The first video from our Brown Mountain Lights Camera # 1 has just been posted on YouTube by Dr. Dan Caton, Professor and Director of Observatories, at Appalachian State University, Boone, NC.
Car lights, airplane lights, commucation tower lights, and city lights are visible!
BML Cam1 Feb 11-12, 2013
Nice video Dan! I saw the same lights in the sequence of stills I put together from the camera last month. The lights moving horizontally below the horizon are vehicle lights on NC Highway 181 along Ripskin Ridge. The moving lights above the horizon are airplanes (yes there are two lighted airports just on the other side of Brown Mountain). Finally, stationary, but repeatedly blinking lights, are communication tower lights in the valleys beyond Brown Mountain. All others are city lights.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Mystery Lights, Cars, Railroads & Electricity
Mystery Lights and The Arrival of Cars, Railroads and Electricity
in Catawba Valley, NC
Compare the timing of these
sightings to the fact that the first railroad in western North Carolina was
constructed in 1858 along the Catawba River from Salisbury to 4 miles east of
Morganton; the first electric lights in the area appeared in 1888 when
Hickory Tavern (later Hickory) became one of the first communities in North
Carolina to acquire electricity; and the first automobiles arrived in North Carolina about 1898. Henry Ford's Model T, the first mass produced automobile in the US, was produced from 1908 until 1927, during which time 15 million were sold. The timing
between these two phenomena (first sightings of mystery lights and the first arrival of
cars, railroads and electricity) seems more than coincidental and instead strongly
suggests the two are directly related.
Note that most mystery lights, specifically those seen from Cold Springs
(that started the BML legend in the first place), were reported approximately
10-30 years after the arrival of electric lights in Hickory, which is directly
east of Brown Mountain! Over the next
100 years, as the human population and the use of electric lights expanded
explosively, the reports of mystery lights also greatly increased; again
strongly suggesting a direct link between the two.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
No Mention of BMLs in 19th Century Travelogues
A review of five significant mid-Nineteenth Century travelogues of the area reveals no mention of the BMLs; adding further support to our earlier conclusions that the BMLs were not seen before about 1900. Although thinly populated during the 1800s, the mountainous areas west and north of Brown Mountain were visited by some highly observant scientists and nature enthusiasts who left written documents of their travels. Of particular interest to these adventurers were the rocky summits of Table Rock, Hawksbill, The Chimneys, Gingercake, and Grandfather Mountains----all later to become favored observation spots for viewing the BMLs. In addition, Linville Gorge and Linville Falls received a lot of attention, as did local legends and unexpalined phenomenon. The following publications were written by prominent men who traveled and visited these areas in the mid-19th century.
Lanman, C, 1849; Letters from the Allegheny Mountains; Geo. P. Putnam, New York.
Colton, H., 1859; Mountain Scenery: The Scenery of the Mountain of Western North Carolina and
Northwestern South Carolina; W.L. Pomeroy,Hayes and Zell, Philadelphia.
Lanman, C., 1865; Adventures in the Wilds of the United States and British American
Provinces; John W. Moore, Philadelphia.
Hall, E.H., 1866; Appleton's hand-book of American Travel. The southern tour; being a guide
through Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia and
Kentucky; D. Appleton & Co., New York.
Zeigler, W. and Grosscup, B., 1883; The Heart of the Alleghanies or Western North Carolina; Alfred
Williams and Co, Raleigh, NC
Each of these adventurers solicited the help of highly experienced local guides to accompany them, yet not a single one of their very detailed travelogues mentions the BMLs---apparently the local guides weren't aware of BMLs at the time. The first written reference to the Brown Mountain Lights we've been able to find is the 1913 newspaper article in the Charlotte Observer, which mentioned sightings as early as c1908.
In his 1859 travelogue, H. Colton mentions visiting The Chimneys on the east rim of Linville Gorge and witnessing the late afternoon reflection of the sun off of the glass windows of the houses of Morganton. Colton writes:
"The eye has a full, open scope from the Grandfather Mountain entirely around the Roan, and even beyond that. The valley of the Catawba is open to the view from its origin to its end, the whole of Turkey and North Coves, with their rich fields of waving corn. In the dim, dark distance, a lone mountain rises to view, which, from its location, we suppose to be the Pilot. Just as the sun fades beneath the horizon, it casts forth a clear, red light, and you see flashing in its blaze the windows of the houses of Morganton: from the same source, a golden tinge is thrown upon every leaf, and everything is mellowed into soft loveliness in the accomplishment of nature's most splendid creation."
Colton's 1859 report of seeing the sun reflected by the windows of the houses of Morganton while observing at sunset is the earliest published account we have of Catawba Valley civilization being visible from the higher mountains to the northwest. Colton's guide, David Franklin must have known about this sunset phenomena, and surely would have mentioned to Colton if the lights continued to be visible after darkness----so apparently they were not visible after dark---or if lights in the same spots were visible after dark, both Colton & Franklin understood them to be man-made lights, such as gas lanterns, torches &/or fires, and not mystery spook lights. Anyone who would interpret Colton's observations as early sightings of the BMLs, would have trouble explaining the lack of mention of nighttime sightings.
Lanman, C, 1849; Letters from the Allegheny Mountains; Geo. P. Putnam, New York.
Colton, H., 1859; Mountain Scenery: The Scenery of the Mountain of Western North Carolina and
Northwestern South Carolina; W.L. Pomeroy,Hayes and Zell, Philadelphia.
Lanman, C., 1865; Adventures in the Wilds of the United States and British American
Provinces; John W. Moore, Philadelphia.
Hall, E.H., 1866; Appleton's hand-book of American Travel. The southern tour; being a guide
through Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia and
Kentucky; D. Appleton & Co., New York.
Zeigler, W. and Grosscup, B., 1883; The Heart of the Alleghanies or Western North Carolina; Alfred
Williams and Co, Raleigh, NC
Each of these adventurers solicited the help of highly experienced local guides to accompany them, yet not a single one of their very detailed travelogues mentions the BMLs---apparently the local guides weren't aware of BMLs at the time. The first written reference to the Brown Mountain Lights we've been able to find is the 1913 newspaper article in the Charlotte Observer, which mentioned sightings as early as c1908.
In his 1859 travelogue, H. Colton mentions visiting The Chimneys on the east rim of Linville Gorge and witnessing the late afternoon reflection of the sun off of the glass windows of the houses of Morganton. Colton writes:
"The eye has a full, open scope from the Grandfather Mountain entirely around the Roan, and even beyond that. The valley of the Catawba is open to the view from its origin to its end, the whole of Turkey and North Coves, with their rich fields of waving corn. In the dim, dark distance, a lone mountain rises to view, which, from its location, we suppose to be the Pilot. Just as the sun fades beneath the horizon, it casts forth a clear, red light, and you see flashing in its blaze the windows of the houses of Morganton: from the same source, a golden tinge is thrown upon every leaf, and everything is mellowed into soft loveliness in the accomplishment of nature's most splendid creation."
Colton's 1859 report of seeing the sun reflected by the windows of the houses of Morganton while observing at sunset is the earliest published account we have of Catawba Valley civilization being visible from the higher mountains to the northwest. Colton's guide, David Franklin must have known about this sunset phenomena, and surely would have mentioned to Colton if the lights continued to be visible after darkness----so apparently they were not visible after dark---or if lights in the same spots were visible after dark, both Colton & Franklin understood them to be man-made lights, such as gas lanterns, torches &/or fires, and not mystery spook lights. Anyone who would interpret Colton's observations as early sightings of the BMLs, would have trouble explaining the lack of mention of nighttime sightings.
First Known Picture of BMLs---1929
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| E.M. Ball Image N1503, Glass Plate, 1929 Four Hour Exposure with Moon Trail Brown Mountain Lights from Wiseman's View |
From the E.M. Ball Collection (1918-1969), D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections,
University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804
This historic image is the first known photograph of the BMLs. It was taken in 1929 by E.M. Ball, a professional photogagher from Asheville, NC. It is not known if the image was ever published---it is now housed at the D.H. Ramsey Library at UNC-Asheville. The title accompaning the photograph identifies it as: 'Brown Mountain light, from Wiseman's View near Linville Falls'---and this is the only photograph of the 9,116 in the Ball Collection that is labled as the BMLs; although image N1347, labeled 'Brown Mountain, from Wiseman's View', appears to be a daytime exposure with no visible lights.
Although not published at the time, photograph N1503 was the subject of a newspaper article by J.S. Coleman, Jr. in the August 25, 1929 issue of The Asheville Times (Asheville, NC). In his article, entitled "Strange Light Continues To Mystify" Coleman describes the photograph:
"Within the last two weeks, however, the lights have been photographed for the first time in history. The difficult work was done by E.M. Ball, of the Plateau studio, Asheville, and the result was highly satisfactory, even though the picture failed utterly to explain the phenomenon.
Mr. Ball took his pictures from a point not far distant from Marion. He exposed a very sensitive color plate one night over a period of four hours. During that time, the moon, sliding across the sky, left a bright streak on his plate, but the mysterious Brown Mountain lights had been caught in the meantime.
One thing established by the photograph is the fact that the light appears at several parallel points along a line near the summit of Brown Mountain. Each of the points seems to be a small disk of light, though the impression given an observer is that of a blaze."
The mystery lights described by Coleman and faintly visible in the image above, are highly suggestive of city or town lights such as those seen today from the same observation point. Compare with my photographs 2104, 2184, & 2188 (1Dec12) in my January 26, 2013 blog post City Lights visible from Wiseman's View.
In Ball's 1929 photograph, only the southern 2/3rds of Brown Mountain is visible as the gently sloping flat-topped ridge in the middle of the image. The lights appear to be coming from the Catawba Valley to the south and east of Brown Mountain.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
City Lights visible from Wiseman's View
Photography from the popular Wiseman's View observation site on December 1, 2012 clearly shows some city lights of Lenoir, NC.
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| Brown Mountain is the distant flat-top mountain in the center of the image The prominent ridge in the foreground is the east rim of Linville Gorge with Hawskbill Mtn to the left edge of the image and Table Rock Mtn to the right edge of the image Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera, f/9, 1/200 second, ISO-100 |
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| City lights of Lenoir, NC The single white light above the ridgeline in the center of the image is a lighted tower atop Hibriten Mtn The adjacent orange light is Lenoir's Christmas Star which is only lighted during the holidays each year The dark profile of Brown Mountain comprises the foreground of the image Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera, f/98 3 second, ISO-800 |
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| City lights of Lenoir, NC A wide-angle view of Lenoir The lighted tower & Christmas Star atop Hibriten Mtn are visible The Google Data Center is the row of orange lights near the right edge of the image The dark profile of Brown Mountain comprises the foreground of the image Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera, f/6.3, 3 second, ISO-100 |
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| Google Data Center, Lenoir, NC This is the same building visible in the daytime from our Jonas Ridge BML Cam1 site Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera, f/0, 10 second, ISO-800 |
Wiseman's View, named for the spot where Fate Wiseman first saw the Brown Mountain Lights (BMLs), lies on the western rim of Linville Gorge and may have been the site of the very first BML sightings. As an old man, Fate Wiseman told his nephew, Scotty Wiseman, about seeing mysterious lights atop Brown Mountain when he (Fate Wiseman) was a very young man----this would have been about 1854, +- 10 years . Although not proven, this is the earliest 'verifiable' report of the BMLs. The sightings of mysterious lights seen over the top of Brown Mountain from Loven's Hotel at Cold Springs, NC weren't reported until the late 1890s and early 1900s. It was the sightings from Cold Springs, popularized by newspaper articles, that first ignited the public's imagination and initiated the legend of the BMLs.
Since Fate Wiseman's sightings, tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of others have reported seeing similar lights from his observation spot.
Note that although a vast expanse of Linville Gorge is clearly visible from Wiseman's View, no one at the time, including Fate Wiseman, reported seeing mysterious lights down in the gorge itself. However, since about the 1950s, mystery lights down in Linville Gorge have been reportedly seen from Wiseman's View and elsewhere along the rim of the gorge. These lights, called the Linville Gorge Lights (LGLs), are not the same thing as the BMLs; and the two should not be confused with each other. The lights that gave rise to the legends of the BMLs were seen over the top of Brown Mountain when viewed from distant observation sites, like Wiseman's View and Cold Springs, that are located in the higher mountains west and north of Brown Mountain. The sightings of mystery lights in Linville Gorge itself are a more-recent phenomenon and undoubtablely have a different source than the BMLs.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Views From Brown Mountain
These three images were taken from rock clifts near the top of the north end of Brown Mountain on January 5, 2013. The first two views look northwest and west toward the popular viewing sites on NC Highway 181, Jonas Ridge & Wiseman's View. Our BML Cam1 is located on Jonas Ridge. The third image looks northeast toward Grandfather Mountain.
Due to the dense forest covering Brown Mountain, there are very few places with open views. No open views to the south toward the Catawba River Valley or east toward the Yadkin River Valley are present. Thus city lights in these valleys are not visible from Brown Mountain; which may explain the lack of distant BML sightings reported from the mountain itself---a preplexing fact mentioned in many published BML documents. However, a small number of individuals have reported close encounters with unexplained nighttime lights while visiting the mountain; some of these reports are currently being investigated by our BML research team. These upclose lights are reported to be too small and too faint to be visible from more than a few hundred feet away.
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| Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera, f/7.1, 1/400 sec, ISO-100, 50 mm; 3:09 pm |
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| Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera, f/8, 1/640 sec, ISO-100, 50 mm |
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| Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera, f/7.1, 1/400 sec, ISO-100 |
Due to the dense forest covering Brown Mountain, there are very few places with open views. No open views to the south toward the Catawba River Valley or east toward the Yadkin River Valley are present. Thus city lights in these valleys are not visible from Brown Mountain; which may explain the lack of distant BML sightings reported from the mountain itself---a preplexing fact mentioned in many published BML documents. However, a small number of individuals have reported close encounters with unexplained nighttime lights while visiting the mountain; some of these reports are currently being investigated by our BML research team. These upclose lights are reported to be too small and too faint to be visible from more than a few hundred feet away.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
BML Time Line Updated
Updated 06Mar13. The following time line of critical events in the history of the BMLs is based on our review of more than 180 published & unpublished documents.
1765 Lenoir,
NC (Catawba Valley) first settled---Incorporated in 1841
1777 Morganton, NC (Catawba Valley) first settled---Incorporated in 1784
1850 Hickory, NC (Catawba Valley) first settled---Incorporated in 1860
1854 Lafayette Wiseman camped at Wiseman’s View & reportedly saw Mystery Lights
1858 First Railroad constructed in Catawba Valley---WNC RR, 84 mi from Salisbury to near Morganton
1870 First train arrived in Marion, NC---WNC RR; 1873 Old Fort, NC; 1880 Asheville, NC
1882 Mystery Lights reportedly seen by J. Stokes Penland of Linville Falls, NC
1888 Electricity first available to Hickory, NC residents; Electric Street Lights installed 1889
1889 Statesville, NC gets Electricity for first time
1897 Mystery Light reportedly seen by Joseph Loven of Cold Springs, NC
1898 Automobiles first appeared in NC; First mass produced car in US was Ford Model T (1908-1927)
1908-9 Mystery Lights reportedly seen by B.S. Gaither of Morganton, NC
1910 Rev. C.E. Gregory built cottage near Cold Springs, NC & reportedly saw Mystery Lights
1911 Mystery Lights reportedly seen by numerous members of the Morganton Fishing Club
1913 September---First written account----Light rises in Catawba Valley over top of Brown Mountain
1913 October---USGS Geologist D.B. Sterrett visit----Locomotive headlight
1915 Dr. C.L. Wilson saw lights of Joy, Lenoir, Connelly Springs, & Rutherford College from Cold Springs
1916 April---H.C. Martin’s camping parties see lights from Adams Mtn & Brown Mountain---Fireflies?
1916 July---Historic Flood, Catawba River reached +25’ above flood level
1916 Joseph Loven and Lafayette Wiseman reportedly saw Mystery Lights after the flood
1917 C.H. Hite publishes First Story of Ghosts (Bird Carroll) on Brown Mountain
1917 US Forest Service buys Brown Mountain
1919 US Weather Bureau & Smithsonian Institute issue Brush Lightning statement
1921 National Geographic Society bulletin----Brush Lighting, similar to St Elmo’s fire & Andes Light
1922 USGS Geologist G.R. Mansfield research----90% reflected electric lights and 10% brush fires
1927 R.K. Babington publishes First Reference to de Brahm’s 1771 Document of Nitrous Vapors
1928 J.B. Derieux & A.A. Dixon, NC State College---binocular & transit study---Hudson Town Lights
1929 E.M. Bell---first BML photo---4 hr Exposure, Moon Streak & lights above crest of Brown Mountain
1932 F.D. Ruggles reported 100s of lights like city street lights---concluded they were burning gasses
1936 S.M. Dugger publishes First Legend of a Murdered Wife
1937 Hickory Municipal Airport constructed
1940 H.A. Whitman’s research----transit triangulation---BML photo---reflected city lights
1941 W.J. Humpheries & H. Lyman (US Weather Bureau) report----Andes Light
1941 L. Weir publishes First Legend of Indian Maidens searching for their braves lost in battle
1946 US Highway 70 constructed in Catawba Valley
1948 First published story of Lost Lover Legend
1958 Bob Brown---BML photos---reflected city lights
1959 N. Alexander publishes first report of a Swamp atop Brown Mountain
1961 S. Wiseman publishes first reference to Legend of Faithful Slave Searching for Lost Master
1962 P. Rose---Tower construction---close encounters
1962 S. Rowe & C. Holler, Jr.---Transit survey & site visits---refracted city lights
1965 R. Lael publishes first stories of Aliens---Alien abduction---close encounters
1968 H. Bailey first published reference to UFOs flying over Brown Mountain
1975 Interstate I-40 completed in Catawba Valley
1977 ORION’s 500,000 candlepower light test in Lenoir (22 mi away)---seen at 181 Overlook
1978 First joint Enigma/ORION investigation began
1980 First published sighting of lights in Linville Gorge?---published in 1995
1981 ORION detonated dynamite atop BM---no lights seen at 181 Overlook
1982 First published Legend of Revolutionary War Solider searching for Missing Family
1999 LEMUR---The X-Files segment---aired May 9, 1999
2000 LEMUR--- Brian Irish’s video of suspected BMLs
2002 LEMUR---Travel Channel segment on BMLs---aired March 2002
2003 Dr. Greg Little of Alternate Perceptions Magazine videotaped BMLs
2009 Dean Warsing’s night vision video of suspected BMLs
2012 First and Second Brown Mountain Light Symposium, Burke Co Dept of Tourism
2012 S. Nicholson published First Reference to ghosts of Civil War Soldiers
2012 BMLs Research Team---BML Cam1 setup, staged light tests, telephoto photography, Lit research
2013 BMLs Research Team---BML Cam1, geologic Investigations, lit research, telephoto photography
BML Time Line
Dates of
Significant Events in the History of the Brown Mountain Lights
1777 Morganton, NC (Catawba Valley) first settled---Incorporated in 1784
1850 Hickory, NC (Catawba Valley) first settled---Incorporated in 1860
1854 Lafayette Wiseman camped at Wiseman’s View & reportedly saw Mystery Lights
1858 First Railroad constructed in Catawba Valley---WNC RR, 84 mi from Salisbury to near Morganton
1870 First train arrived in Marion, NC---WNC RR; 1873 Old Fort, NC; 1880 Asheville, NC
1882 Mystery Lights reportedly seen by J. Stokes Penland of Linville Falls, NC
1888 Electricity first available to Hickory, NC residents; Electric Street Lights installed 1889
1889 Statesville, NC gets Electricity for first time
1897 Mystery Light reportedly seen by Joseph Loven of Cold Springs, NC
1898 Automobiles first appeared in NC; First mass produced car in US was Ford Model T (1908-1927)
1908-9 Mystery Lights reportedly seen by B.S. Gaither of Morganton, NC
1910 Rev. C.E. Gregory built cottage near Cold Springs, NC & reportedly saw Mystery Lights
1911 Mystery Lights reportedly seen by numerous members of the Morganton Fishing Club
1913 September---First written account----Light rises in Catawba Valley over top of Brown Mountain
1913 October---USGS Geologist D.B. Sterrett visit----Locomotive headlight
1915 Dr. C.L. Wilson saw lights of Joy, Lenoir, Connelly Springs, & Rutherford College from Cold Springs
1916 April---H.C. Martin’s camping parties see lights from Adams Mtn & Brown Mountain---Fireflies?
1916 July---Historic Flood, Catawba River reached +25’ above flood level
1916 Joseph Loven and Lafayette Wiseman reportedly saw Mystery Lights after the flood
1917 C.H. Hite publishes First Story of Ghosts (Bird Carroll) on Brown Mountain
1917 US Forest Service buys Brown Mountain
1919 US Weather Bureau & Smithsonian Institute issue Brush Lightning statement
1921 National Geographic Society bulletin----Brush Lighting, similar to St Elmo’s fire & Andes Light
1922 USGS Geologist G.R. Mansfield research----90% reflected electric lights and 10% brush fires
1927 R.K. Babington publishes First Reference to de Brahm’s 1771 Document of Nitrous Vapors
1928 J.B. Derieux & A.A. Dixon, NC State College---binocular & transit study---Hudson Town Lights
1929 E.M. Bell---first BML photo---4 hr Exposure, Moon Streak & lights above crest of Brown Mountain
1932 F.D. Ruggles reported 100s of lights like city street lights---concluded they were burning gasses
1936 S.M. Dugger publishes First Legend of a Murdered Wife
1937 Hickory Municipal Airport constructed
1940 H.A. Whitman’s research----transit triangulation---BML photo---reflected city lights
1941 W.J. Humpheries & H. Lyman (US Weather Bureau) report----Andes Light
1941 L. Weir publishes First Legend of Indian Maidens searching for their braves lost in battle
1946 US Highway 70 constructed in Catawba Valley
1948 First published story of Lost Lover Legend
1958 Bob Brown---BML photos---reflected city lights
1959 N. Alexander publishes first report of a Swamp atop Brown Mountain
1961 S. Wiseman publishes first reference to Legend of Faithful Slave Searching for Lost Master
1962 P. Rose---Tower construction---close encounters
1962 S. Rowe & C. Holler, Jr.---Transit survey & site visits---refracted city lights
1965 R. Lael publishes first stories of Aliens---Alien abduction---close encounters
1968 H. Bailey first published reference to UFOs flying over Brown Mountain
1975 Interstate I-40 completed in Catawba Valley
1977 ORION’s 500,000 candlepower light test in Lenoir (22 mi away)---seen at 181 Overlook
1978 First joint Enigma/ORION investigation began
1980 First published sighting of lights in Linville Gorge?---published in 1995
1981 ORION detonated dynamite atop BM---no lights seen at 181 Overlook
1982 First published Legend of Revolutionary War Solider searching for Missing Family
1999 LEMUR---The X-Files segment---aired May 9, 1999
2000 LEMUR--- Brian Irish’s video of suspected BMLs
2002 LEMUR---Travel Channel segment on BMLs---aired March 2002
2003 Dr. Greg Little of Alternate Perceptions Magazine videotaped BMLs
2009 Dean Warsing’s night vision video of suspected BMLs
2012 First and Second Brown Mountain Light Symposium, Burke Co Dept of Tourism
2012 S. Nicholson published First Reference to ghosts of Civil War Soldiers
2012 BMLs Research Team---BML Cam1 setup, staged light tests, telephoto photography, Lit research
2013 BMLs Research Team---BML Cam1, geologic Investigations, lit research, telephoto photography
Campfire Stories---Pseudo-Scientific Explanations
In more recent times, explanations masquerading as
scientific are being proposed by misinformed individuals and/or groups,
generally with economic ties to furthering the mystique of the BMLs. Videos of questionable BMLs can be found on
the Internet while web pages posting questionable, misleading, undocumented,
and even disproven BML explanations abound.
Authors often fail to distinguish between fact and fiction and elaborate
extensively on their favorite ghost story---references are conveniently omitted. In addition, theories such as stresses on geologic
faults, earth lights, earth currents, ionized plasmas, luminescent gases, radioactive
minerals, and even glimpses of parallel universes are proposed, but with no logical
evidence to back them up.
Of course, a small number of reported BMLs are not easily
explained as manmade lights. Some
personal stories, especially those of close encounters, continue to defy this logical
explanation. Investigations of these
phenomena are ongoing by the Brown Mountain Light Research Team BMLRT).
unexplained lights
Monday, December 31, 2012
December 30, 2012 Observations
Last night's photography from the highway 181 overlook produced some more interesting images of city lights around Brown Mountain.
North Chestnut Mountain Gap
Looking northeast (43O azimuth) from 181
Overlook toward Blowing Rock only a minute after sunset
A small orange light can be seen on the distant
ridgeline just above the trees in the center of the image
The light is the reflection of the fading sun off a glass window at one of the houses on the distant skyline
The low point along the foreground ridge is the gap north of Chestnut Mountain
The low point along the foreground ridge is the gap north of Chestnut Mountain
The Mountain –To-Sea Trail (# 440) and Forest Service
Road # 198 pass through this gap
Canon EOS Rebel DSLR with 119 mm lens at f/5.6, 1/125
second exposure & ISO-400
Baker’s Mountain, Catawba County, Azimuth 129O,
31.7 miles away
Buildings and water tanks can be seen in this late
afternoon image (33 minutes before sunset)
The tree-covered ridge of Brown Mountain can be seen
in the foreground
Canon EOS Rebel DSLR with 420 mm lens, f/14, 1/1000
second exposure & ISO-2000
Baker’s Mountain, Catawba County, Azimuth 129O,
31.7 miles away
City lights in the surrounding area can be seen in
this image taken 18 minutes after sunset
The tree-covered ridge of Brown Mountain can be seen
in the foreground
Canon EOS Rebel DSLR with 420 mm lens at f/8, 1/15
second exposure & ISO-1600
Brown Mountain, Catawba Valley and the South Mountains
Buildings and water tanks in Catawba Valley can be
seen in this late afternoon image (133O azimuth)
Brown Mountain
is the tree-covered ridge in the middle of the image
The South Mountains can be seen on the skyline
Canon EOS Rebel DSLR with 420 mm lens at f/14, 1/800
second exposure & ISO-2500
Brown Mountain, Catawba Valley and the South Mountains
Two prominent water tanks in Catawba Valley can be
seen in this late afternoon image
Brown Mountain
is the tree-covered ridge in the middle of the image
The South Mountains can be seen on the skyline
Canon EOS Rebel DSLR with 420 mm lens at f/13, 1/800
second exposure & ISO-2000
It was Really, Really Cold Last Night!
Out of focus city lights in Catawba Valley
The single white light above the skyline is a lighted
tower atop High Peak in the South Mountains
The cluster of multicolored lights on the skyline at
the left side of the image
are the Valdese Houses on Rocky Ridge Road seen in
previous images
Canon EOS Rebel DSLR with 420 mm lens, f/8, 3-second
exposure & ISO-1600
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Scientific Explanations---Updated
scientific explanations
1913
US Geological Survey D.B. Sterrett---Locomotive Headlights
c1917 Staged Car Headlights at Lawndale
(40 mi SE) seen at Loven’s Hotel at Cold Springs1921 Nat’l Geographic Soc & US Weather Bureau---Brush Lighting (St. Elmo’s fire/Andes Lighting)
1922 US Geological Survey R.G. Mansfield---90% Refracted Manmade Lights & 10% Brush Fires
1928 NC State College Physics professors---Binoculars & Transit Surveys---Hudson town lights
1929 E.M. Bell---First BML Photo---City Lights
1940 H.A. Whitman---Transit Triangulation Survey---BML photo---Refracted City Lights
1958 B. Brown---BML photos---Refracted City Lights
1962 S. Rowe & C. Holler, Jr.---Transit Surveys & site visits---Reflected City Lights
1977 Geologist Francois Schumacher---Uranium ore may the source of the lights
1977-81 ORION---Staged Lenoir Spotlight & Explosives on BM---Refracted Manmade Lights
1978 Enigma Project---Refracted Manmade Lights
2005 Astrophysicist Daniel B. Caton---Camera, Binoculars, Telescope---Refracted City Lights
2012-13 BML Research Team---BMLCam1; Staged Light Tests; Telephoto Photography
The possibility that the lights seen over the top of Brown
Mountain were manmade lights reflected and/or refracted by air layers was first
mentioned in H.C. Martin’s 1916 article in the Morganton News Herald.
Martin specifically noted the presence of warm and cold air layers that
he thought were due to the recent forest clear-cutting on the mountainous
terrains. He felt that the density
variations in these layers caused reflection and refraction of visible manmade
lights. US Geological Survey Geologist
G.R. Mansfield expanded on this observation in 1922. In fact, it is the refraction of the city
lights by rising heat waves (mirages) that causes the observed lights to dance,
wiggle, wobble, vibrate, change colors, and fade in and out. Aggravatingly, this minor but very noticeable
movement of the lights results in out-of-focus photographic time-exposure images
of the lights; thus producing the ‘circular orbs of light’ reported by most
observers.
Extended horizontal or vertical movement of the lights, which is often reported by distant observers, is due to the tiring of one’s eye muscles while focusing on individual bright lights in a dark setting. This lack of movement is easily demonstrated by viewing the suspected light through the viewfinder of a stationary tripod-mounted camera, binoculars, or telescope and was first reported by J.B. Derieux and A.A. Dixon in 1928. Likewise repeated photography of the lights by tripod-mounted cameras re-set in the same spot hours, days or even weeks later also shows that the lights are stationary and do not change location (Brown Mountain Lights Research Team, 2012).
The report of mystery lights appearing immediately after the July 1916 flood that destroyed the Catawba Valley railroads is often quoted as proof that the lights were not locomotive headlights as previously proposed by U.S. Geological Survey Geologist D.B. Sterrett in 1913. In his August 29, 1916 letter to the Lenoir News (September 8), G.A. Loven, owner of Loven’s Hotel in Cold Springs states:
“The light still appears every night now, for six years
since it was first seen. It shows to be
some four or five miles beyond the top of Brown Mountain.
It was supposed by some that it was a train headlight; the recent floods stopped the trains from running, but it did not stop the
light from showing. We watched close and it showed every night just the same.
It is not confined to one place; it varies sometimes
from two to three miles either east or west.
It seems to go up over the treetops from fifty to sixty feet.”
Note that Loven refers to a single light and fails to mention the presence of the numerous city lights which were reported to be visible from his hotel the previous year by Dr. C.L. Wilson (1915). And based on 1922 interviews with eyewitnesses, U.S. Geological Survey Geologist G.R. Mansfield reported that moving lights seen from Cold Springs immediately after the 1916 flood were automobile headlights on the roadways not washed away by the flood. Presumably these and other car headlights were also visible before the flood. If so many lights were visible from Cold Springs both before and after the flood, why did Loven mention only one? As revealed by other newspaper articles of the time, Loven’s Hotel was experiencing increased visitation due to patrons wishing to see the BMLs; thus Loven may have been simply perpetuating the legend of the lights to enrich his income.
Reported BML sightings before the era of electric lights are
also often mentioned in post-1900 published documents as proof that the BMLs
existed before the time of manmade lights.
However, these reports are not based on confirmed facts and no such light
sightings have been found in any document actually published before 1900.
Slowly at first, and then with ever increasing certainty, manmade electric lights were reported to be visible over the top of Brown Mountain. In 1915, Dr. C.L. Wilson, identified the community lights of Joy, Lenoir, Connelly Springs, and Rutherford College while observing from Loven’s Hotel at Cold Springs. Oddly enough, no one else of this early-BML era mentioned being able to see city lights over the top of Brown Mountain; instead they apparently interpreted all of the visible lights to be the mysterious BMLs.
In the most comprehensive and detailed scientific study ever
conducted on the BMLs, Geologist G.R. Mansfield reports (1922):
“In summary it may be said that the Brown Mountain lights are clearly not of unusual nature or origin. About 47 percent of the lights that the writer was able to study instrumentally were due to automobile headlights, 33 percent to locomotive headlights, 10 percent to stationary lights, and 10 percent to brush fires.”
In his 1923 report, F.J. Haskin wrote: “Somewhere in the broad Catawba valley or beyond was the origin of the light.” In the same year, the Statesville Landmark reported a light (presumably a town light) visible to the east from Brown Mountain itself and located midway between the towns of Drexel and Lenoir. In 1928, Professors J.B. Derieaux & A.A. Dixon, using survey equipment, identified the town lights of Hudson in the Catawba Valley visible directly over the top of Brown Mountain. E.M. Bell’s 1929 ‘first ever’ photograph of BMLs resembles today’s photographs and highly suggests city lights in the valley beyond Brown Mountain. In 1932, F.D. Ruggles reported seeing hundreds of city street lights along a 35-mile length, but concluded they were burning gases instead. H.A. Whitman’s 1940 transit triangulation survey concluded that the lights were refracted city lights. And so it goes right on through all subsequent scientific surveys.
Over time, as the increasingly electrically-lit population (i.e., light pollution) increased in the Catawba and Yadkin Valleys south and east of Brown Mountain, the realization began to set in that the BMLs were simply manmade lights. In the early days of the BML legends (c1854-c1920), these distant lights were a new and mysterious phenomenon that sparked the imagination of the residents in the mountains to the east and north of Brown Mountain who probably lagged behind the town and city residents in the use and understanding of electric lights. While today the manmade lights are obvious to most observers, some still mistake them for mystery or spook lights.
Campfire Stories---Space Aliens/UFOs
Space travel captured most of the world’s attention during
the Great Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union in the
1960s. It was an exciting time with the
Soviet Union taking an early lead but the United States finally winning:
1961, April 12-----------First man in Earth Orbit---Soviet Union’s Yuri Gagarin
1961, May 5-------------First American in Space (Sub-Orbital)---Alan Shepard
1962, February 20------First American in Earth Orbit---John Glenn
1962, April 26-----------First American Spacecraft on Moon---Ranger IV
1965, June 3-------------First American Space Walk---Ed White in Gemini 4
1969, July 20------------First Manned Moon Landing---US's Neil Armstrong & Buzz Aldrin in Apollo 11
1957, October 4--------First
Satellite in Earth Orbit---Soviet Union’s Sputnik 1
1959, September 13---First
Spacecraft on the Moon---Soviet Union’s Luna 21961, April 12-----------First man in Earth Orbit---Soviet Union’s Yuri Gagarin
1961, May 5-------------First American in Space (Sub-Orbital)---Alan Shepard
1962, February 20------First American in Earth Orbit---John Glenn
1962, April 26-----------First American Spacecraft on Moon---Ranger IV
1965, June 3-------------First American Space Walk---Ed White in Gemini 4
1969, July 20------------First Manned Moon Landing---US's Neil Armstrong & Buzz Aldrin in Apollo 11
Our preoccupation with space travel during the '60s
also had a direct impact on the BML beliefs and myths of that time. Ralph Lael’s 1965 alien abduction story
caused a lot of excitement, while Herbert Bailey’s 1968 article in Argosy magazine describing large
squadrons of UFOs appearing nigthly over Brown Mountain proved to be the height
of the ‘aliens among us’ craze. Since no
proof of space aliens or UFOs has surfaced anywhere in the world in the ensuing 45 years, the public’s
interest in extraterrestrials has greatly subsided; althought stories of other dimensions, time travelers, and benevolent beings are still heard.
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Campfire Stories---Faithful Slave Searching for Lost Master
Perhaps the most enduring legend of the BMLs has to do with
the spirit of a faithful slave searching for his lost master. The legend first appeared in print in 1961
with Scotty Wiseman’s folksong, the Ballad
of the Brown Mountain Light. Over
the next few years the song became very popular and was recorded by various
groups, while local newspaper reporter John Parris wrote the full story of Scotty’s
Great Uncle, Josiah Lafayette “Fate”
Wiseman (1842-1932) in 1966, 1971 and 1972 articles. According to Parris:
“Brown Mountain was named after a Brown family, who owned a lot of land during the 19th century
that included this mountain. The family owned slaves, and enjoyed the reputation of treating
them well.
“Shortly
after the colonel and Jim disappeared, bobbing lights appeared on the
mountain. The lights had never been seen
before, and the family believed the lights were from the lanterns the colonel
and Jim carried. They are trying to find
their way home.”
About
1854, Fate Wiseman, then a young boy, camped on the rim of Linville Gorge and
saw the BMLs---long before electric lights.
Fate Wiseman bacame a veteran of the Civil War and he kept cattle on his land below the cliffs in
Connally’s Cove in Linville Gorge. On a
return trip with his father to sell goods in Salisbury, they camped at today’s
Wiseman’s View and he could see the lights over BM. Later he would often watch the lights from
the same spot and it came to be called Wiseman’s View. Fate told of a faithful slave with a lantern
searching for his missing low-country hunter master. The spirit of the salve
and his lantern still wander the mountain today.
In 2002, J. Baldwin elaborated on the story:
“Brown Mountain was named after a Brown family, who owned a lot of land during the 19th century
that included this mountain. The family owned slaves, and enjoyed the reputation of treating
them well.
“During
the Civil War, one of the men in the Brown family fought in the Confederate
army as a colonel. He was wounded in
1863 and came home. When he was well
enough, he went for a day’s hike and hunting on Brown Mountain, a place he knew
well. He took a little food and water,
and two lanterns.
“Midnight
came and the colonel had not returned.
His faithful slave Jim took a lantern and went to Brown Mountain to look
for him. Neither Jim nor the colonel
ever returned. The family and their
slaves searched the entire surface of Brown Mountain, but no trace of either of
them has ever been found.
In 2012, J. Betts reported
the following words of the popular song:
The Legend of the Brown Mountain Light by Scotty
Wiseman
Way out on the old Linville Mountain,
Where the bear and the catamount reign;
There’s a strange ghostly light, can be seen every
night,
Which no scientists nor hunter can explain.
Chorus
In the days of the old covered wagons,
Where they camped on the flats for the night;
With the moon shining dim on the old highboard rim,
They watched for that Brown Mountain light.
Chorus
Many years ago a southern planter
Came hunting in this wild world alone.
It was then so they say that the planter lost his way
And never returned to his home.
His trusting old slave brought a lantern
And searched day and night but in vain.
Now the old slave is gone but his spirit lingers on,
And the lantern still casts its light.
Chorus:
High, high on the mountain, and deep in the canyon
below
It shines like the crown of an angel, and fades as the
mists comes and go.
Way over yonder, night after night until dawn,
A lonely old slave comes back from the grave,
Searching, searching, searching, for his master who’s
long gone on.
Campfire Stories---Revolutionary War Soldier
This legend is relatively
recent and only first appeared in a 1982 article in the Watauga Democrat. As the
story goes:
“A family settled in the Brown Mountain area in the 1700s. When the Revolutionary War began, the father enlisted, leaving behind his wife and three children. The war over, he returned home to find his homestead in ruins. Desperately he took to the nearby mountain range searching for his missing loved ones. Finally, he died alone and in despair atop Brown Mountain, and today his spirit continues the search.”
“A family settled in the Brown Mountain area in the 1700s. When the Revolutionary War began, the father enlisted, leaving behind his wife and three children. The war over, he returned home to find his homestead in ruins. Desperately he took to the nearby mountain range searching for his missing loved ones. Finally, he died alone and in despair atop Brown Mountain, and today his spirit continues the search.”
The Revolutionary War ended in 1783, presumably the year
the soldier returned home to find his family missing. A children’s book by Carol Crane in 2012
retells the story.
As with all legends, myths and folklore stories, no references were given for the sources of the information.
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