Across the southern part of the United States there is a phenomenon known as “spooklights.” Spooklights are defined as unexplained lights that tend to appear around old railroad tracks, battlefields and other areas where tragedies and deaths have occurred. And of course, our very own state of Arkansas has its fair share of spooklights.
One famous Arkansas spooklight is the Gurdon Light, which is known for appearing above the railroad tracks near Gurdon (Clark County.) Longtime local folklore says that around 1931, a railroad worker named William McClain was killed along the train tracks. After McClain’s death, a strange orb began to appear.
McClain, a foreman with the Missouri-Pacific Railroad, supposedly had an argument with co-worker, Louis McBride. McBride became angry and struck McClain upside the head with a shovel before beating him to death with a railroad spike. Many local residents have claimed that the mysterious light appears from the lantern belonging to McClain's ghost. The story caught the nation’s attention when NBC's "Unsolved Mysteries" traveled to Gurdon to investigate and film a re-creation of the 1931 murder. The program aired in December 1994.
Twelve miles south of Little Rock, on Woodson Lateral Road near Hensley (Pulaski County) there’s another strange light that makes frequent appearances. The light is described by those who have seen it as a motorcycle headlight.
For years it has been said that the light belongs to the motorcycle of a young man who had a fatal accident on the blacktop road. Another tale claims that a young couple riding a motorcycle on their way home from their senior prom died in a wreck, and the couple continues to search for one other along the road. But many residents believe the light is simply the result of the chemical reaction of natural swamp gas reflecting off vehicle and motorcycle headlights. Woodson Lateral is a popular place to visit for people to visit, especially on the scariest night of all, Halloween.
Finally, the Crossett Light appears in an area where railroad tracks once laid outside Crossett (Ashley County). Local legend claims that the light is caused by the lamp of a railroad worker who was beheaded in an accident in the early 1900s, and now he walks along the tracks to find his lost head.
According to witnesses, the light is most often seen floating about three feet above the ground and moves into treetops and sometimes side to side. The light reportedly disappears if one walks toward it but later reappears far away, making it impossible to get an up-close look.
The Crossett Light’s color has been reported to change from yellow to orange and blue or green. Similar to the Woodson-Lateral Road light, one explanation for the cause of the light is the reflection of car headlights off the swamp gas, a natural phenomenon in the area. But there is one major flaw in that explanation, which is that the light was first reported in the early 1900s before vehicles were common in the area.
If you would like to see the Crossett Light for yourself, it’s often at the intersection of Ashley roads 425 and 16. Walk along the old railroad bed and face south.
Several years ago, my wife and I traveled to Crossett to attend a wedding. I wanted to go out that night to see the Crossett Light for myself. I swear I saw the light, but my wife claims it was just a car headlight. Thankfully, the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus, and the Fouke Monster agree with me and not her.
A proud sixth-generation Arkansan, Darrell W. Brown is a lover of all things Arkansas. He served several years with the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism, and worked in all three divisions. Find him on Facebook and Instagram at AllAroundArkansas.
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