[UA] More unnatural weirdness from Weird USA...

[Chris Cooper]

Snipped. It also provides a neat explaination for
reccuring unnatural phenomenon and a possible UFO.

C.

The Mysterious Paulding Light
Healthy debates on everything from politics to the
Pistons’ chances for the playoffs are a time-honored
Yooper tradition. But if there's any one topic in the
Upper Peninsula that is the focus of a raging, ongoing
argument between skeptics and believers, it's the
strange phenomenon of the glowing orb between
Watersmeet and Paulding off Highway 45, known as the
Paulding, Watersmeet, or Dog Meadow Light. It's a
bright light that appears over the treeline nearly
every clear night that some say changes colors, causes
electrical disturbances, and even chases or plays
games with people.

Ghost legends about the light's origin abound, but the
most popular is that the light is the ghostly lantern
of an old railroad worker killed on the job, who still
shows up faithfully to light the way. The swinging of
the lantern as the ghost walks along is supposed to
cause the light's pendulum motion that is sometimes
observed. But is the light a genuine mystery caused by
supernatural forces or mere illusion formed by distant
car headlights? Weird Michigan decided to enter the
thick of the fray to find out. 

We arrived there one chilly evening in July, at the
height of the light-watching season. We pulled off the
highway onto Robins Wood Road and drove up the gravel
drive toward the guardrail that blocks an old bridge
that washed out about eight years ago. The road used
to lead straight to Paulding, but now its first
quarter mile or so serves mainly as a Mecca for people
of all stripes wanting to see the oddly reliable
lights. The road was lined with assorted vehicles.

We joined about forty other hopefuls of every age, all
swatting mosquitoes off legs, arms and faces. People
chatted among themselves, sometimes glancing furtively
into the woods on either side while keeping a watchful
eye on the hilly area where the lights appear. Small
children in pajamas dashed among the crowd and a few
frisky boys took turns sliding down a clay bank like
squirming otters. Someone yelled, “Hey, there's a
bear crossing the road,” and parents grabbed their
kids to keep them from running closer to see. The bear
disappeared into the woods somewhere between the cars
and the main road and was soon forgotten. The crowd's
mood of nervous expectancy deepened as the sun inched
out of sight and the first light appeared. Even the
children quieted, and for a moment, everyone just
stared.

It could have been headlights. But then it flared
brighter, and turned bright red. Would headlights do
that? Could headlights do that? Everyone seemed to
have an opinion. We turned on our tape recorder and
captured the experiences of some of the folks who were
there that night...

Light Watchers at Watersmeet, July 5, 2005—In Search
of the Paulding Light
I've been seeing this light now for, oh, I'd say the
last ten to twelve years. I've only been here probably
eight or nine times. Sometimes it'll be straight down
the road, it's a clear light, sometimes it'll look
like it's coming close toward you, sometimes it will
pendulum back and forth, sometimes it'll be green,
sometimes it'll be red, and all of a sudden it will
just disappear. I'I'd say it never really played
games, but I remember sitting in a vehicle where we
could hardly see each other and it came so close that
all of a sudden we could see our faces. It was
probably half a mile down the road but it was so
bright. You go down this road and there's a bridge
that's been washed out for about eight
years––otherwise this road goes all the way
through to Paulding.  –John Aimone

Someone we know of drove up to the guardrail there,
turned off the car and waited for the light. The light
came closer and closer, up to the guardrail, and she
went to start her car, but it wouldn't start. After
the light went away, she finally got her car started,
and she never came back again. –Nancy from Tennessee

My niece was out here at the guardrail and the light
came right up by it—really bright. We've seen it
through high power binoculars and it's just a really
strong bright light, the brightest light you can ever
imagine seeing.  –Woman from Lansing

Looks like a car with two headlights coming over the
ridge. –Man with binoculars

We were standing right in front here, and there was no
wind at all that night and there were people standing
behind us, and all of a sudden my daughter felt a cold
chill. She asked if I was cold and I said no. Then all
of a sudden the wind just came up and it blew from
that side across road to the other side, just for a
little while, and it was done. When we turned around
the people behind us said they didn't feel any wind.
–Woman

A Paulding Light Tale
In regard to ghosts, these images that you see are
images from the past. They can be animals, things or
people. There has to be some reason for the
appearance, something that triggers it such as a
disaster or an unfulfilled wish in life. With this in
mind, I can talk to you about the Paulding Light.

The story goes that there was a derailment on the old
Choate Branch Railroad, and that the lights are caused
by phantom images of the old railroad cars that used
to rattle past.

If you look at the back of an old railroad caboose,
one light is green and one light is red, so it's
hypothesized that when you see the colored lights
there, what you see is the rear of the train, not the
front.

This is the story that I was told several years ago by
a former pupil of mine. This fellow is reliable; he's
now a member of the clergy. There was a businessman in
Ewen, (this would be about 1983) who had just bought a
new Ford Escort, a little four–door sedan. He and
his wife wanted to take a ride and put some miles on
the new car. They invited another couple along and
decided to see the Paulding Light. It was the middle
of July, but it was a cool night and they had the
heater on in the car. This was before the bridge was
out and the barrier was installed on the Forest
Service Road, so they drove right down to where the
old Choate Branch railroad crossed the former highway.
You can still see where the tracks used to cross the
road. 

So they stopped right there and were enjoying the
evening when the wife saw a white light and a red
light approaching. She got scared and asked to leave;
her husband didn't want to, but finally agreed. But
when he started to put the car in gear, everything
went dead. The lights went out, the radio stopped, and
as they sat in the car, a blinding flash passed right
through the car, and a light passed right overhead and
went with lightning speed into the woods to the left.
And then what struck this gentleman, because he runs a
service station and he knows cars, was that all of a
sudden everything was back on. The lights were back
on, the radio was on, and the engine was
running…without having turned the key to engage the
starter! Now that's impossible! The wife was
hysterical by the time they reached their friend's
house to tell them the story at two a.m.  –B.H.J.


A Chance Dance with the Ghost Light
My first encounter with a “ghost light” was by
chance. While my wife and I were vacationing in the
Upper Peninsula of Michigan, we stopped in the small
town of Watersmeet. The placemat in a local restaurant
had a map of the county with local attractions. One of
the attractions listed was a “mysterious light.”
The waitress explained it was a strange light that
would appear on the crest of a hill near some power
lines at night. We stayed at a motel until dusk; then,
following directions, we found ourselves parked on a
hill on a US Forest Road. Approximately 100-150 yards
in front of us was another hill. A power line corridor
ran to our right over the hills and through the valley
below.
     
As it grew dark, a small amber light appeared on the
hill in front of us. Suddenly, it went out as if
switched off. After a few minutes it reappeared. This
time it glowed to a bright white light. It seemed very
similar to a gas lantern seen at a distance. We
observed this same display several times before
leaving. We were determined to return with a camera.
     
Our next visit was in May of 1980. This time I had my
35mm camera loaded with ASA 400 film. I set my camera
on a tripod with a shutter release and we waited.
There were other cars parked waiting for the light,
too. Once again the light appeared. It was amber
glowing to a white light. The light disappeared for
several minutes before returning. It remained “on”
each time for about one minute and was approximately
150 yards from us. 
     
The light appeared to move. It flickered and swayed as
it moved. Its light was reflected off the power lines
and my jacket. It also appeared to be suspended in the
air. Once it appeared to split in two. This was the
case, as the negative of the film showed two dark
spots, one above another. The most startling display
happened after the light “winked” out. Above some
pine trees to the left of where the light appeared, I
noticed a small, red light. It began to drift upward
in a zig-zagging motion. It winked out. Another light
appeared that made arcs above the trees. Then two red
lights appeared. One followed the other in undulating
movements. I was impressed by the animation of these
lights. 
     
Local people informed me that the lights go “out”
when approached. They said it would also appear
suddenly alongside cars or individuals. I was also
told the light appeared in the area before the power
lines were installed. There are supposed to be over
100 known “ghost” lights in the United States.
     
There has been much folklore offered to explain ghost
lights. Several involve the theme of a railroad worker
killed on the job. Others include tales of lovers
committing suicide because they were unable to wed.
Some people believe they are beings from other worlds.
Still others think the lights are a window into
another dimension.
     
Some of the conventional explanations vary also.
Will-O-Wisps are caused by spontaneous combustion of
gas from decomposing organic material. Usually gas
expands and does not remain in a small, compact mass.
Air currents often dissipate the gas, so it is not
likely to explain ghost lights in desert areas. Gas
from decaying human bodies in cemeteries may,
theoretically, be the cause of the unusual lights seen
there. 
     
Bioluminescence, or “cold light,” is created by
bacteria, fungi and fireflies. “Fox Fire,” which
is a fungi which grows on rotting wood, is an example.
This fungus wouldn't be aerial and mobile as ghost
lights are. 
     
St. Elmo's Fire is a flame-like electrical display
usually seen in stormy weather or strong electrical
fields. It is observed at sea on the mast tips of
yardarms, on land at the tops of trees, steeples and
elevated objects. I have also heard of instances of it
being formed on aluminum patio doors. It can also
appear on the wings and around the propellers of
aircraft in flight. St. Elmo's Fire has been observed
not only during thunderstorms, but also during
snowstorms. But, St. Elmo's Fire does not explain many
lights which are mobile and independent, and appear in
clear as well as damp weather.
     
The automobile headlight is a popular explanation for
these lights. However, many ghost lights were seen in
areas prior to the invention of the automobile, and it
does not explain how these lights suddenly appear next
to or overhead of observers. If these lights are due
to refracted light, then why are they not seen in many
more areas?
     
The piezoelectric effect is created when crystalline
materials in the earth's crust are suddenly stressed.
This may result in a plasma-like, luminous display.
This effect often is attributed to variously colored
lights seen prior to earthquakes. It is probably the
most logical “explanation” of many ghost lights.
Many do appear over fault lines such as the San
Andreas in California. 
     
Ghost lights are an intriguing and awesome phenomenon
to witness. No one explanation covering the many
lights has been put forth. They continue to be a part
of our folklore and legend.  –William Kingsley





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