Coastal Beauty: Execution Rocks Lighthouse

The Skulls Left Behind

Sue Clark

Execution Rocks, sitting at the west end of Long Island Sound in New York since 1851, lends itself to grisly tales just due to its name. According to folklore, the British avoided public executions in Colonial times because they would inflame the revolutionary spirit of the American people. Instead, they would carry the condemned to these reefs at low tide, chain them to rings embedded in the rock, and wait for high tide to carry out the death sentence. Some say the skeletons were left to torture the minds of the newly condemned as they faced certain death. But the ghosts of the condemned had their revenge. A shipload of British soldiers, sent to pursue Washington on his retreat from Manhattan to White Plains, foundered at the reef. No redcoats survived.

The legend of the executions had such hold, that when lightkeepers were assigned to Execution Rocks, they were under a unique contract. No lightkeeper was to ever feel chained to the reef. Instead of stating a set length of duty, their contract read that their length of service was for as long as they were willing. If for any reason, they requested a transfer, it was instantly granted.

Specters have been seen on the rocks near the lighthouse, but the last Coast Guard keeper denied ever having seen anyone that could be construed as a ghost. But with its history, it’s hard to say if maybe he just wasn’t sensitive enough to see them. The lighthouse has also been the scene of fires two times, once in 1918 and once in 1921, both in the engine room. The first time, the fog signal, running for five hours, slowed, and the keeper went to investigate. When he opened the door to the room, he was greeted by flames. The second time, an overheated exhaust pipe caused the roof to catch fire. Perhaps the spirits of those executed and left on the rocks were taking their revenge