Souter Lighthouse

The Souter Lighthouse is situated on the cliff top close to Coast Road, which runs south from South Shields in Tyne and Wear, northeast England. When it was built it was the first ever lighthouse in the world to be built with the intention of powering the lamp with alternating current electricity. The AC current powered a carbon arc lamp which is said to have provided a light brighter than any other lighthouse and brighter than most artificial lights in existence. The AC generators (normally 1 was in use but 2 in poor visibility) were powered initially by a pair of condensing steam engines which also drove an air pump to pressurise the foghorn reservoir. The rotation of the lenses which provided the regular flash  was provided by a manually wound clockwork mechanism. The beam was visible  over a 180-degree arc across the  North Sea twice a minute for five seconds at a time and the foghorn  could be heard 17 miles away (it is still used on "special occasions").

Between 1914 and 1952 the carbon arc system was replaced by incandescent oil burners burning kerosene vapour but in 1952 the main light again became electrically powered. In this system the illumination was provided by 4500 W incandescent bulbs. In normal times the power was from the mains electricity service but there was a backup generator and a final backup of a bank of batteries. In 1983 the clockwork rotation mechanism was replaced with two electric motors.

In 1988 the lighthouse was decommissioned by the UK's national lighthouse authority (Trinity House) and it was acquired by the National Trust who operate it as a visitor attraction including some very unusual vacation lets based on the lighthouse keepers' cottages.

Today the lighthouse appears to be in an idyllic rural, cliff-top environment  but up to the 1960s, immediately next to it were the 135, rather basic, Victorian terraced houses of the village of Marsden  and to the south was Whitburn Colliery. The houses were demolished in a council clearance programme after the coal mine closed. The sanitation arrangements were very primitive and some houses were threatened by cliff erosion.

It is claimed that Souter Lighthouse is haunted by both the ghost of a former keeper and a colliery worker  called Bob who died there in the 1930s. Things are said to vanish, especially in the engine room where tools often disappear. Apparently these incidents are usually accompanied by the smell of tobacco smoke. A figure has also been seen (walking along the corridor which leads  to the staircase). In the kitchen female members of staff report being grabbed by unseen hands and having cutlery pulled from people's hands. The place has  featured on a British TV's ghost-hunting programme called Most Haunted.