Spook- / Ghost- / Earth Lights (Miscellaneous; Compendium)

MrRING · Oct 7, 2003

Any opinions as to what they are? Apparently, even though there have been plenty ofscience-like explinations, what causes them hasn't been proven.

Here is a nice website about some famous ghost lights:

http://www.ghosts.org/ghostlights/ghostlights.html

Jerry_B · Oct 7, 2003

Whilst some might be misidentifications of mundane phenomena, I think some are in some way similar (or are in fact) 'earthlights'. And by that I mean a ball of light created by sources unknown (assumed to be natural) that seem to be linked with fault lines and/or areas of volcanic activity.

uair01 · Nov 22, 2005

I have never seen real spooklights but I would like to see one. I've found a placebo on these two Danish webcams. The cars driving over quiet provincial roads generate pictures that look very much like the classic spooklight photographs. I have selected a few pictures for you. The "life" links are below - there you can see the effect in real time:

Balling webcam:

Moldrup webcam:

Live links:

Moldrup
Balling

More Balling pictures:

uair01 · Aug 27, 2006

The mysterious landscape of the Lüneburger Heide (Germany) should have it's spooklights. During our holiday I didn't find any real ones, not even in local lore, so I went looking for "lookalikes". I hope you are entertained by my little expedition report:

http://www.xs4all.nl/~kazil/spooklight.html

NB: I'm seriously interested in spooklights and other optical phenomena and I tried to recreate the feeling of seeing a real one, and catch some of the real mystery of the place. Otherwise I wouldn't dare to post it here ...

lordmongrove · Jun 7, 2022

The Lantern Men.
https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/ne...CxMS2VwQMJTjUpFlGa-xPEwaH2xFqAnOiFWkl7rgDxqAg

... According to the folklore of the Fens, the lantern men are often seen around Wicken Fen and other areas. Described as an atmospheric ghost light, the lights, believed to be evil spirits, attempt to draw their victims to a watery death in the reed beds of the Fens.

The lights dance and twist their way over the dark surface of the great mere, or skip erratically in and out of reed beds and are apparently drawn to the sound of whistling. Thought to be a variant of the will-o'-the-whisp folklore, one method for evading the terrifying spectres is to throw yourself face down in the muddy ground with your mouth pressed firmly into the ground.

While the will-o'-the-whisp is thought to have lured travellers to treacherous areas, the lantern men of the Fens appear to attack whoever came into their vicinity. ...

JahaRa · Jun 7, 2022

The Marfa lights are a phenomenon similar to the Aurora Borealis/Northern lights, atmospheric phenomena. Maybe the "lantern men" are similar.

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20180116-the-mysterious-ghost-lights-of-marfa-texas

EnolaGaia · Oct 9, 2022

This 2001 webpage at Astronomy Cafe is a hub or index to notes and other documentation on spook lights.

Spook Lights

January, 2001: I first heard about Spook Lights while reading William R. Corliss' 'Handbook of Unusual Natural Phenomena' some years back. I have always enjoyed reading through this book because it seems to be rather dispassionate in cataloging odd things that people have seen (mostly reports from the 1800's!!) including ball lightning (a real phenomenon) and unusual natural sounds. Among his list are Spook Lights or 'Earth Lights'. Apparently, there are many different varieties of these, but in nearly all cases they are accompanied by lots of local folk tales.

What I am going to try to do, here, is create an archive that will serve as my notepad for a very dispassionate study of these curious phenomena. I will try to collect only the best information that I can about them. I don't claim that I will come to a better understanding of them, but I do want to reduce their study to a bare set of facts that seem indisputable...at least for now. ...

Here's the list of spook lights for which there is linked content / documentation ...

Marfa Lights...........Marfa, Texas
Big Thicket Lights...........Sarasota, Texas
Hornet Lights...........Joplin, Missouri
Brown Mountain Lights...........Morganton,North Carolina
Gurdon Lights.......................Gurdon,Arkansas
Maco Lights..................................Wilmington,North Carolina
Paulding Light..................................Watersmeet,Michigan
Maple Lake Light..................................Willow Springs, Il
Saint Louis Light.......................St. Louis, Saskatchewan
Dog Meadow Light.......................Eagle River, Wisconcin
Hebron Light.......................Hebron, Maryland
Cohoke Light.......................West Point, Virginia
Surrency Light.......................Surrency, Georgia
Bingham Light.......................Dillon, South Carolina
Cogdell Light.......................Cogdell, Georgia
Dover Light.......................Dover, Ozarks
McDermott Light.......................McDermott, Nevada
Scugog Light.......................Scugog, Ontario
Senath Light.......................Missouri
Old Brewery Hill Light.......................Le Sueur, Minnesota
Illinoise Central Light.......................Beauregard, Mississippi
Haldeman Light.......................Haldeman, Kentucky
Hansel Light.......................Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Oxford Light.......................Oxford, Ohio
Elsey's Light.......................Crisfield, Maryland
Cal's Light.......................Andrews, Maryland
Silver Cliff Cemetary Light.......................Silver Cliff, Colorado
Oviedo Lights.......................Oviedo, Florida
Gonzales Lights.......................Gonzales, Louisiana
Grosse Tete Lights.......................Grosse Tete, Louisiana
Lake Wanaque Lights.......................Lake Wanaque; Passiac County, New Jersey

SOURCE: http://www.astronomycafe.net/weird/lights/spooklights.htm

EnolaGaia · Oct 9, 2022

This 2019 introduction to, and listing of, ghost lights (aka spook lights) on Obiwan's Ghosts & Paranormal site provides an overview of the phenomenon - including common characteristics and the diverse labels given the phenomena.

This intro article also provides a listing of known ghost lights / spook lights, with links to additional information at ghosts.org and / or other sites.

All About Ghost Lights
By: obiwan Posted onJanuary 27, 2019

You may have seen ghost lights before, or heard about their existence in a location near you. Usually this phenomenon is described as a glowing ball or balls of light. The lights seem to come in every color of the rainbow, although at some sites the balls emit only one or two colors of light. The lights can sparkle, be stationary or in motion, high in the air or low to the ground. Generally the lights are said to exhibit some sort of bizarre behavior, such as vanishing or displaying evasive action when one moves too close to them.

Ghost lights have also been called will o’ the wisps, spooklights, and earthlights. Mysterious light phenomena such as will o’ the wisps have been well-known and documented for centuries in Europe. The lights are often seen in boggy or swampy areas, which has led to speculation that they are caused by natural ignition of volatile swamp gases.

In the United States, the most ghost lights are found in the southern and western portions of the country. The lights are fixed to a specific location ... Unlike other forms of strange phenomena, ghost lights are comparatively reliable in their appearance, and in some places the lights have been the subject of scientific study. ...

SOURCE / FULL ARTICLE: https://ghosts.org/all-about-ghost-lights/

EnolaGaia · Oct 9, 2022

Here are some relevant links to other threads here on the Forteana Forums ...

IHTM Threads Involving Such Lights / Light Phenomena

Giant Turkeys With Blue Balls (Of Light)
https://forums.forteana.org/index.php?threads/giant-turkeys-with-blue-balls-of-light.21533/

Odd Lights On The Golf Course
https://forums.forteana.org/index.php?threads/odd-lights-on-the-golf-course.59879/

Lights In The Woods
https://forums.forteana.org/index.php?threads/lights-in-the-woods.60873/

Paul_Exeter · Oct 9, 2022

The Longdendale Lights, UK:

https://drdavidclarke.co.uk/spooklights/longdendale-lights/

EnolaGaia · Oct 9, 2022

Paul_Exeter said:
The Longdendale Lights, UK:
https://drdavidclarke.co.uk/spooklights/longdendale-lights/

See:
Longdendale Lights
https://forums.forteana.org/index.php?threads/longdendale-lights.11179/

Spook- / Ghost- / Earth Lights (Miscellaneous; Compendium)

MrRING

Android Futureman

Jerry_B

Gone But Not Forgotten

uair01

Antediluvian

uair01

Antediluvian

lordmongrove

Justified & Ancient

JahaRa

Abominable Snowman

EnolaGaia

I knew the job was dangerous when I took it ...

EnolaGaia

I knew the job was dangerous when I took it ...

EnolaGaia

I knew the job was dangerous when I took it ...

Paul_Exeter

Justified & Ancient

EnolaGaia

I knew the job was dangerous when I took it ...