Race Rock Lighthouse was established in 1878, and was first lighted on January 1, 1879. Built to warn ships of the shallow reef that lay beneath the lighthouse, Race Rock Lighthouse sits at the west end of Fishers Island and helps to mark the eastern entrance to Long Island Sound.
The first keeper of the lighthouse was Neil Martin, who took appointment as the keeper on December 16, 1878.
Before the lighthouse was built there were numerous shipwrecks along the reef, and for a period of time there was at least one shipwreck every summer. One of these shipwrecks took the steamer “Atlantic” in which 45 people perished in November 1846.
Darkrealm Labs Notes
One things that we find interesting about this investigation is Jason bringing a fishing pole along on an investigation. To us, this is irresponsible in a number of ways with the first being how it portrays his lack of interest and seriousness on the investigation. Why would an investigator go fishing during an investigation if he were serious about the investigation?
Then there’s the problem with the suspicion it raises; especially since in this investigation a chair moves. To us it seems the guise of fishing was used to hid the fishing pole in plain sight, not only to the audience and Coast Guard, but also to fellow investigators.
Regardless, it was not a good thing and does show a certain lack of seriousness as well as a lack of thought.
Investigation Team
Jason Hawes – Lead Investigator
Grant Wilson – Lead Investigator
Brian Harnois – Case Manager
Donna LaCroix – Interviewer
Steve Gonsalves – Tech Specialist
Andy Andrews – Investigator
Heather Drolet – Pagan/Wiccan
The Pitch
Brian informs Jay and Grant that the Coast Guard has contacted him and would like TAPS to investigate Race Rock Lighthouse. They say that there have been numerous incidents in the lighthouse, and four shipwrecks in the immediate area. Brian also tells them a story of witnesses who claim to have heard someone in the old, non-functioning showers as well as wet footprints leading up and out of the area.
Brian also informs Jay and Grant that this is an unmanned lighthouse and that there is no power and no bathrooms.
The Tour
An unidentified Coast Guard member, tells TAPS about the sinking of the “Atlantic”, and that between 1829 and 1837 eight ships struck the reef and sank. He also tells that the lighthouse was manned until the sixties, and that all the times he’s been out there the only thing he’s experienced is the feeling of not being welcome and compares it to being in someone’s house when their not home.
Boatswain Mate, First Class, Peter Jennings, gives TAPS the tour and tells a tale where one of the keepers of the lighthouse was caught in a storm and perished. It is now rumored that he’s still there tending the lighthouse. He also mentions a story in which a few people had heard the dysfunctional shower running and when investigating the sound they found wet footprints.
The Investigation
Brian, Andy, and the moving EMF field
Andy and Brian find an EM field that they think is moving up the stairs. Andy explains that if they take two steps back they lose the EMF, but if they rush four steps forward (up the stairs) they pick it up again, or if they stay stationary they lose it.
Considering they are near the electrical wiring for the light atop the lighthouse we have to wonder if they weren’t simply picking up that electrical interference.
Andy and Heather – Testing the Dowsing Rods
Heather and Andy do a walk up the stairs in an experiment to see if Heather’s dowsing rods and Andy’s EMF detector will corroborate each other. Circumstantial evidence seems to corroborate their findings.
All testing on divining rods that we have been able to research indicates that divining rods produce no better results than random chance, and that before using them in an investigation such as this that they must first be tested for accuracy.
This is the evidence presented in the reveal and shows a chair mysteriously moving. This happens just after Grant leaves the attic because it was “Too hot up there”.
It should be noted the emphasis that Jay and Grant put on the corners of the attic and that there is nobody there. This is first mentioned when they take the clip to someone to see if they can’t have the video cleaned up. To us, this appears to be a distraction from what is going on in the stairwell, which is covered in our analysis.
Darkrealm Labs Analysis
There are several things that look very suspicious in this investigation. As we noted before, Jason taking a fishing pole is the first, as well as the distraction away from the stair well. One question that came to mind when viewing this clip is why do Jason and Grant pay no attention to the thing that passes in front of the light just as the chair moves? To us, this throws up a red flag. Considering the response of people on the internet, we believe it’s safe to say that they had to have noticed it. So, why didn’t they acknowledge or address it themselves?
By looking all the footage in the show, we can see that there is something on the stairwell like a tarp.
This is a shot of the stairwell at the ground floor of the lighthouse {left}. We show it here to illustrate the type of construction, that being it is a typical spiral staircase that has no obstructions from one step to the other. In other words, you can see through the space from one step to another. But this is not what we see in the clip with the chair {right}. There definitely appears to be something on the stairs. My opinion of this was cemented when editors of the show contacted me on the SciFi, Ghost Hunters Forum and tried to convince me with weak reasoning such as, ‘Why would we put a tarp there. That would be dangerous”, that there was no tarp. Funny how they wouldn’t address my reasoning that it would be there if they wanted to hide someone behind that tarp.
What’s even more interesting about what is on the stair is that it changes how it obscures what’s on the other side of the stairwell from the clips when Grant first enters the room to when he gets up and leaves. Not only does that change, but the lighting in the stairwell changes even though the light source does not, indicating that something has been done to alter the lighting, such as hanging a tarp or something. We believe this was done to hide the shadows created by whomever was pulling the chair.
Looking at these two images, the lighting change becomes apparent. The image to the left is from the time when Grant first enters the attic. The image to the right is from the time period when Grant leaves the attic. Notice the difference in the light on the back right wall of the stairwell; a good indication that something is amiss.
Also, if you look at the obstruction on the stairwell you can see that it has changed, and in the image from when Grant departs the attic the object now obstructs more of the gaps in the stairwell.
In these two images we’ve highlighted the outline of the object in red, where the gap between stairs is obstructed in yellow, and the center pole of the stairwell with aqua.
Notice the difference between the two, as well as the difference in lighting, even though the light source in the stairwell appears to have not changed.
What all this looks like to us is that the object/tarp was strung from the center pole to the back wall of the stairwell. This would eliminate the possibility of someone on the stairwell from casting shadows from the light source. It also give a person a place to hide from the cameras. As Jason and Grant pointed out in the show there was no place in the attic for someone to hide, but fail to mention anything about the stairwell. Never do they even address the movement in front of the light that happens at the same moment the chair moves, possibly created the very fishing pole that Jason had brought along for the fishing he wanted to do during an investigation.
This is the clip where the chair moves and something passes in front of the light. Just watch the light at the back of the stairwell and you see what we mean. Another thing to note is the object/tarp itself. When this movement occurs the tarp lightens as though someone was on it and possibly rolled to the side, thus exposing more of the tarp to the light behind.
This is a very interesting clip. We believe it was the fishing line used to pull the chair. This happens a moment before the chair moves. This was also duplicated by paperroses/mikeleroi on the SciFi message board. What also is interesting is that this was possible to duplicate off of video when it first aired as well as when it was repeated the first time. But after the release of the DVD set for series one, it was no longer possible to get a clear shot of it. Is this possibly the first signs of Pilgrim going back and cleaning up, sort of like the Manson Murder episode?
Darkrealm Labs Conclusion
After reviewing all the evidence from this episode it is our conclusion that this event was staged. With all the evidence we’ve examined, as well as the apparent distraction from Jason and Grant with the corners of the attic it was also noted by them that fishing line would show up in the video if it were that.  That statement in itself is suspicious since one, fishing line does not show up in IR light and unless there was reason to suspect it then why mention it. There are too many factors that do not add up and point to our conclusion, and while editing can make some things look different, such as when Grant is seen coming down the stairs with his chair before he is shown leaving the attic, it cannot alter the evidence in the unedited clip of the chair moving.
We believe that Jason and Grant had planned using the fishing pole to stage an event, prior to leaving on the investigation. While they may not have planned the whole scenario, it does look like they had the intention of pulling something with fishing line prior to the investigation. While Jason will claim that he is an avid fisherman and that’s the only reason for taking the pole along, we have to ask Jason if he really thinks that’s a good idea. Did he not think about the implications that would bring from the skeptics? Also, does he really see that as professional behavior on an investigation? To us, it was one of the dumbest and irresponsible things an investigator could do. Not only does it give skeptics a good reason to cast doubt upon the evidence, but it also shows to people a lack of interest and seriousness of attitude towards the investigation.
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