A not often seen view of the Point Lookout Lighthouse - The Bay Net photo by Sean Rice - See slideshow below

The U.S. Navy has transferred ownership of the historic lighthouse property to the state of Maryland, and plans are laid the open the lighthouse on the first Saturday of every month for tours from May to November.

This past Saturday, May 6, was the first open house and scores of visitors took advantage.

Plans call for the lighthouse to be preserved as a museum, but no money is budgeted yet to rehabilitate the structure. During the 25 years since the lighthouse was last occupied, deterioration and vandalism has taken its toll, and many areas are falling apart. Some damage was intentionally caused by structural investigations.

The last person to occupy the lighthouse was Laura Berg, who moved out in 1981 after the well water turned salty and neither the U.S. Navy nor State would make a commitment to dig a new well.

Since then Berg has been involved with efforts to preserve the lighthouse and has documented some of the ghostly happenings she experienced while living there.

Paranormal investigator Robert Hall has done extensive research on the lighthouse history, and its paranormal activities. Hall, who volunteers as a guide on the monthly open houses, is working on a book about the lighthouse keepers and occupants during its 175-year history.

See more about the lighthouse’s history at www.ptlookoutlighthouse.com, which includes a keeper’s timeline with official documentation, and ghost stories, pictures and eerie sounds recorded inside.

See more of Robert Hall’s paranormal investigations across the country at www.paranormalinvestigators.com