Mysterious Ghost Lights That Lurk In The Night

Across the United States, people have reported strange, unexplainable ghost lights that appear in rural areas. These lights often come with stories of tragedy that result in this supernatural phenomenon. While there are plenty of skeptics who attempt to debunk these ghost lights, some continue to defy explanation. 

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What Are Some Theories About Ghost Lights?

Skeptics have come up with a few theories on what causes ghost lights. Some believe that they are merely car headlights reflecting off surfaces in the distance, which cause the bizarre lights. Another theory is that swamp gases create the light abnormalities, since some of these sightings do occur near swamps. Finally, it’s been posited that a buildup of minerals and electricity could create these lights.

All that said, many of the ghost lights on this list defy logic and reason. Whether they’re restless spirits or UFOs, the ghost lights of the United States put the spook in spook light.

Gurdon Light- Arkansas

The Gurdon Light in Arkansas was first reported in the early 1930s, and could be tied to a violent murder. The light is usually seen near some old railroad tracks off Interstate 30. 

Skeptics claim it’s simply headlights, but the highway is two miles away, and sightings of the Gurdon Light started decades before the highway was built.

Many believe the Gurdon Light is the ghost of railroad worker William McClain. McClain was beaten to death with a railroad spike hammer by a colleague who was upset about not being given more work hours. Sightings of the Gurdon Light started soon after McClain’s murder in 1931.

Oviedo Lights- Florida

Drivers on Snow Hill Road near the Econlockhatchee River in Oviedo, FL, have experienced a strange phenomenon known as the Oviedo Lights. These lights appear first as distant headlights, then morph into a bright blue orb that silently races towards oncoming vehicles before disappearing. 

Some claim the lights are the ghost of a Cub Scout who got lost in the woods. Others think it could be caused by the death of two teens who lost control of their vehicle and crashed into the Econlockhatchee River. 

In terms of documented deaths, 17-year-old Norbert Georg Hyman was accidentally struck and killed by a friend’s car in 1963. In 1969, scientists tried to recreate the Oviedo Lights to prove they were a hoax, but were unsuccessful. 

Marfa Lights- Texas

In Marfa, TX, viewing the Marfa Lights has become a popular tourist destination. Visitors can gather on the shoulder of Highway 90 and see the lights appear in the distance. Between 1945 and 2008, there were 34 documented sightings of the Marfa Lights, although there have likely been many more.

Scientists insist that the lights are simply car headlights on Highway 90 that become distorted by the desert heat. However, that doesn’t account for the historical record. 

The earliest known sighting of the Marfa Lights was by a cowhand in 1883. The next report was in 1885. In both instances, the witnesses could find no logical explanation for the lights, such as a fire or lantern. 

Maco Light- North Carolina

The Maco Light in Maco Station, NC, was first spotted in the 1870s. As the legend goes, in 1867, train conductor Joe Baldwin was in the rear car of the train when it became detached.

A frantic Baldwin waved his lantern to signal to the train directly behind him to stop, but the conductor didn’t see him. The second train crashed into Baldwin’s detached car, and he was decapitated. Some claim his head was never found. Reports of the Maco Light began shortly afterwards. 

Witnesses said that the light appeared about five feet off the ground, arcing across the tracks before fading away. Conductors would stop their trains when they saw the Maco Light, fearing it was another train. 

The Maco Light was reported in magazines and investigated by paranormal researcher Hans Holzer. Holzer believed that Baldwin’s ghost didn’t realize he was dead. Reports of the Maco Light abruptly stopped in 1977 when the old railroad tracks were removed.

Silver Cliff Cemetery Lights- Colorado

Silver Cliff, CO, was a successful mining town in the 1870s, and some believe that the ghosts of the town’s past still haunt it. There’s a story that in the 1880s, a group of men were coming home from a bachelor party and cut through the Silver Cliff Cemetery on their way home. 

As they passed through, orbs of light began floating between the gravestones, terrifying the men. The first written account of the Silver Cliff Cemetery Lights didn’t occur until a 1956 newspaper article in the Wet Mountain Tribune. 

According to the article, teens on an evening drive saw the strange lights in the cemetery. The story became popular local folklore and gained further popularity after being featured in a 1969 issue of National Geographic. Skeptics blame the reflective nature of the headstones for the lights, but the legend endures. 

Paulding Light- Michigan

In Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, off Highway 45, tourists and locals alike gather to witness the Paulding Light. Unlike some ghost lights, the Paulding Light appears on a regular basis. It’s also unique because it shifts colors depending on the season.

Sometimes it’s red, other times it’s yellow or white. It doesn’t bob and weave like other ghost lights either. Instead, it blinks throughout the night. However, the light will start to fade if visitors approach it. 

The origins of the Paulding Light are murky at best, but the usual legend of a deceased railroad worker shining his lantern has come up. Scientific studies claim that the lights are nothing more than atmospheric distortions of car headlights, but those who have seen the Paulding Light themselves believe it could be a supernatural entity called a “will-o’-the-wisp” searching for lost children or possibly a UFO.

Cole Mountain Light- West Virginia

Since the mid-1800s, hundreds of people have reported seeing the Cole Mountain Light. Located in Moorefield, WV, the Cole Mountain Light has become an integral part of Appalachian folklore. The light appears to bob and sway, and it always disappears if anyone gets too close to it.

The origins of the Cole Mountain Light begin with a story about a wealthy landowner named Charles Jones. Jones was raccoon hunting one night and brought an enslaved person with him. Jones sent the man ahead of him when he thought his hunting dogs had found a raccoon, but when the man turned around, Jones was nowhere to be found.

 A search party was organized the next day, but no one could find a trace of Jones. On the one-year anniversary of Jones’ disappearance, the man took his lantern and went looking for Jones one last time, never to return.

The Ozark Spook Light- Oklahoma-Missouri Border

In the small town of Quapaw, OK, the Ozark Spook Light has been appearing for nearly 200 years. Also known as the Hornet or Joplin Spook Light, the Ozark Spook Light is said to have been first witnessed by Native Americans on the Trail of Tears in 1836. Sightings of the Spook Light became so prevalent that a publication was released about it in 1881.

The Ozark Spook Light appears as a fiery, orange light, somewhere between the size of a baseball and a basketball. Some report seeing it swaying low to the ground like a lantern, while others claim it can soar above the trees. The Ozark Spook Light typically appears between 10 p.m. and midnight.

The source of the Spook Light has been attributed to the ghosts of a Native American couple, a miner whose family died, and a slain Native American chief.

Brown Mountain Lights- North Carolina

The Brown Mountain Lights have been reported for hundreds of years in Burke County, NC. Located in Pisgah National Forest, these lights appear to rise over Brown Mountain and hover approximately 15 feet above the mountain top. They are best seen on clear nights in autumn.

The earliest people to witness the Brown Mountain Lights were the Cherokee people. In their lore, the lights were the spirits of Cherokee women searching for their husbands who died in a brutal battle between the Cherokee and Catawba on Brown Mountain. 

In 1916, a massive flood washed out the roadways around Brown Mountain. During the disaster, onlookers couldn’t help but notice the lights slowly rising over Brown Mountain.

Light of Saratoga- Texas

There have been reports of the Light of Saratoga in Southeast Texas’ Big Thicket since the early 1900s. At the turn of the 20th century, a railroad line was installed within the Big Thicket to ship supplies for the growing oilfields and sawmills in the area. 

However, the success was short-lived, and the railroad was torn up in the 1930s. Today, an eight-mile dirt road known as Bragg Road exists on the spot where the old tracks used to be. 

This is where dozens of people have seen a bobbing light that changes colors before disappearing into the distance. The local legend involves the familiar tale of a railroad worker who gets decapitated and searches for his head in the afterlife. 

The Mystery of Ghost Lights

From the eerie flickers of the Marfa Lights in Texas to the mysterious orbs dancing along North Carolina’s Brown Mountain, ghost lights have captivated and confused locals and visitors alike for generations. Whether explained by science, folklore, or something more otherworldly, these glowing phenomena serve as a reminder of the enduring fascination with the unknown.

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Sources:

• https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/gurdon-light-1198/
• https://orlandohaunts.com/oviedo-lights/
• https://www.livescience.com/37579-what-are-marfa-lights-texas.html
• https://www.ncpedia.org/maco-light
• https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/silver-cliff-ghost-lights
• https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20231025-the-paulding-light-a-us-mystery-you-can-see-but-not-touch
• https://wvexplorer.com/2023/11/24/mystery-cole-mountain-lights-moorefield-west-virginia/
• https://northcarolinaghosts.com/mountains/the-brown-mountain-lights/
• https://www.joplinmo.org/575/The-Spook-Light
• https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/light-of-saratoga