A mysterious light seen in the dead of night is disturbing to anyone who catches sight of it. It’s creepy, frightening, and curious. And that is how we react to strange lights in modern times. Over a hundred years ago, strange sightings of mysterious lights were reported in newspapers across the world and people were in a near panic to discover the source of these lights.
Richmond, Virginia
In the summer of 1899, a newspaper out of Richmond, Virginia published an article about a strange light appearing every night. It would show up shortly after midnight and it was clearly visible to the people on East Main Street.
What was it? At first, many people were fooled into thinking it was a headlight, but there was no distant car to be found.
The light would shine bright for about an hour and then, just as suddenly, it was gone.
There was another light being spotted in this same city, but on West Clay Street. Like the popular light on East Main, it appeared after midnight and would stick around for maybe an hour.
The superstitious people in the area believed that lights were a spirit and a story took form about a brave Native American chief who was slain in the spot of one of the mystery lights. [1]
Junction City, Kansas
There was a report of a “queer light” in the sky over Junction City back in 1915. Other nearby towns also saw the light and calls were made to find out if it was an airplane from the military base. The response was that there was no airplane at the post and people were left to wonder at the light’s origin which appeared to be “in constant motion over a limited radius”. [2]
North Texas
Back in 1897, a strange light traveled over northern Texas. Numerous people saw the traveling light which was being hailed as a “heavenly mystery” and a “mystery arial vessel.” For days the light was seen before it traveled on and was tracked moving across the country.
The object was described as a large balloon, but more disturbing was the red light that shown from it. A professor from the Dearborn observatory believed the object was not a ship. Instead, he claimed that the strange light “was caused by the effect of the atmosphere on the star Alpha Orionus, which is of the first magnitude and is in the constellation Orion.” [3]
Elko, Nevada
In December, 1896, around fifty people spotted a strange light traveling over Elko, Nevada. A local report said, “the light seemed to rise above the horizon almost north of here and, after rising far into the air, traveled in a westerly direction and in about two hours disappeared in the west.” Those who witnessed the strange light said it was not a lightning bug, a meteor, a balloon, or bullseye lantern. [4]
Livingston, Montana
There were some strange sightings on a ranch outside of Livingston back in 1883. Apparently, for a few nights in a row, a strange light, elongated like a barrel, was seen rising from the earth. It was a bright light at first, but as it rose it turned a deep, bright red, and would disappear in the sky. The only local explanation for the light was that there might have been minerals in the area. [5]
Jonas Ridge, North Carolina
The people of Jonas Ridge started reporting a strange light in the mountains back in 1913. According to one witness, “The light rises up to a height of 50 feet, and then settles down again. It hurts your eyes like the sun. We want to know what it is.”
Government experts were sent to the scene to seek out the origin of the strange light. After a bit of looking around, the so-called experts concluded that the mysterious light came from a distant railroad which the locals dismissed as absurd. The National Geographic Society also sought out the source of the strange light and concluded that it came from a “peculiar combination of electrical phenomena and atmospheric conditions.” In other words, they hadn’t a clue. [6] [7]
