Concord Point Lighthouse

A lighthouse keeper in 1889 encountered a figure with eyes "as big as those of a cow" that left the lantern room smelling like a flower garden instead of oil. The Perfumed Ghost has haunted Concord Point Lighthouse for over a century, leaving bursts of floral scent at this 1827 tower where a War of 1812 hero's family served as keepers for four generations.

The lighthouse keeper in 1889 walked into the lantern room and found himself face to face with a pair of eyes "as big as those of a cow" that "sparkled just like two big diamonds." The figure had a black covering on its head, and the eyes were "set in a frame of black." He could not hold eye contact. The eyes affected his vision worse than staring into the lantern flame. When the figure vanished, it left behind a smell of cologne so strong the room smelled like "a flower garden," which was notable because the lantern room normally reeked of oil.

That account appeared in The Fayetteville News on February 15, 1889, and it gave Concord Point Lighthouse its signature ghost: the Perfumed Ghost. Nobody has ever identified her. The floral scent is the calling card. Visitors and local residents walking near the lighthouse at night have caught it in the air for over a century, a burst of perfume where the salt and river water should be.

The lighthouse stands at the point where the Susquehanna River enters the Chesapeake Bay, on a spot that earned its reputation long before any ghost showed up. On May 3, 1813, during the War of 1812, the British Navy attacked Havre de Grace. A militia lieutenant named John O'Neill was tasked with defending a small parapet of three cannons called Potato Battery. When the rest of his men fled, O'Neill stayed and operated one of the cannons himself until he was wounded and captured. For his bravery, the City of Philadelphia awarded him a sword on July 4, 1813.

O'Neill's reward came thirteen years later. In 1827, President John Quincy Adams appointed him as the first keeper of the newly built Concord Point Lighthouse. The tower was constructed by John Donohoo at the point where ships kept wrecking. It stands 36 feet tall and is the second-oldest tower lighthouse still standing on the Chesapeake Bay, and the northernmost lighthouse on the bay. O'Neill's family operated it for four generations, a run that is unique among Chesapeake lighthouse keepers.

The Perfumed Ghost predates all modern paranormal investigation at the site. The 1889 newspaper account is specific, detailed, and weird enough that it's hard to dismiss as embellishment. The keeper described physical effects on his vision. He described the smell in sensory terms. He did not describe a woman, exactly, but the perfume and the eyes suggest one. Later accounts from locals have described a "slow-moving shadow in the upper windows of the light tower" and a dark figure near the memorial cannon at the base. The shadow moves at a pace that does not match wind or passing car headlights.

In 1994, a murder victim's body was discovered on the lighthouse grounds. Some residents believe his spirit may have joined the Perfumed Ghost, though the two phenomena are distinct. The perfume predates the murder by over a century.

The Coast Guard decommissioned the lighthouse in 1975, and it has since been restored and operated as a museum. The Concord Point Lighthouse Keeper's House, adjacent to the tower, is also open to visitors. US Ghost Adventures and Lizzie Borden Ghost Tours both include the lighthouse on their Havre de Grace routes, and the local group Havre de Haunts runs seasonal tours that end at the point.

The Perfumed Ghost is patient. She does not knock on doors or move furniture. She leaves a scent and a pair of enormous, glittering eyes, and then she is gone. The lighthouse keepers who smelled her perfume in 1889 could not explain it. The visitors who catch it on evening walks in 2026 still cannot.