Joplin ghost light
The Joplin Spook Light (also referred to as the Hornet Spook Light, the Quapaw Spook light or the Tristate Spook Light) is a floating light phenomenon that occurs almost nightly on a country road about twelve miles outside of Joplin, Missouri near Quapaw, Oklahoma in an area known as The Devil's Promenade. The orange or yellow light is seen bobbing up and down and travelling back and forth across the road and neighboring fields usually after 10 p.m. but is often reported to disappear or recede quickly from view when approached. The spook light is reminiscent of will o' the wisps or jack o' lanterns, but, unlike the Joplin Spook Light, those natural phenomena have been satisfactorily explained by science.
Attempts to verify any scientific explanations for this phenomenon have proved to be fruitless. One theory was that the light was merely refractions from headlights of cars traveling the nearby highway or perhaps a billboard on the highway, but two factors detract from the credibility of this theory. First, the effects of refraction diminish as light fades while the spook light is at its most prominent as the night progresses. Second, the first official report of the light occurred in 1881 when automobile use was very limited and the highway was definitely not yet built. Other theories have been put forth as well such as the light having its origin in ignited marsh gas or luminescent minerals in the area. However, marsh gas does not ignite itself at all much less nightly and any glow from minerals would be decidedly stationary, whereas the spook light is most definitely not stationary. The only theory that has been neither satisfactorily proven nor disproven is one that proposes that the light is some sort of static electrical charge resulting from the friction between nearby tectonic plates.
Of course, science is not the only source of possible explanations for the Joplin Spook Light. Various supernatural interpretations have been bandied about for decades. While the light's first officially recorded report was written in 1881, Native Americans report having seen the light as far back as the 1830s. Local Quapaw tribes attribute the light to a pair of lovers who could not be wed because of a prohibitively expensive fee from the girl's father, the chief. They decided to elope, but were pursued by a war party. Upon discovering their pursuers, they decided to commit suicide by leaping from a tall peak. Another supernatural explanation offered is that it is the lantern of a local farmer who still searches for his daughter and wife whom he had lost in an Indian raid. Of course, there is also the ubiquitous explanation involving a headless ghost searching for his severed head with a lantern.
While neither scientific nor supernatural explanations can be verified as of yet, the mysterious illumination remains an attraction to those seeking an explanation or those simply wanting to be scared. While it is no longer in existence, there used to be a museum devoted to the Joplin Spook Light and its lore that was run by a man named Garland "Spooky" Middleton. The museum was free and visitors could view the light with the naked eye or with provided telescopes. After the museum was shut down, visitation to the site was discouraged for a while, but the allure of this stretch of country road is inextinguishable due largely to the fact that the majority of those who seek the Joplin Spook Light actually get to see it unlike most other supernatural phenomenon.
Route 66
A theory behind the Ghost Light documented by William Least Heat-Moon in his 2008 book Roads to Quoz is that it is merely the headlights of oncoming cars on Route 66 south of Quapaw, Oklahoma, a road which is built in a direct line with the county E 50 Road, which is the location of all present-day sightings. The section of 66 that curves into line with the county road is about six miles distant across a low-lying river valley, and the movements of cars laterally into and out of the direct line of sight from the county road would explain the apparent slight side-to-side movements and changes in brightness (multiple cars in a direct line contribute to a brighter overall appearance, whereas fewer cars would be dimmer or invisible), as well as the frequent shifts into red (taillights of cars moving away from the viewer).
The culture surrounding the Ghost Light in the book is described as such that sightings of the light are near assured every night, but only from high vantage points along E 50 Road. Reports of the light appearing in other locations in the sky or near the ground, traveling across fields, or appearing more tangible to viewers are presented as hearsay. However, the author describes his own sighting of the light in precisely the location and with precisely the behavior as to support the Route 66 theory.
Least Heat-Moon also notes that prior sightings of the Ghost Light took place from E 40 Road, one block to the north, rather than E 50 Road; this is explained by noting further that Route 66 formerly took a more rectilinear course that aligned with the north edge of the town of Quapaw, and also with E 40 Road across the river. Earlier sightings of the Ghost Light that predate Route 66 and automobiles remain unexplained, but the book suggests that such stories are modern-day fabrications mistakenly attributed to older sources.
Attempts to verify any scientific explanations for this phenomenon have proved to be fruitless. One theory was that the light was merely refractions from headlights of cars traveling the nearby highway or perhaps a billboard on the highway, but two factors detract from the credibility of this theory. First, the effects of refraction diminish as light fades while the spook light is at its most prominent as the night progresses. Second, the first official report of the light occurred in 1881 when automobile use was very limited and the highway was definitely not yet built. Other theories have been put forth as well such as the light having its origin in ignited marsh gas or luminescent minerals in the area. However, marsh gas does not ignite itself at all much less nightly and any glow from minerals would be decidedly stationary, whereas the spook light is most definitely not stationary. The only theory that has been neither satisfactorily proven nor disproven is one that proposes that the light is some sort of static electrical charge resulting from the friction between nearby tectonic plates.
Of course, science is not the only source of possible explanations for the Joplin Spook Light. Various supernatural interpretations have been bandied about for decades. While the light's first officially recorded report was written in 1881, Native Americans report having seen the light as far back as the 1830s. Local Quapaw tribes attribute the light to a pair of lovers who could not be wed because of a prohibitively expensive fee from the girl's father, the chief. They decided to elope, but were pursued by a war party. Upon discovering their pursuers, they decided to commit suicide by leaping from a tall peak. Another supernatural explanation offered is that it is the lantern of a local farmer who still searches for his daughter and wife whom he had lost in an Indian raid. Of course, there is also the ubiquitous explanation involving a headless ghost searching for his severed head with a lantern.
While neither scientific nor supernatural explanations can be verified as of yet, the mysterious illumination remains an attraction to those seeking an explanation or those simply wanting to be scared. While it is no longer in existence, there used to be a museum devoted to the Joplin Spook Light and its lore that was run by a man named Garland "Spooky" Middleton. The museum was free and visitors could view the light with the naked eye or with provided telescopes. After the museum was shut down, visitation to the site was discouraged for a while, but the allure of this stretch of country road is inextinguishable due largely to the fact that the majority of those who seek the Joplin Spook Light actually get to see it unlike most other supernatural phenomenon.
Route 66
A theory behind the Ghost Light documented by William Least Heat-Moon in his 2008 book Roads to Quoz is that it is merely the headlights of oncoming cars on Route 66 south of Quapaw, Oklahoma, a road which is built in a direct line with the county E 50 Road, which is the location of all present-day sightings. The section of 66 that curves into line with the county road is about six miles distant across a low-lying river valley, and the movements of cars laterally into and out of the direct line of sight from the county road would explain the apparent slight side-to-side movements and changes in brightness (multiple cars in a direct line contribute to a brighter overall appearance, whereas fewer cars would be dimmer or invisible), as well as the frequent shifts into red (taillights of cars moving away from the viewer).
The culture surrounding the Ghost Light in the book is described as such that sightings of the light are near assured every night, but only from high vantage points along E 50 Road. Reports of the light appearing in other locations in the sky or near the ground, traveling across fields, or appearing more tangible to viewers are presented as hearsay. However, the author describes his own sighting of the light in precisely the location and with precisely the behavior as to support the Route 66 theory.
Least Heat-Moon also notes that prior sightings of the Ghost Light took place from E 40 Road, one block to the north, rather than E 50 Road; this is explained by noting further that Route 66 formerly took a more rectilinear course that aligned with the north edge of the town of Quapaw, and also with E 40 Road across the river. Earlier sightings of the Ghost Light that predate Route 66 and automobiles remain unexplained, but the book suggests that such stories are modern-day fabrications mistakenly attributed to older sources.
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