Captain Samuel Blakeley and only two of his crew members survived the great hurricane of 1788 when their ship sank off the coast of South Carolina. They washed up on the shores of remote Daufuskie Island barely alive and no way to return to England. They built a lighthouse to live in and light the seas for other ships. But they strangely disappeared some years later, and the lighthouse fell into a state of abandonment – and haunting.  In the 1950’s, a new school was built on Daufuskie, where Gullah peoples have lived since the days of freedom after the Civil War as farmers, planters, cattle ranchers, fisherman, and textile weavers. Sallie Anne Sesso is a 12 year old 5th generation Gullah girl who met Jenny Lynn Murphy, the 13 year old daughter of Miss Frances, the teacher at the newly built and opened school after the old one burned down. Her father is Professor Murphy, from the State University, studying and documenting the history of Daufuskie Island. A Gullah heritage and a white girl of Irish parents made no difference to the girls. Their friendship was immediate, as both had an intense fascination with history, mysteries, and ghostly encounters. Daufuskie Island was the right place and right time for both girls to learn and seek answers to The Mystery of the Old Lighthouse.

  “ Dat ol’ Captn now dah ghost at dat ol’ lighthouse,” said Sallie Anne.   “We need to find out why?”  whispered Jenny Lynn.