built, the lighthouse had originally been named the Green Island Light Station.   But nine years later, after the story of Colonel Forrest and his encounter had gained some notoriety, it was renamed Forrest Point Light, and the south end of the island where the lighthouse was located was renamed Forrest Point.

“There have been other stories as well through the years, of people seeing the light, even though the lighthouse had been decommissioned for several years and there was no beacon left to shine.  The most notable story, however, happened in 1974, when two teenage boys, Greg Baker and Tim Henderson disappeared under unusual circumstances while spending the night in the lighthouse.   It was a Friday night in late September.  Each of them had told their parents that they were going to the others house to spend the night.  Since they alternated spending almost every Friday night at one house or the other, there had been no reason for either boy’s parents to call and check up on the story.   It wasn’t until neither boy came home on Saturday night that their plan had been discovered.   Their parents called the sheriff, who discovered from some of their friends that they had planned to meet and stay the night at the lighthouse.   When the lighthouse was searched, they did find some food, a lantern, and both boys’ sleeping bags.  There was no sign of a struggle, and everything seemed in order, except that neither boy could be found.   A wide scale search was conducted over the entire island, which failed to turn up any evidence of the boys’ whereabouts.  And even to this day, they've never been found.  Over the years, there have been many embellishments to the story, so it’s really hard to tell fact from fiction.  Anyway, since it had such an odd history, and somewhat an air of mystery, I put a bid on it, even though from the photos sent to me by the National Parks Service it didn’t seem in the best condition.   After about two months, I got a letter stating that I had been outbid, and giving me the option to raise my bid.  I raised it, and this time, after another month had gone by, it was accepted.  Several more months of finalizing the transaction brings me to today.  With the help of a friend and his son, who are supposed to meet me there in about a week, we’re going to fix it up and get it back in livable condition.  Probably even install a new electric beacon in the lantern house.  The family will join me down there in June after school lets out for the summer.  Hopefully by then it’ll be close to being able to move in.”

“Sounds like quite a story!” Jerry replied.  “Maybe me and Glenda can come and visit, once you get it fixed up and all.”

“That sounds great!  From what I can tell by the pictures, you’ll love the view!”

Dan was getting somewhat hungry by this point, having only had a light lunch earlier in the day.  Jerry joined him in the Mountain View Restaurant, and they talked for another hour while they ate.

After dinner, Dan decided it was about time to turn in for the night.  He had a long drive ahead the next day, so he didn’t want to be up too late.   He rode the hotel’s historic elevator up to the second floor, where Jerry had their regular room, 215 prepared for him.  He went inside, flipped on the light, and saw all of his bags had been brought up and were laid out on the floor beside the bed waiting for him.   Every time they visited the Mountain Park Inn, this was the room they requested.  It was one of the larger rooms in the historic part of the inn, with two double beds, and a desk at the far end.  They especially liked the view, which looked out over the front entrance of the hotel, across to the mountains in the distance.  He opened the window, and even though it was dark, and he could only see lights from houses in the far off distance, and the street lamps near the hotel entrance, he still enjoyed the view.  He sat on the edge of the bed nearest the window for a few minutes, breathing in the cool night air and pondering the day’s events.  He really was anticipating with great excitement the next couple of months.  This actually was an adventure that he had always dreamed of.  He took his cell phone out of its case and dialed his home number.

“Hi Daddy!” chimed an exuberant girl’s voice on the other end.

“How’s my girl?” he replied.

“Missing you!  When are you coming home?”

“I’ve only been gone less than a day!”

“I know, but it seems longer.  Danny’s spending the night at Joe’s, so it’s just me and mom here.  It’s kind of lonely.”

“Well, guess where I am?” asked Dan.

“How am I supposed to do that?  Maybe North Carolina?”

“OK, good guess.  I’m in our regular room at Mountain Park Inn!”

“No fair,” squealed his daughter, “we need to be there!  Mom!  Daddy’s at Mountain Park Inn!”

“How's mom doing?” he asked.

“She’s right here.  Want to talk to her?”

Kate Nelson had wandered into the den when she heard the phone.   She knew it was probably Dan, and like her daughter, she had been missing him ever since he left that morning.   It was somewhat of a surprise to find him at Mountain Park Inn, but not totally unexpected.   They all enjoyed vacationing there.

“Hi, honey,” his wife said, “how was the trip?”

“It’s good so far.  The mountains are really pretty this time of year.  That’s what made me want to stop off here tonight.”

“You know your daughter’s really jealous!” she said.  “That’s one of her favorite places.  She likes the mountains, but she’s not so sure about the ocean.”

“She’ll love it when she gets down there,” he said, “with the warm salt air, and the sound of the waves.”

They talked for more than an hour, then after that he decided it was finally time to get some sleep.   He hung up the phone, then went around and picked up his computer bag and put it on the bed.   He knew that he needed rest, since he had a long trip ahead of him the next day, but somehow, with all of the excitement of the first day of travel, and with just talking with his family, he suddenly wasn’t sleepy.   And since the trip had been rather long, he’d had plenty of time to think about all of the stories that he’d always heard about the lighthouse.   He opened up the computer bag and reached into the top flap and pulled out a book, “Mysteries of the North Carolina Coast”, by Jack Carlson.  It had a green cover with a charcoal drawing of a lighthouse in the center.   To the left of the lighthouse it looked like fog, and if you looked carefully, you could make out the faces of two people in the fog.  Behind the lighthouse, and slightly to the right was an eighteenth century sailing ship.  He stared at the cover for a minute or two, and then he opened the book to Chapter 3, “Forrest Point Lighthouse”.  This particular chapter told the 1864 account of Colonel Forrest’s encounter with the lighthouse, as well as the 1974 disappearance of the two boys.  It also included two other accounts by others that had taken place over the years.   The account by Colonel Forrest was the earliest account which he had found documented anywhere.  The two additional accounts happened in 1935 and 1962 respectively.

The 1935 account was an experience by Harland Wilson, who was the last keeper of the lighthouse.  When he moved out a few weeks after his encounter, the lighthouse would be decommissioned and closed for good.  It seems that he was working outside one evening when a dense fog came up.  It was dusk, and his wife and children were inside.  Barney, his Golden Retriever was chasing some rabbits over near the woods.  In his account he had written about just how quickly the fog came up.  It was like one minute it was clear and the next minute the fog was there.  The strangest part to him was how the fog seemed to stay outside the round wall which completely circled the lighthouse.  He described the experience as being inside a large tube.  Barney became agitated when the fog came up and went bounding into it.  Harland chased him into it, but was quickly surrounded by fog so thick that he could barely make out any of the trees and bushes around him.  He could hear the dog barking at something over to his right, but he dared not venture any further in for fear of becoming lost himself.  The fog seemed to close in around him.  It was cold.  He felt that it must be at least twenty degrees colder in the fog than it was inside the wall.  He came back out of the fog and walked around the inside of the wall, peering into the fog to see if he could catch a glimpse of the dog anywhere.  He was really uneasy as he gazed into the fog.  The trees and bushes that he could see around the edge before the fog became too thick seemed different somehow.  He couldn't quite place exactly why, but something really didn't seem right.  Barney's barking seemed to be getting further away until it faded altogether.  That was the last time that anyone ever saw Barney.  The fog subsided a few minutes later, but no trace of the dog was ever found.

The 1962 account was just as strange, and every bit as eerie.  Lighthouse Road was still open back then.  A young couple, Karl and Bernice Schindler, staying at the Harbor Inn nearby, had driven out to try and get a look at the lighthouse.  It was evening, just before dusk, but with still enough light to see.  They had parked and were walking up to get a view of the light when a fog came up suddenly around them.  They continued walking, but the fog only got thicker.  As they reached the edge of the forest and looked toward the lighthouse, they saw a peculiar sight.  The lighthouse had been vacant since the last keeper moved out in 1935, but on this night in 1962 the light in the lantern house was burning bright.  They walked through the gate and inside the wall.  This didn't look at all like the pictures that they'd seen, one of a run-down lighthouse overgrown with weeds and showing all the signs of years of neglect.  This lighthouse looked to them as it would have looked back when the keepers and their families lived there.  There were lights on in the house as well.  Fascinated with the scene before them, Karl took a whole roll of film using his Brownie instamatic camera.  Karl wanted to get closer, but Bernice was very uneasy about the whole situation and persuaded him to just take the photos from where they were standing.  After taking the photos, they couldn't wait to get back and have the film developed.  He and Bernice made their way back into the fog, which was seeming to disperse slightly.  By the time that they got back to their car, the fog had thinned out enough for them to drive out.  They still couldn't see too far in front of the car, but by the time they reached the main road the fog was completely gone.  They went into town, but the town's only photo shop was closed for the day.  The next day they went back into town and sent their roll of film off for developing before driving back out to the lighthouse.  On this day, however, the lighthouse was exactly like the photos that they'd seen, run-down and dilapidated.  The lantern house was in such bad condition, that they didn't see how it possibly could have had a light the night before.  They received their film back in about a week along with a note from the photo processing company explaining that the film had been completely exposed and that no photos could be made from the negatives.  They felt that the film had been exposed before it got to them, but Karl didn't see how that could have happened.  He had taken all of the precautions that he always did, making sure to wind the film completely onto the take up spool before opening the back of the camera.  He had done this hundreds of times, and this was the first time that the film had no photos whatsoever.  Sure enough, though, the negatives that they sent back had no discernible photos on them.  Disappointed, they nevertheless told their story to the local newspaper on the island, which was how it came to be printed in Jack Carlson's book.

Dan hoped to do some more research once he got settled in on the island.  There were sure to be other stories about the lighthouse, particularly from some of the local residents.  He hoped that he could talk with some folks who had always lived on the island and had eyewitness accounts of their own that had never been documented.   The one peculiar thing, however, was the fog.   This in and of itself wasn’t particularly surprising, as fog comes in fairly often along the coast, but it’s presence during most if not all of the events was quite interesting.  The only account that didn't mention the fog was the story of the two boys' disappearance in 1974, but he wondered if it still might have been there.  No one was there that night except the boys.  The story began with the account of the disappearance the next day.  There was no account from the actual night, so the fog may have been there then as well.   He read through this chapter again, then finally turned off the light and went to sleep.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1