Is the Lightship Overfalls haunted?

Is the historic Lightship Overfalls in Lewes haunted?

According to paranormal investigator Rick Warner, there is no doubt about it, and he claims to have collected proof during a recent Phantom Detectives investigation of the ship.

“Big Red,” docked at Canalfront Park, is an iconic landmark in the Cape Region and is one of the few lightships that has been restored to a museum.

Warner was very excited when he talked about the Overfalls. “We have established there is paranormal activity picked up on the ship,” he said. “We have video and audio evidence to back it up.”

That's the conclusion he and his team reached after spending the night of Nov. 15 on the lightship. While Rick and founder Joshua Chaires set up their equipment, physic medium Melissa Ferrazzano went to work. They focused on the captain's and crew's quarters.

“Melissa is able to pick up on the history really well and tune in to people who have passed away. Her accuracy rate is very high,” Warner said.

Warner said Ferrazzano asked if any spirits were present. “She heard a female voice say hello and then help me,” he said. “It was also picked up on a video file. She heard banging noises and feet shuffling. This was all picked up in multiple recordings.”

The evidence includes several Structured Light Sensor camera images, a thermal image and several Electronic Voice Phenomenon recordings.

Prior to the start of the investigation, Ferrazzano said she was honored to be able to be part of the event at the historic lightship. “People didn’t pass away here, but it was their home,” she said. “There are spirits here who want to tell their story. As soon as we started setting up equipment, we got readings. It’s going to be exciting and amazing.”

Warner said they were contacted by a person connected with the lightship concerning reports of possible paranormal activity. He said they could return to do a follow-up investigation.

I’ve attended paranormal investigations at the former Brick Hotel in Georgetown and the Cape May-Lewes Ferry terminal. During those two experiences, there was a lot of time spent sitting around in the dark. I don’t believe any recordings of anything were made.

The Phantom Detectives

Warner said when they start an investigation, they try to debunk what they can. “We realize it could be imagined or it could be as simple as some type of electrical problem. We look for facts and see what evidence we can produce to make an educational decision. Sometimes, it's immediate and sometimes we pick it up when we do playbacks of what we've recorded,” he said.

The Phantom Detectives team, based in Oxford, Pa., travels around the area to private residences and historical buildings when their owners report suspicious activity. They post their investigations on YouTube. The mission of the team is “to educate, research, investigate and inspire people about paranormal investigations and to unveil the paranormal in locations around your neighborhood.”

They appear on TV and radio shows and host educational events.

They have done other investigations at the Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia, Sanderson Museum in Chadd's Ford, Pa., Selma Mansion in Norristown, Pa., and Poplar Hill Mansion in Salisbury, Md., to name a few.

To hear two recordings made on the lightship, go to phantomdetectives.org/site/evp.

The investigation is included at phantomdetectives.org/site/investigation-details?slug=case-013-lightship-overfalls.

About the Overfalls

While a lightship was on station off the coast of Cape Henlopen, it was not the ship moored at Canalfront Park in Lewes. That ship LV-118, built in 1938, has served on three stations in New England, including Cornfield Point off Old Saybrook, Conn., from 1938-57, Cross Rip south of Cape Cod, Mass., from 1958-67, and Boston from 1967-73, when it was taken out of service.

The lightship – a National Historic Landmark – was donated by the U.S. Coast Guard to the Lewes Historical Society in 1973. Unable to take on the huge responsibility of overhauling the ship, it was donated in 1999 to the Friends of the Lightship Overfalls, who created a foundation to raise funds to save the ship. The museum ship underwent a major renovation project – mostly done by volunteers – throughout the 2000s. It's become an iconic symbol of maritime history.

The lightship’s dedicated volunteers offer tours and events throughout the year. For more information about the foundation and the Overfalls’ history, go to overfalls.org/History.html.