In northeastern Oklahoma, near former Route 66, on a 6.5-mile country road nicknamed the Devil’s Promenade, a supernatural mystery has long intrigued researchers and viewers for over 100 years.
THEM Hornet Ghost Light — a mysterious, glowing, basketball-sized globe named after the ancient city of Hornet — has appeared in the night sky at that spot since 1881.
No one knows what this unique ball of burning light means, where it came from or what it is made of. The US Army Corps of Engineers concluded that it was a “mysterious light of unknown joy”.
The light moves, spins and oscillates up and down like a lantern carried by a dancing ghost. It is normally seen looking west from the Oklahoma border.
The historian of Route 66, Cheryl Eichar Jett, explains the book’s author. Route 66 in Kansas (Route 66 in Kansas) and founder of the Route 66 Mile Annual Conference of Possibilities.
“The Main Road’s historic route, stretching from Joplin, Galena, Baxter Springs, and then south to Quapaw, surpasses the fame of the Hornet Spook Light at the borders of Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma where these three states meet. As a result, the legends and lore of the mysterious light, “It’s inextricably linked to the equally legendary highway.”
Like many other fans of Route 66, I was fascinated by the mystery, and I parked my car on the side of an empty road in the quiet of a moonless night.
Image: Getty Images
I waited in the dark for over an hour and there was no light in the distance. However, the legends I read increased my expectations so much that a pair of headlights passing by scared me for a second.
legends and sparks
Local resident Vance Randolph documented his encounter with the phenomenon in his book. Ozark Magic and Folklore (Magic and Folklore of Ozark, free translation), from 1947.
“I’ve seen this light three times with my own eyes,” he says. “It first appeared the size of an egg, but changed from time to time until it was the size of a tank. I saw a single glow, but other witnesses saw it split into two, three, or four small lights.”
“It looked yellowish to me, but some observers describe it as being red, green, blue, and even purple in color. A man swore he passed close enough that he could clearly feel the heat, and a woman saw it like a bubble shooting sparks in all directions.”
Dean “Crazylegs” Walker is from Baxter Springs, Kansas. It was the inspiration for the character of Mate in the cartoon. CarsIt passes by Disney on Route 66. Walker remembers seeing Spook Light several times in Devil’s Path – the first of which was when he was eight years old.
“My dad, mom, and uncle used to take my cousins and me to find the Hornet Spook Light,” he says. “One time, it even crept onto the windshield of our car. My cousins and I crouched in the back seat to hide from the light, until – poof! – it disappeared. We were all so frightened that no one said a word. until we got home.”
Grace Goodeagle, elder of the Quapaw Nation in the town named after her people, tells a similar story. “One night, when I was about 10 years old, my uncle took me and my brothers to the Demon’s Path. A few minutes later, a bright light appeared in the distance, deep in the forest. But we were not afraid.”
Locals agree that the Hornet Spook Light actually exists. But few agree on its origin.
Vance’s book contains some of the theories that existed in his time. Some believed it was the ghost of the murdered Osage Indian Nation chief. Others said it was “the spirit of a Quapaw maiden who drowned in a river when her warrior was killed in battle.”
Goodeagle disputes these stories. According to him, “We need to remember that our people are not natives of this region”.
“The people of Quapaw were forcibly removed from our ancestral home in the Mississippi Valley following the enactment of the Native American Immigration Act in the 1830s. That’s what the legends suggest that there are ‘Indian spirits’ haunting this area: legends.”
“Our nation believes in good and evil spirits, but our family thinks the lights are all natural and there are no good or evil spirits playing around us,” Goodeagle says.
Image: Getty Images
The first documented research on the Hornet Spook Light was conducted in January 1936 by Kansas City Star reporter AB MacDonald. MacDonald concluded that the mysterious lights were the headlights of eastbound cars on Route 66.
Author Robert Gannon came to the same conclusion in an article published in Popular Mechanics in 1965. He did a test by flashing his headlights on the road next to him at a certain time. His assistant on Devil’s Path also reported that the Hornet Spook Light had appeared.
“I doubt they’re car headlights,” Goodeagle says. “I’ll never forget that experience. The light I saw shot out and slowly approached my uncle’s truck. It didn’t look like a car headlight at all from afar.”
“Some locals think the lights are made of swamp gas,” he adds. But Andrew George, a biology professor at Pittsburgh State University in Kansas (USA), disagrees.
According to him, “the scenario around the Hornet Spook Light is highly unlikely to produce glowing gases that are believed to cause similar events elsewhere”.
Image: Joplin Museum
Although he has not tested it himself, George is inclined to believe in the lighthouse idea.
“The Hornet Undead Light is almost certainly caused by vehicle headlights on major roads a few miles west,” he says.
“The unusual appearance and movement of light is likely due to changes in the density of the air above the Spring River and in the surrounding forests and fields. Light is refracted as it passes through warmer and cooler air.”
But Walker and many other locals do not believe this story. “No, these are not car headlights,” he says. “Too far from the highway. No road!”
Hornet Spook Light ‘map’
From I-44 southwest of Joplin, Missouri, take Exit 4 – Highway 43 South. Drive approximately 8 km (5 miles) south to the BB road junction. Turn right (signposted Iris Road) and drive west all the way to the Oklahoma border.
Turn right, go 1 mile (1.6 km) and turn left onto E 50 road (also known as Devil’s Road or Spook Light Road). The best place to wait is at the darkest point 2.4-3.2 km (1.5-2 miles) west. Locals say the best time to see the Hornet Spook Light is between 10 pm and midnight.
– This text was published at https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/vert-tra-63651660.
source: Noticias
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.