HAUNTEDLIGHTHOUSE.ORG
Barbara Rose was born September 29, 1982, at Herrington Memorial. Her mother, Rebecca, experienced heart trauma during the delivery and died shortly after the baby was born. Her father was never identified. She was raised by her maternal grandmother, who prefers to remain a recluse to this day. Although the home may be found via the internet, we ask that people respect her wishes to remain undisturbed.
Nothing of note occurred during her school years. She was on the varsity volleyball team and even competed at state her junior year. Babara's early poetry can be found in the collected volume Virgin Naturescapes in Verse.
Once the darkness begins
The things below will awaken
The loud surf announces their coming
Beware your heart. Lock it safe
Ode to Evening, 1998
Barbara Rose began her only published work, Lighthouses of Grass during her senior year and continued as she studied Classics while enrolled at Eastern Oglethorpe Academy (EOA). She was encouraged by her professors to intern at the organization Restoration 105. This was a summer program for artists and poets to maintain Shoreline 105. She participated in this program the summers 2001 and 2002. During the day, she helped with small carpentry tasks and in the evenings the group would light a fire and perform works.
Light. Dark. Sea. Birds. Are they enough?
Mortals cannot know. Do we lack real sanity?
The world is too large. And deep, the forbidden depths!
Love is lost, consumed. It is not enough.
Untitled, 2002
Barbara began dating Derek Sheridan in the spring of 2003. Her grandmother, of Herrington descent, was opposed to the match and made threatening remarks about his family. The two continued to meet in secret. At this time, we had moved into the area and were neighbors to Derek's parents. We often spotted them parked in his car a few houses up the road.
Her big break in publishing happened when Lighthouses was chosen by EOA for a special edition. In the days before crowdfunding, several of her professors and advisors pooled money for an edition which sold out almost immediately. We keep our signed copy preserved under glass and read from it on our anniversery of moving into Shoreline 106. The success sparked the interest of Sheridan Press. They bought the rights are on the eighth edition.
We are often asked if the title, Lighthouses of Grass, is a pun on Walt Whitman's famous work. According to rumor, whenever Barbara is asked this, she replies that grass really means ocean (or water, or sea, or depth depending on the day).
Foam is a flower brought from the blue
Each unique pedal is white, green, clear, bright
Try to grasp and it disappears
Outreach Gone, Lighthouses page 54
Sadly, the romance between Derek and Barbara ended in misery. Derek met Sarah Jackson, the manager of the Cents-Go-Far retail store, and began dating. According to Barbara's grandmother, Barbara claims Derek proposed marriage. Things came to a head when the three accidentally met at Shoreline 105 on April 30, 2004.
An argument broke out with Barbara sobbing and crying on the ground. Derek, also upset, tripped on the edge of the cliff. He fell to his death. Sarah was the only one capable to give a clear report to the police. By her account, Barbara was never within 6 feet of Derek. Rather, it was as if something grabbed his ankle and pulled him to his death.
Barbara never fully recovered. She has been under medical supervision ever since. Sarah moved out of the area and mysteriously drown in a backyard pool. We remain hopeful that Barbara will regain her facilties and resume writing. Her haunting works capture our area like none other.