Built on an artificial granite pier in Long Island Sound, New London Ledge Light is famous for its distinctive brick Mansard-roof architecture—designed to match the affluent coastal estates of nearby Eastern Point.

The Heartbreak Narrative: Folk tradition holds that in May 1936, a keeper named John "Ernie" Randolph returned from shore leave to find his wife had absconded with a local ferry captain. Distraught over the betrayal and suffering from severe isolation, Ernie allegedly climbed to the lantern gallery 58 feet above the water, slit his throat, and leaped into the rocky surf.

Archival and Census Records: Local historians note that official United States Lighthouse Service employment logs do not list an active keeper named "Ernie Randolph" dying by suicide on the ledge in 1936. However, archival research identifies early keeper John A. Cook, who served at the station during the 1920s and early 1930s and whose personal hardships and solitary routines may have formed the real-world basis for the localized narrative.

Timeline of Key Events
├── 1909 : New London Ledge Light constructed and commissioned.
├── 1936 (May) : Traditional date attributed to the suicide of keeper "Ernie."
├── 1939 : U.S. Coast Guard assumes operational control of the light.
├── 1970s–1980s : Active Coast Guard logs document repetitive poltergeist activity.
├── 1987 (May 1) : Lighthouse fully automated; final Coast Guard crew departs.
└── 2014–Pres. : Customary preservation managed by New London Maritime Society; seasonal tours run.

Official Coast Guard Log Entries and Poltergeist Reports

Despite questions regarding the 1930s origin story, anomalous activity was so persistent that active-duty U.S. Coast Guard personnel routinely recorded strange occurrences in official station logbooks prior to automation:

Physical Interferences: Coast Guard crews reported televisions turning on and off independently, bedsheets being pulled off sleeping Coast Guardsmen, locked doors unlatching in heavy seas, and coffee pots boiling on turned-off stoves.

Acoustic and Nautical Activity: Servicemen frequently recorded hearing heavy footsteps pacing the spiral staircase of the lantern room at night. On multiple occasions, the automated foghorn—which required manual override procedures—would activate on clear, sunny afternoons or shut off completely during heavy dense fog.

Note: Last documented paranormal event was 1987 when the last stationed crew left due to it being automated. A few visitors since claimed minor experiences but nothing formally documented, logged. Ghost Hunters went there in 2005 and said they did not find enough activity to call it active. Thus we are labeling this "historic" not active. Granted this may be simply due to no one there for any length of time anymore. But until someone can document something of substance we will side with it being inactive.