## Act I: The Arrival

We begin our tale in the heart of Florida, in the quaint historic town of St. Augustine. With its cobblestone streets and Spanish colonial architecture, it’s a place where the past is still palpable. The town’s historic lighthouse has become infamous as one of the most haunted spots. The locals cling to their tales with both fear and a sense of pride. The stories, told generation after generation, bolster this town’s eerie reputation and amplify its antiquated charm.

We first turn our attention to the lighthouse — a colossal black and white structure. It pierces the sky, a structure that serves as a muse for ghostly saga spinning. The luminous beacon in the inky sky seems to hide unapproachable secrets of its own. Its spine-chilling mantra is whispered through the lips of those daring to utter its tales, stories of spectral inhabitants that are etched eternally into St. Augustine’s dark history.

## Act II: The Spirits of Eliza and Mary

No haunted location is complete without spirits of the innocent. Meet the ghostly sisters, Eliza and Mary, who lived, laughed, and played on this site only to meet their unforeseen end in the waves that silently lap at the stony pedestal of the lighthouse. As the legend goes, the playful sisters were in a cart playing by the lighthouse, while their father worked, unwittingly on the edge of a pit storing construction material for the lighthouse. The cart tipped over and the girls could not escape their water grave.

Today, visitors frequently report encounters with these naïve spirits whose laughter echoes through the vacant halls and shadowy crevices of the lighthouse. One might even spot their spectral shapes, hand in hand, eternally playing by the water’s edge, their figures fading in and out like wisps of smoke. Their hushed giggling a stark and chilling contrast to their grim tale.

## Act III: The Cursed Keeper, Peter

There is another soul who is said to have never left the lighthouse, its former light-keeper by the name of Peter. Peter’s life was claimed unexpectedly by the lighthouse itself during its construction. In a morbid twist of fate, he fell from its towering heights. His spirit is said to wander the scenes of his former life, too attached to leave behind what was once his responsibility.

Current lighthouse keepers tell of inexplicable incidents of tools disappearing and reappearing in odd places, and the sudden smell of Peter’s cigar smoke filling rooms when they are alone inside. His shadowy figure is occasionally seen standing at the dizzying zenith of the lighthouse, gazing out at the sea as if forever awaiting the incoming ships.

## Act IV: The Lady of the Stairs

Finally, we get to possibly the most chilling spirit of the lighthouse: an unidentified woman who is often spotted standing midway on the stairwell, her stature eerily frozen. Some nights, she can be heard wailing in sorrow, a chilling sound that resonates within the walls of the lighthouse. Who she is, or why she weeps, remains one of the unsolved mysteries of the St. Augustine’s lighthouse.

Not many dare to venture the spiral staircase once the sun sinks, and the moon takes its place. Yet those who do, often report the sensation of being watched, the hair on the back of their neck standing like soldiers to attention. The air grows cold, and whispers brush against their ears, while the figure of the woman from the stairs stays imprinted in their horrified gazes.

## Act V: The Haunting Continues

Even amid the modern hustle and bustle of dockside activities, the chilling reputation of the St. Augustine Lighthouse continues to thrive, its stories told and retold. The spectral figures are seen flitting through the locked doors, their otherworldly laughter resonates in the stillness, footsteps echo on the stairs and indiscernible whispers can be heard emanating from the empty top floor. There’s a strange beauty in the fear it instills, magnetizing intrigue, mystery, and tourists alike.

Indeed, on some nights, when the winds have a secret to tell and the sea hums haunting melodies, the spectral residents of St. Augustine’s Lighthouse can be seen and heard, etching fresh imprints of horror and wonder in the minds of those daring enough to listen.