Tybee Island Lighthouse

One of seven surviving colonial-era lighthouse towers in America, first constructed in 1736. The current 145-foot structure has guided ships into the Savannah River for 285 years.

The Tybee Island Lighthouse was completed in 1736 under the orders of General James Oglethorpe, making it one of America's oldest lighthouses. In nearly 300 years of operation, it has witnessed countless tragedies that have left their mark in supernatural form.

The most disturbing hauntings involve children. Visitors report electronic equipment malfunctioning when they enter the children's room on the second floor of the former Keeper's house. A five-year-old girl named Lachlan, believed to be the daughter of the first Keeper, appears on the winding staircase with a chilling message: turn back or be cursed.

Former lighthouse keepers refuse to leave. A visiting psychic saw a man dressed in keeper's attire standing in front of the lighthouse. A staff member reported seeing a man's apparition in the First Assistant Keeper's house while hearing constant footsteps overhead.

The darkest secret involves Headkeeper George Shaw, who died in 1887 under suspicious circumstances. Many believe his assistant murdered him. Shaw's ghost has been encountered by visitors and staff in numerous ways, especially in his former house.

The waters around Tybee have claimed countless shipwreck victims, and their spirits also haunt the lighthouse grounds. Guests report seeing dead bodies floating in the waters nearby - apparitions that vanish when approached.

Florence Martus, the legendary "Waving Girl," lived near Tybee Island with her lighthouse keeper brother. From 1887 to 1931, she greeted every ship entering Savannah Harbor - over 50,000 vessels - waving a handkerchief by day and a lantern by night. She also saved lives, once rescuing eight men from a burning dredge. Florence died in 1943, but some say her lantern still glows in the harbor at night.