Heceta Head Lighthouse — the woman in gray on the Oregon coast

Heceta Head Lighthouse, perched on a dramatic headland near Florence on the central Oregon coast, is one of the most photographed lighthouses in America and one of the most haunted. The lighthouse keeper's house, now a bed-and-breakfast, is said to be haunted by a ghost known as the Gray Lady, believed to be the spirit of a woman connected to the lighthouse's early keepers. One theory identifies her as the mother of a baby whose grave was discovered on the property. The Gray Lady has been seen in the windows of the keeper's house by passing motorists on Highway 101 and by guests inside the building. She is described as a slender woman in a gray dress who appears to be looking out to sea, as if watching for a ship. Inside the house, guests have reported hearing footsteps in the attic, finding objects moved from their original positions, and smelling an unfamiliar floral perfume. In one well-documented incident during a renovation, workers reported that a cupboard door they had removed was replaced overnight — the screws reinserted by unseen hands. The lighthouse and keeper's house sit 205 feet above the Pacific, surrounded by old-growth Sitka spruce and frequently enveloped in coastal fog, creating one of the most atmospheric settings of any haunted location in America.