“The Mystery of the Brown Mountain Lights ” is an episode of Carl White’s Life in the Carolinas, which first aired in syndication March 21, 2015.
In this episode we travel with Carl to Burke County NC to explore the famous Mystery of the Brown Mountain Lights. These lights have been the subject of songs, folk tales, speculation, and investigation for over one hundred years.
Sightings
At the 20 mile marker off Highway 181 near Morganton is an overlook that provides an extraordinary view. Strange lights have been reported from this site and others nearby since at least the end of the 19th century.
A September 1913 article appearing in the Charlotte Observer reported members of the Morganton Fishing Club seeing strange lights near the mountain. Soon afterwards, Congressman E. Y. Webb requested that the US Geological Survey investigate; they concluded that the lights were train lights. Later, Senators F. M. Simmons and L. S. Overman requested another more extensive investigation and George Rogers Mansfield was commissioned to conduct the survey. He attributed the lights to headlights, stationary lights, and brush fires.
C. W. Smith and Les Burril, Retired, US Forest Service both report that they have seen the lights. According to Les, they looked like candles, then diminished. He reports that he has seen the lights numerous times. C. W. says he’s seen them twice.
Daniel B. Caton, PhD, professor, Dept of Physics and Astronomy, Appalachian State University and Joshua P. Warren, an author and paranormal investigator who has spent 20 years investigating the lights since he saw the lights as a child, agree on at least two things: we must separate fact from fiction, and at least a small percentage of the Brown Mountain Lights are authentic.
