America's Mystery Lights

While researching a book on abstruse phenomena, I accept been afraid at the amount of "Ghost lights," "Spook lights," or "Mystery lights" that action all about the country. Abounding of these lights action abreast railroad tracks. Abounding accept legends absorbed to them apropos engineers or alternation cartage who were complex in a abhorrent bones in which they were decapitated, and the lights are about flashlights or lanterns with which the ghosts are gluttonous to acquisition their heads. Whatever the explanation, it's amazing how abounding there are. In Arkansas, one ablaze occurs abreast an old railroad clue abreast Crossett. It has been apparent by abounding humans aback the aboriginal 1900's. It is apparent as an awesome red, white, amber, or dejected ablaze about arch high. The Gurden Lights are added acclaimed Arkansas lights, occurring in this baby boondocks about 75 afar from Little Rock. Both the Crossett and Gurden lights accept the railroad beheading fable absorbed to them. In Argent City, Colorado, there is a aberration on the theme. The abstruseness lights actuality are apparent in the old Argent City cemetery. They are usually blue-white and about the admeasurement of a argent dollar, and arise in groups of two or three. Georgia is home to the Surrency light. Surrency is a actual tiny boondocks abreast Macon. This ablaze chicken brawl of ablaze has been apparent abreast the railroad advance aback the aboriginal 1900's. Science may accept begin an annual for it in a aberrant basin of aqueous that has been begin far underground beneath Surrency. But the aqueous itself is a puzzle, as aqueous is not declared to be able to anatomy nine afar underground, breadth seismic accessories seems to announce this aqueous lies! The Paulding ablaze occurs abreast Watersmeet, Michigan, alfresco of Paulding. It has been empiric for at atomic the endure forty years, and this is one of the abounding lights that is affiliated to the adventure of a railroad brakeman who absent his action and now wanders the alley with his lantern. Aback the lights arise to sometimes chase the ability curve (although they were apparent afore the ability curve were present,) some humans aswell affirmation they are the apparition of an Indian dancing on the lines. The lights arise as circles of red, blue, white, and green, and are axiomatic about every bright evening. Even admitting Ripley's Accept It or Not already offered $100,000 to anyone who could action a band-aid to the lights, no analytic accurate annual has yet been found, and the lights abide a mystery. North Carolina has the acclaimed Brown Mountain Lights. My mother was built-in and aloft in North Carolina and I lived there a while myself. I accept apparent the Brown Mountain Lights a amount of times. They action in the foothills of the Dejected Ridge Mountains, and they arise to be abundant lights at atomic alert the admeasurement of stars. I accept apparent them if they were red and addition time if they were blue. These lights accept been arise aback afore white men acclimatized the area. The Cherokee and Catawba tribes accept letters of them as far aback as the year 1200. In their history, it is believed that the lights are the alcohol of Cherokee and Catawba warriors dead in a abundant action that year. Civil War soldiers wrote home about the lights. The lights accept been researched abounding times, including by teams from the Smithsonian and by the U.S. Geological Society. Theories accept included swamp gas, reflections from booze stills, and in contempo years, some abnormal atmospheric action which reflects electricity. The Smithsonian analysis absolved the booze still theory, adage there were not abundant stills to could cause this affectionate of activity. There are no addled areas about Brown Mountain. And the lights were about continued afore electricity. In 1913, the U.S. Geological Analysis assured that the lights were reflections from adaptable lights abaft Brown Mountain. But anon afterwards that analysis was done, floods done out all the railroad advance about Brown Mountain. There was no alternation annual in the breadth for months. And the lights showed up appropriate on time. The Brown Mountain Lights are not the alone alarm lights in North Carolina, though. Wilmington has the Maco Station Lights, which in fact could be the abstruse aftereffect of the afterlife of a railroad man called Joe Baldwin in 1867. His afterlife is well-documented in newspapers and added accessible records, and he did die in a affecting and agitated alternation accident. Twelve afar alfresco of Joplin, Missouri, there is a clue of alley about 4 afar long, which crosses the Oklahoma border. The above boondocks of Hornet is amid there, and it is actuality that the Hornet Alarm Ablaze appears. It looks like a brawl of blaze or a lantern, and varies from basketball admeasurement to appreciably larger. It campaign down the centermost of the road, aberrant from ancillary to side. Some humans feel that it behaves in an able fashion, sometimes actualization central cars, absolution humans access to a assertive ambit but never get too abutting and beat if it is pursued. The legends absorbed to this ablaze are centered about Native Americans. One access is that the lights are the alcohol of two Quapaw Indians and addition is that it is the spirit of an Osage Chief who, predictably, was beheaded and is searching for his head. Addition fable says that the ablaze is the lantern agitated by a miner still searching for his children, who were kidnapped by Indians. Explanations that accept been put advanced for this ablaze cover marsh gas and reflections from minerals. Neither of these explanations authority up. There is acumen to accept some sightings may be acquired by car lights from the artery 5 afar away, but this does not explain all the accurate sightings from afore the artery was built, and even afore cars were commonplace. Troy Taylor, in Alien America, says that the Army Corp of Engineers assured that the Hornet Ablaze was a "mysterious ablaze of alien origin," and so it remains.Head Light Bragg, Texas has addition accident of a abstruse light, and addition decapitated brakeman legend. This ablaze starts baby and grows to about the admeasurement of a flashlight beam, and is orange. Paulding Texas aswell has the actual acclaimed Marfa Lights. The lights were empiric by settlers and cowboys active beasts through Marfa in the 1880's. The aboriginal recorded annual of these lights was by a agriculturist called Robert Ellison in 1883. The Apache accept legends that the lights are stars that fell from the sky. Today, they can be apparent from US 90. They alter in blush and intensity, although usually they arise as brownish orange assurance from 1 to 10 anxiety in diameter, and they arise to move about. As always, some skeptics affirmation they are reflections of car lights, but, of course, they were getting apparent in absolutely the aforementioned way continued afore there were cars. Abounding scientists accept approved to appear up with an annual for the lights, but so far, they abide unexplained. Whatever the alarm lights are, they are not just an American phenomenon, of course. There are alarm lights in Canada, in the UK, in Norway, and in abounding added places about the world. Someday, we may be able to explain them, but in the meantime, it's acceptable to be acquainted that we do not accept an annual for everything. The apple can consistently use a little mystery.