The Marshfield Lighthouse

File #ME-2023-0418 · Marshfield, Maine

A retired lighthouse keeper found at the foot of his own tower. The trapdoor locked from the inside.

Difficulty: MEDIUM · Play time: 20–30 MIN · 1–2 players, in the browser.

The suspects

• Samuel Pratt, 54 — Estranged Nephew & Sole Heir. Motive: $280K life insurance, deed to lighthouse cottage
• Nora Bishop, 67 — Local Historian & Neighbor. Motive: Long-running feud over coastal access easement
• Colin Drey, 41 — Coast Guard Officer. Motive: Victim threatened to report Colin's smuggling tip

The evidence

• EXHIBIT A: Keeper's Logbook — Final entry 21:14 — 'Samuel here. He shouldn't be.'
• EXHIBIT B: Locked Trapdoor — Inside latch engaged — only someone already up could have locked it, then left via window stairs.
• EXHIBIT C: Disputed Will Letter — Victim drafted letter cutting Samuel from the deed — unsigned, dated three days prior.
• WITNESS 1: Fisherman Nils — 'I saw a man come down the rocks at 9:45. Not local — city shoes.'
• EXHIBIT D: Ferry Manifest — Samuel Pratt — Boston → Marshfield, arrived 18:20 day of death.
• EXHIBIT E: Easement Dispute File — Nora Bishop vs. the Pratts — civil court filing, ongoing 4 years.
• EXHIBIT F: Coast Guard Log — Colin Drey signed in to patrol vessel 18:00, signed out 23:10.

A man who spent decades alone with a light and a logbook doesn't die by accident at the foot of his own tower — not with the trapdoor latched from below. The Marshfield Lighthouse case is a quiet one: a small cast, an isolated setting, and a killer who understood the building better than the keeper's own nephew did.

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