A Centuries-Old Enigma That Refuses To Be Solved
Deep in the heart of North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, where ancient peaks pierce the sky, a bizarre phenomenon has been mystifying observers for more than a century. The Brown Mountain lights are purported ghost lights near Brown Mountain in North Carolina. On dark nights, these glowing orb-like lights can be seen rising approximately 15 feet off the ground in the Brown Mountain area, which is located approximately 65 miles northeast of Asheville in the Pisgah National Forest. What makes this phenomenon particularly captivating isn’t just its mystique, but the fact that it draws thousands of curious visitors annually to witness something that science still cannot fully explain.
These lights, along the southern edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains, draw thousands of spectators every year and are only an hour’s drive from scenic Asheville. Unlike many ghost stories that fade with time, the Brown Mountain lights have only grown more famous, earning recognition from National Geographic and inspiring countless investigations.
The Scientific Investigation That Started It All
In 1922, a USGS scientist, George R. Mansfield, used a map and an alidade telescope to prove that the lights that were being seen were trains, car headlights, and brush fires, which ended widespread public concern. The government investigation seemed to settle the matter once and for all. A 1913 U.S. Geological Survey concluded that they were headlights from a locomotive, but when the tracks washed away three years later and people continued to see the lights that theory also was thrown out.
Yet here’s where things get interesting. However, sightings continued even after the train tracks were washed out. The scientific explanation that was supposed to end the mystery only deepened it, creating more questions than answers and sparking decades of renewed interest.
What Witnesses Actually See
Witnesses describe glowing orbs that rise from the mountain, hovering and wobbling about fifteen feet in the air before disappearing. The lights vary in color – some report them as yellowish-white, while others have seen them glow blood-red or even take on an ethereal blue hue. The descriptions vary wildly from person to person, making the phenomenon even more perplexing. They’ve been described looking like large balls of fire to small candle lights and from floating near the ground to rising up high into the sky…