In the Haunted House on Bird Island

Though now also fully automated, Bird Island was once one of the most remote lighthouses along the coast. Keepers used carrier pigeons to send urgent messages to the mainland, if medical attention or supplies were needed. Still today, maintenance staff members refuse to sleep over on Bird Island when working there. They say a ghost pulls off their blankets as they sleep, and chilly draughts blow through the room, even though the windows are all closed. They believe it’s the ghost of Mrs Hansen.

The wife of a lighthouse keeper, Mrs Hansen is said to have become depressed at living in such extreme isolation. Then one day, her body was discovered in a well near the lighthouse. While the story dates from 1908, many believe her spirit still wanders there, and some accounts claim to have seen the ghost of a woman.

MyPE was a guest of SANparks Addo Elephant National Park on Bird Island.