The Gurdon Light is an unexplained light located near railroad tracks in a wooded area of Gurdon, Arkansas

Gurdon, Arkansas

Gurdon is a city in Clark County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 2,276 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Gurdon is located at ....

. It is the subject of local folklore and has been featured in local media and on Unsolved Mysteries

Unsolved Mysteries

Unsolved Mysteries is an American television program, hosted by Robert Stack, from 1987 until 2002, and later by Dennis Farina, starting in 2008...

. The location is still in use by the railroad and is one of the most popular Halloween

Halloween

Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...

 attractions in the area. The light has been ascribed various colors, ranging from blue, green or white, to orange, and has been described as bobbing around. Its exact location is said to vary and witnesses have described it appearing at various times of day or night.

Folklore

According to folklore, the light originates from a lantern of a railroad worker who was killed when he fell into the path of a train. The legend states that the man's head was separated from his body and was never found, and that the light that people see comes from his lantern as he searches for it. In another variation, the light is a lantern carried by railway foreman William McClain, who was killed in the vicinity during a confrontation with one of his workers at the time of the great depression. The lights are believed by some to be from passing cars on the highway off in the distance which looks like small floating lights that flash off in the distance. However, this highway opened in 1974. The light has been reported seen and spoken of since the Great Depression. .

See also

• Ghost light
  Ghost light
  Ghost light or ghostlight may refer to:* Will-o'-the-wisp, also called ghost-light in some countries, a natural phenomenon producing a ghostly light sometimes seen at night or twilight over bogs, swamps, and marshes...
  
  
• Marfa lights
  Marfa lights
  The Marfa lights, also known as the Marfa ghost lights, have been observed near U.S. Route 67 on Mitchell Flat east of Marfa, Texas, in the United States...
  
  

External links

• Encyclopedia of Arkansas:The Gurdon Light
• www.unsolved.com:Search:Unexplained:The Gurdon Light
• Map depicting site of the Gurdon light
• The Gurdon Spook Light and Other Spook Lights
• A possible origin for the Gurdon Ghost Light on Haunt Spot
• Gurdon, Arkanas – Where Legend and Light Lives The Booger Lights Project Gurdon Page