The ghost story at Seul Choix Point Lighthouse

First, the part we can put on a timeline. The U.S. Coast Guard says the Seul Choix Point light station was established in 1892, the present tower first shone in 1895, and the light was automated in 1972. It remains an operating light on a quiet point of Lake Michigan near Gulliver. The traditional name story says French sailors called the harbor their “only choice” for shelter along this stretch of shore.

Then comes the porch-story version. Pure Michigan’s account says keeper Joseph Willie Townsend arrived in 1902 and died in 1910. It retells reports of cigar smoke in empty rooms, a face appearing in a mirror, and furniture moving on its own. The same account says Townsend’s body was embalmed in the basement and kept in the parlor for nearly three weeks before burial.

Those last details are folklore, not proof that anything paranormal happened. That does not make the story worthless; it just puts it in the right drawer. Visit for a working 1895 lighthouse and a piece of U.P. maritime history. Enjoy the keeper story the same way locals do: as a good tale for a foggy Lake Michigan evening.