One of seven surviving lightships open to the public, where a 2021 paranormal investigation captured a voice saying 'help me'
1 Canalfront Park, Lewes, DE 19958
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Museum admission required for boarding; see website for current rates
Access
Limited Access
Vessel boarding requires stepping over gunwale; below-deck areas have low overhead and steep ladders
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1938 · National Historic Landmark (2011) · One of Seven US Lightships Open to the Public · Final Era US Lighthouse Service Construction · 34 Years Active Service on Delaware Coast
Lightship Overfalls, hull designation LV-118, was built in 1938 at Rice Brothers Shipyard in East Boothbay, Maine, for the U.S. Lighthouse Service. She was among the last lightships completed before the service was absorbed into the U.S. Coast Guard in 1939. The vessel served at multiple stations off the Delaware and Maryland coasts over her career, her most prominent posting being at the Overfalls station off the Delaware Bay entrance — a position she held long enough that she took the station's name.
Lightships were the predecessors of modern lighted buoys in deep-water or sandbar-studded approaches where fixed lighthouse construction was impractical. They were crewed vessels anchored at a fixed position, displaying a light and often a fog signal, and subject to the full range of offshore weather conditions. Crew tours of duty ranged from weeks to months at anchor.
LV-118 was decommissioned in 1972 after 34 years of service. The Overfalls Maritime Museum Foundation acquired the vessel the following year and began a long restoration effort. The lightship has been moored at Canalfront Park in Lewes, Delaware, since then, undergoing ongoing restoration and open to visitors.
The U.S. Department of the Interior designated LV-118 a National Historic Landmark in 2011, recognizing her as one of the surviving examples of American lightship history. She is one of only seven lightships in the United States currently accessible to the public. The National Maritime Historical Society has also recognized her preservation through its institutional support channels.
Sources
The paranormal investigation of LV-118 Overfalls was conducted by a group called Phantom Detectives and covered in the Cape Gazette, a local Delaware newspaper. The investigators reported multiple forms of electronic evidence: structured light sensor anomalies, thermal camera images, and electronic voice phenomenon (EVP) recordings. The most-cited specific finding was an audio capture of a female voice saying 'help me.'
The Cape Gazette article treats the investigation as a formal presentation by the investigators to document their findings, not as a general claim that the ship is haunted. The investigators' conclusion — declared confirmed paranormal activity — reflects their own interpretive framework. No independent verification of the recordings or other evidence has been published.
No historical figure has been identified as the source of the female voice. LV-118's crew records and service history are not associated with documented deaths aboard the vessel in the sources examined. Lightship crews did face dangerous conditions — offshore posting in storms, collision risk, isolation — but no specific incident or death on LV-118 is documented in connection with these paranormal accounts.
The Overfalls Maritime Museum Foundation's public materials do not actively promote the paranormal investigation findings as part of the museum experience; the attraction remains primarily the historical and educational value of touring a preserved lightship.
Board the 1938 Lightship Overfalls (LV-118), one of only seven lightships in the United States open to the public and a National Historic Landmark since 2011. Tour the crew's quarters, engine room, and wheelhouse. The ship served on the Delaware coast for 34 years before decommissioning in 1972 and is now moored at Canalfront Park in Lewes, Delaware.
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