The story
Big Bay Point Lighthouse was lit in 1896 on a lonely headland jutting into Lake Superior north of Marquette, Michigan, its brick keeper's dwelling attached to the square tower; automated in the 1940s, it later became one of the few lighthouses in the country operating as a bed and breakfast. Its haunted reputation is among the best known of any American light and centres on its first keeper, William Prior, a demanding perfectionist whose son and assistant died after an injury in 1901; Prior vanished into the woods in grief and his remains were found more than a year later. Guests and innkeepers have long described a tall figure in a keeper's uniform, footsteps on the tower stairs, doors and cupboards opening, a woman's presence in certain rooms, and lights behaving oddly, and the lighthouse has featured in national programmes about haunted places. These accounts should be presented as guest reports and folklore woven around real deaths, which deserve respectful telling. Current room and tour details should be confirmed from the official site before publishing.