The Old Point Loma Lighthouse

Posted: 01.15.2025 | Updated: 01.16.2025

What comes to mind when you hear of lighthouses?

Perhaps, a looming beacon tower, constantly beset by storms, that stands steadfast against all that Mother Nature can throw at it. Or, possibly, an image of a kindly old lighthouse keeper, trusty and dependable, comes to mind. 

The Old Point Loma Lighthouse in San Diego, California, might just challenge those ideas of what lighthouses and lighthouse keepers are. This tale is equally comedic and spooky, and the ghost that’s said to haunt it is one of San Diego’s most famous. 

Check out this fascinating tale, and if it grips your imagination, be sure to take our in-person ghost tour with San Diego Ghosts for an even more in-depth exploration of California’s haunted history. 

Who Haunts the Old Point Loma Lighthouse?

But just who haunts this San Diego lighthouse? Believe it or not, locals and ghost experts are split on this question. Two likely candidates have emerged, but which one is true – if either – is still anyone’s guess. 

The History of the Old Point Loma Lighthouse

The Old Point Loma Lighthouse is a relic from California’s pioneering past. After the Mexican-American War, the United States acquired a great deal of land on the Pacific Coast. This drove a huge boom of migration towards California that was only exacerbated by the discovery of gold in the region. 

In 1850, to accommodate the new influx of settlers, prospectors, and supply ships coming in and out of the Pacific coastal cities, Congress authorized $90,000 to construct lighthouses up and down California’s coast to make ship passage easier and safer. 

One of these lighthouses was Old Point, which was built to be 422 feet over San Diego Bay. This impressive height actually made Old Point Loma Lighthouse the tallest lighthouse in the United States at the time. 

However, while its imposing height allowed it to be seen across vast distances, it also had disadvantages. Its height and fixed light system often displaced the light across the coast, preventing ships from pinpointing the source of the light and causing them to sail in the wrong direction. 

Additionally, its tall height meant that high fogs would often obscure the light completely, further confusing sailors. Sometimes, the lighthouse keepers actually had to warn ships away by firing their shotguns!

Navigation wasn’t the lighthouse’s only issue either. At the time, live-in lighthouse keepers hadn’t quite made it to California. Instead, lighthouse tenders would travel up and down the coast, maintaining various lighthouses on their journey. 

Many reported finding Old Point Loma to be difficult to maintain. The earthquakes in the area and the lack of an adequate water supply certainly didn’t make things any easier. 

Eventually, the place fell into disrepair. In 1891, its light was extinguished, and newer lighthouses with fewer problems were built to replace it. 

Lighthouse Hauntings

However, even after the Old Point Loma lighthouse closed, it remained bereft of problems, namely ghosts. Yes, over the years, many tales have popped up about the lighthouse, its haunters, and their purpose. These tales often accompany various sightings of curious phenomena, though it can sometimes be hard to separate the plausible from the deluded.

But as with most haunted sites, with a little digging, a clearer picture emerges, and patterns make themselves clear. The interior of the lighthouse is almost untouched from when it was in use and serves as a living time capsule for the 19th century.

Perhaps this might explain why ghosts feel drawn to it- in an increasingly modernizing world, the touch of the familiar probably is of great comfort for someone born in another century. 

Visitors over the years have reported hearing a few distinct but recognizable sounds. These sounds range from heavy footsteps outside visiting hours to slow, labored breathing that seems to come from nowhere. 

Unexplained sounds aren’t the only mystery in Old Point Loma Lighthouse that attacks the senses. Many have sworn that they’ve encountered mysterious cold spots all over the lighthouse, as though the temperature suddenly dropped. These cold spots remain consistent throughout the seasons and are consistent with hauntings. 

There are also pervasive reports of visitors who believe someone is standing right behind them, even though when they turn around, there’s seemingly no one there. Some may dismiss this as just a creepy old building inspiring paranoia, but for believers, there’s a clear (and ghostly) explanation. What isn’t so clear is the identity of that ghost. 

The Identity of the Ghost

There are three dominant theories as to this ghost’s identity that make the most sense. To analyze the first, it might be prudent to examine where the Old Point Loma Lighthouse resides, near San Diego, on the shore. 

This would have been a prime location for escaped prisoners of Alcatraz, of which there are only a few, to have washed up and taken refuge. Most Alcatraz escapees either died in the attempt, were swiftly recaptured, or vanished completely. 

Perhaps those in the latter camp never left the lighthouse they took shelter in and enjoy terrorizing visitors as some perverse payback for their unfortunate end. 

The second possible culprit is Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo. He was born in 1497, long before Alcatraz, San Diego, or even America were established. He arrived in what is now San Diego in 1542. 

The legend goes that the old Spanish explorer likes to visit the lighthouse now and again to watch passing ships and reminisce about the time when the world map wasn’t filled in, and he was one of the brave few who dared to explore it. 

The third candidate for the ghost of Old Point Loma Lighthouse is its former final keeper, Captain Robert Decatur Israel. This keeper is said to have haunted his old workplace because he insisted that he and only he could adequately maintain the place. 

In life, not everyone disagreed—some of the blame for the lighthouse’s poor performance, whether justified or not, was laid at the feet of the keepers instead of the structural issues.

Haunted San Diego 

Whoever the ghost of the lighthouse is – whether its old keeper or Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo or someone else entirely, their hauntings of the Old Point Loma Lighthouse will continue to scare off the cowardly and draw in the bold and the curious for years to come.   

If you fall into the latter category and are interested in learning more, check out all the ways you can engage further with haunted San Diego. 

First, be sure to check our Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and blog for the most up-to-date information about other hauntings across America.

If you want to get a more up-close-and-personal look at haunted San Diego, take one of our in-person ghost tours with San Diego Ghosts. These tours provide an unforgettable real-world experience that cannot be duplicated by reading an online article or blog post.

If you take one of our in-person San Diego ghost tours, you’ll get access to even more haunted California, the kind that former Alcatraz residents could only have dreamed of! 

Sources:

1. https://www.nps.gov/places/old-point-loma-lighthouse-grounds.htm#:~:text=History,was%20a%20double%2Dedged%20sword.
2. https://sandiegohistory.org/journal/1967/july/light-3/
3. https://obrag.org/2022/12/is-the-old-point-loma-lighthouse-haunted/
4. https://fox5sandiego.com/news/local-news/san-diego-has-hundreds-of-ghost-stories-here-are-six-you-may-not-have-known/