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Despite their inherent light, lighthouses have often been the stage of tragedy and death. For centuries, these structures have served as a navigational aid for those sailing the world’s rough waters. But this important job had to be carried out from desolate, often dangerous locations, where the weather rarely made it homely and cozy. Out of sight, out of mind, right? But the tales have persisted, fighting through years of ostracism and neglect to make their way into local lore.

Check out some of the horrifying tales behind some of the world’s most beautiful lighthouses.

▲Built in Maine in 1795 by George Washington himself, the lighthouse's most haunting tale regards a mid-1800s keeper and his wife, who ordered a piano to help her combat the loneliness that comes with life at a lighthouse.

▲However, she only knew one song, which she played over and over. The repetition allegedly drove her husband mad, prompting him to grab an ax, destroy the piano, then kill his wife before killing himself.

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The 1809 lighthouse was a silent observant of a brutal 1859 storm, which caused about 200 shipwrecks. In addition to the seamen, the storm also claimed the life of the keeper, John Jack Jones.

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The story goes that Jones battled the storm to warn ships but was hit by a rock. He died three days later. Visitors claim to still hear furious rattling of doors and tapping at the windows, said to be Jones’s attempts to call for help.

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Dating back as early as 1710, the lighthouse on Boon Island, Maine, has seen numerous shipwrecks and other tragedies. But the spookiest tale revolves around Kathleen Bright who, in the mid-1800s, married the keeper.

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Bright’s husband died shortly after their marriage, and Bright, grief-stricken, attempted to tend to the light herself without eating or sleeping. When the light finally went out, neighbors who came to investigate found her—starved and exhausted—cradling her husband’s body. She died shortly after.

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Built in 1868, this Queensland lighthouse is the site of death, drowning, tragic accidents, and murder. One case is that of Kate Gibson, the keeper’s wife, who disappeared in 1887 only for her children to find her dead with her throat slashed. Another tragedy, in 1912, involved a teenager stuck in a love triangle, who was accused of kidnapping the keeper’s daughter and murdering her boyfriend.

▲Commissioned in 1824, the lighthouse in Pensacola, Florida, served as the home of Michaela Penalber and Jeremiah Ingraham until Penalber allegedly stabbed her husband to death in 1840.

▲Though never convicted, Penalber's violent outbursts have apparently lived on. Visitors have reported objects being thrown at them, and blood stains seemingly reappearing after being washed off.

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This lighthouse was built in the mid 1800s on fertile farming lands where grazing goats left the land barren. In 1871, Englishman John Godden began mining phosphate, damaging the soil even further.

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The lighthouse's remains and the skeletons of ships it failed to save are the only things left on the island. Local legends contend that the soul of one of the captains who perished on the island still lingers, haunting the occasional day-tripper.

▲Built in 1909 in New London Harbor, Connecticut, the lighthouse's keeper, Ernie, allegedly jumped off the lighthouse’s roof into the ocean after his wife ran off with the ferry captain.

▲The official story claims that he slit his own throat before jumping off, though many don’t believe he killed himself. His soul reportedly still haunts the place.

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Built in 1859 to help prevent ships from disappearing in the Bermuda Triangle, the lighthouse became embroiled in a mystery of its own.

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In 1969, the lighthouse’s final two keepers went missing, never to be heard from again. Many believe they were victims of the Bermuda Triangle’s mysterious forces. But they were most likely killed during a hurricane and their bodies washed away.

▲Overlooking Maine's Penobscot Bay, the 1825 lighthouse is where, in 1850, a ship carrying three people is said to have crashed into nearby rocks. One of the men made it to shore, and alerted the keeper about the couple on the ship who, by then, were enclosed in a block of ice.

▲The keeper brought them in and began to chip away the ice. The couple survived and went on to marry and raise children together. Roger Elliot, the man who alerted the keeper about his friends, didn’t recover.

▲Unlike many of the other lighthouses on the list, this one is haunted not by ghosts but by equally powerful forces. Built on the coast of the North Sea in Rubjerg in 1900, this lighthouse is slowly becoming buried beneath shifting sand.

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The lighthouse stopped serving its original purpose in 1968, but stayed alive as a museum until the sand left it for abandonment in 2002. The lighthouse is expected to fall into the sea by 2023.

▲Overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Florence, Oregon, this 1894 lighthouse sits 62 m (205 ft) above sea level. The tale says that an infant girl fell to her death into the ocean, leaving a disturbed mother behind.

▲The mother, dubbed “The Gray Lady,” reportedly still haunts the attic of the lighthouse wearing a long, gray skirt.

▲Overlooking Lake Michigan at Seul Choix Point, this 1892 lighthouse appears to be haunted by more than one soul. One of them is the brother of Captain Joseph Townsend, James, who died in the middle of a heavy winter in the early 1900s, making it impossible to bury him right away.

▲James's corpse was kept in the basement until spring and seemingly upset by his fate, his spirit haunts the lighthouse to this day. The other is Joseph Townsend himself, whose cigars can still be smelled by visitors.

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Located on a lonely rock off the coast of Brittany in one of its most treacherous straits, this 1875 lighthouse’s first keeper was Henri Guezennec, who is said to have gone mad during his stay there.

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After him, keepers are said to have been subjected to tragedy. Two died unexpectedly. Another died, leaving his wife to salt his corpse until it could be collected. Yet another slit his throat with a razor.

▲The Maryland lighthouse was built in 1830 to warn ships of the shoals and to mark the entrance of the Potomac River. During the Civil War, a hospital was built nearby to care for Union soldiers, and later, a prison was added.

▲Of the 20,000 prisoners kept there, 3,000 of them died. Many believe that Civil War-era souls still inhabit the lighthouse and its surrounding areas. Point Lookout is often regarded as the state's most haunted place.

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The famed American pilot was last heard of in Howland. This is where she was scheduled to stop and refuel, but she never landed.

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Located in a remote part of the Pacific Ocean, the lighthouse was built in 1937, shortly after Earhart’s disappearance, as a memorial to her. But like the aviator, the lighthouse was also short-lived. It is now in ruins.

▲Built in 1875 on the White Lake channel of Lake Michigan, this lighthouse was the home of Captain William Robinson where he and his wife Sara raised 11 children. They tended the light for nearly 50 years, until his death at age 87.

▲The issue is, he seems not to have left. Many believe he and Sara still haunt the place, as staff and visitors claim they can hear the sound of Robinson’s cane as he moves across the grounds. Staff members have also reported that Sara often tidies up after them.

▲Although the lighthouse dates back to 1736, severe storms and shore erosion have prompted several remodeling efforts. The one that currently sits on Tybee Island in Savannah, Georgia, is its fourth version.

▲Such severe destruction has likely claimed the lives of many. The lighthouse’s most famous apparition is that of a little girl in historic clothing who warns visitors not to venture up the staircase.

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Located on the Toronto Islands, the 1808 lighthouse is best known for the 1815 murder of its first keeper, John Paul Radelmüller, who supplemented his income selling bootlegged alcohol from the US.

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The story contends that Fort York soldiers paid Radelmüller a visit, requesting alcohol. The insatiable soldiers wanted more and more, and when the keeper refused, a fight broke out, resulting in the man’s demise.

▲The original 1810 lighthouse of St. Simons Island, Georgia, was destroyed by a troop of Confederate soldiers in an effort to prevent the light from aiding approaching Union warships. Rebuilt in 1872, it became the stage of a murder eight years later.

▲The tale alleges that a violent argument broke out between the keeper, Frederick Osborne, and his assistant, John Stevens, in which the latter ended up shooting the other. Stevens, who was never charged, assumed the role of keeper.

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This 1871 lighthouse was home to Isobella Darling, the niece of Grace Darling (who was famed for helping rescue survivors from the shipwrecked Forfarshire in 1838). Isobella lived in the Souter Lighthouse around 1881.

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Isobella’s spirit reportedly never left the place, and lighthouse staff members have experienced unusual occurrences, like sudden temperature drops and seeing objects move.

▲This 1856 lighthouse of Crescent City, California, sits on an island during high tide, but when the water recedes, it sits on a peninsula.

▲In 1964, a violent tsunami devastated the area, destroying seven city blocks of Crescent City. The lighthouse keepers themselves witnessed the devastation, and reports of paranormal activity have been recorded ever since.

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The tragedy that hit this 1894 lighthouse also altered Portugal’s history. Located on the island of Faial in the Azores, the lighthouse served its purpose until it was destroyed between 1957 and 1958.

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On September 27, 1957, the Capelinhos volcano began to erupt, forcing many of the island’s inhabitants to leave. Many of the residents of the beleaguered parishes took up refuge in the United States.

▲George and Lorraine moved into this 1840 lighthouse on the shore of Pennsylvania's Lake Huron in the 1970s. George loved children, and loved the lighthouse. Visitors say they can smell bacon and eggs in the morning, which is something George would often make.

▲One story contends that a girl ventured to the top of the lighthouse and later reported a ghostly man who had made her laugh while she was at the top. After seeing a portrait of George Parris, she said that she recognized him as the man she saw.

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Also known as Talacre Lighthouse, this lighthouse has stood on Talacre Beach in various forms since 1776. The place has a history of ghostly sightings and has become a hub for paranormal-activity seekers.

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The most frequently spotted apparition is of a man in work clothes who stands on the lighthouse balcony repairing equipment. The ghost even inspired a life-size sculpture of the keeper’s ghostly figure.

▲This 1825 lighthouse, located in Ohio, was used by its first keeper, Samuel Butler—who was deeply involved with the Underground Railroad—as a safe house for runaway slaves who attempted to flee to Canada. He is said to haunt the place.

▲Later, Captain Joseph Babcock—the first keeper of the reconstructed lighthouse—lived there with his family. His sickly wife kept many cats around the place, one of whom also reportedly haunts the place.

▲Built near the dangerous waters of California’s central coast, this lighthouse witnessed the USS Macon airship sink in 442 m (1,450 ft) of water on February 12, 1935, killing two people.

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Point Sur is a ghost town today, and many claim the souls lost at sea still haunt the lighthouse. Others have reported seeing a man in a keeper’s uniform from the 1800s.