Mystery of the Brown Mountain Lights

“[Perhaps] the most famous of all the Western North Carolina hills is up in Burke County, not far from Morganton [...] known as Brown Mountain. It isn’t, in truth much of a mountain as mountains go. [...] but its fame lies in certain mysterious lights that have long hovered over it during the night.” ”

— John Harden, "The Devil’s Tramping Ground and Other North Carolina Mystery Stories"

Lights of Unknown Origin

​​Deep in the heart of the Linville Gorge Wilderness of North Carolina lies a mystery that has confounded and eluded scientists, government researchers, and locals for generations. Along the low-lying ridge of Brown Mountain, strange lights have been spotted, hovering in mid-air.

Some attribute the phenomenon to natural causes such as marsh gas or ball lightning, while others believe it could be related to ghost lights or even UFO activity. Yet despite numerous studies and investigations, the true cause of the Brown Mountain Lights remains a mystery.

ADDITIONAL LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE:

Hear the song The Brown Mountain Light performed by Lulu Belle and Scotty, who informed a generaion about the mysterious lights.

Sources:

“The Brown Mountain Lights.” North Carolina Ghosts. Accessed January 24, 2023. https://northcarolinaghosts.com/mountains/brown-mountain-lights/. 

Carmichael, Sherman. Mysterious Tales of Western North Carolina. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2020.

Harden, John and Sue Harden. The Devil’s Tramping Ground and Other North Carolina Mystery Stories. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2000.

Hardy, Michael. “Our Avery Country: Digging into the history of the Brown Mountain Lights.” The Avery Journal. Last Modified October 15, 2015. https://www.averyjournal.com/. 

Jackson, Sherry. “The Mysterious Brown Mountain Lights.” Carolina Country (blog). Accessed January 24, 2023. https://www.carolinacountry.com/departments/feature-story/. 

Mansfield, George Rogers. “Origin of the Brown Mountain Light in North Carolina.” Geological Survey Circular, no. 646. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1971. https://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1971/0646/report.pdf. 

Nickell, Joe. “The Brown Mountain Lights: Solved! (Again!)” Skeptical Inquirer. January/February 2016. https://skepticalinquirer.org/2016/04/the-brown-mountain-lights-solved-again/. 

Pitzer, Sara. North Carolina Myths and Legends. Lanham, MD: Rowan & Littlefield, 2015. 

Roberts, Nancy. Ghosts of the Carolinas. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 2019.

Speer, Wade Edward. The Brown Mountain Lights: History, Science and Human Nature Explain an Appalachian Mystery. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company, 2017

Wilson, Patty. Haunted North Carolina: Ghosts and Strange Phenomena of the Tar Heel State. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2009.

The Legends of Reelfoot Lake

“Suddenly the beat of the drums was drowned out by a roar louder than any noise Reelfoot had ever heard. The earth vibrated from the sound waves, and then it heaved in mighty spasms that splintered giant trees and sent them crashing down into newly formed crevices. Then came a rushing wall of water that swallowed up the village, covered the whole countryside, and formed a great lake.””

— Kathryn Tucker Windham, "Thirteen Tennessee Ghosts and Jeffrey"

“it has been discovered that a lake was formed…”

Along the northwestern edge of Tennessee sits Reelfoot Lake. The only natural lake in the state, it's a flooded cypress forest that has more in common with the bayous of the deep south than other more open and expansive lakes of the surrounding area.

Yet this lake dates back only two centuries and owes its creation to the massive New Madrid earthquakes that rocked the area in 1811-1812 and caused the Mississippi River to temporarily flow backward. Yet according to local legend the cause of those earthly upheavals was more than simply nature. Legend says that the origins of Reelfoot Lake can be traced back to the actions of a Chief of the Chickasaw people who once inhabited the now submerged land.

Additional Links From This Episode:

• Purchase the Feminine Macabre, Vol. 3.

Sources:

Center for Earthquake Research and Information. “New Madrid Compendium Eyewitness Accounts.” University of Memphis. Accessed September 9, 2022. https://www.memphis.edu/ceri/compendium/eyewitness.php.  

Eastwood, Vera. “The Legend of Reelfoot Lake.” The Taylor-Trotwood Magazine, XII, no. 1 (November 1910): 155-159. GoogleBooks. 

Jillson, Willard Rouse. “The Discovery of Kentucky.” Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, 20, no. 59 (May 1922): 117-129. GoogleBooks. 

Nelson, Wilbur A. “Reelfoot - An Earthquake Lake.” The National Geographic Magazine, 43, no. 1 (January 1923): 94-114. Accessed September 9, 2022.

“Notes & Comments.” The Bulletin: A Monthly Journal Devoted to the Interests of Hoo-Hoo XV, no. 157 (November 1908): 3-6. GoogleBooks.

“The Legend of Chief Reelfoot.” Reelfoot Outdoors. Accessed September 9, 2022. https://www.reelfoot.com/legend_1.htm. 

“The Murderous Night Riders.” Collier’s The National Weekly, November 14, 1908. GoogleBooks. 

Vanderwood, Paul. Night Riders of Reelfoot Lake. Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press, 2003.

Walker, Emma. “The Fascinating Story Behind Reelfoot Lake.” RootsRated. December 12, 2016. https://rootsrated.com/stories/the-fascinating-story-behind-reelfoot-lake. 

Windham, Kathryn Tucker. Thirteen Tennessee Ghosts and Jeffrey. Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press, 2016.

Wright, George C. Racial Violence in Kentucky, 1865-1940: Lynchings, Mob Rule, and “Legal Lynchings.” Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1990.