In 1871, Captain Joseph Babcock was the Head Keeper of the Fairport Harbor Lighthouse. His family resided in the second floor quarters of present museum. His wife was bedridden so the captain gave her numerous cats to keep her company. After she died most of the cats disappeared except for the gray cat. Years later, a curator Pam Brent, lived upstairs in what had been the Babcock's living quarters. She reported seeing the ghost of a gray cat. She said "It would skitter across the floor near the kitchen like it was playing. I would catch glimpses of it from time to time. Then one evening I felt its presence when it jumped on the bed. I felt its weight pressing on me."

Time passed and the day came when Trustees decided to put in air conditioning in the Museum. A worker installing the new system wiggled his way into a tight dark crawl space in the basement. He looked to see what his head was resting on and discovered the mummified remains of the gray cat.

Sentinel (The Ghost Cat), and the Fairport Harbor Lighthouse have been featured on the Animal Planet program "The Haunted' which first aired on Jan. 29, 2010.

The Discovery Channel's "Weird, True and Freaky" aired an episode of "Hauntings" that features the lighthouse and ghost cat. Future air dates can be accessed by visiting the Animal Planet website. Since 2001, Sentinel has to date three cable television appearances and two local network segments to his credit.

Other Ghost Cat Links

Ghost Cat on TV     Lake County Visitors Bureau   Newspaper    Lighthouse Digest