Lights on Table Rock from Wiseman's View 21Aug13

Camper & hiker lights atop Table Rock were photographed last night (21Aug13) from Wiseman's View. 

Hiker light on access trail to summit of Table Rock

Enlarge image to see single white light near right side of photo

Tripod-mounted Canon REBEL EOS T31 camera w/ 75-300 mm zoom lens and 1.4X tele converter

60 second time exposure, ISO-100, f/9

 

Camper lights on Table Rock

Enlarge image to see single white light & orange camp fire near right side of photo

Tripod-mounted Canon REBEL EOS T31 camera w/ 75-300 mm zoom lens and 1.4X tele converter

120 second time exposure, ISO-100, f/9

 

 Compare the 21Aug13 images above with this one below taken on 25Jul12 by Alex Glover of our BML research team.  Alex captured the lights of two of our hiking team members as they climbed the access trail to the summit of Table Rock.  The lights they were carrying are shown for comparisons.

 

What Have We Learned So Far about the Legend of the Brown Mountain Lights?

In spite of numerous published, but never referenced, and thus unconfirmed, stories to the contrary, the Brown Mountain Lights (BMLs) were not seen by native Americans, or anyone else before the days of electricity in the area.  Instead, the original Legend of the BMLs first arose in the 10-30 years immediately after residential electricity first arrived and then quickly spread throughout the populated valley communities to the south of Brown Mountain.  Electricity first arrived in Hickory in 1888 and spread throughtout the surrounding communities by 1900, while the Legend itself actually originated between 1900 & 1922.  Seems the unsuspecting mountain residents, who did not yet have electricity, simply were unaware of just how far electric lights could be seen at night and misintrepreted the distant manmade lights for mysterious supernatural lights.  Over the next 100 years, the Legend has morphed several times as it slowly became obvious to everyone that manmade lights in Catawba Valley were highly visible at night from the higher mountains west and northwest of Brown Mountain.  Today the Legend no longer focuses on distant lights seen over the top of Brown Mountain (town and city lights of Catawba Valley), but instead focuses on less easily identified lights in areas surrounding Brown Mountain, such as those seen in Linville Gorge.  These newer unknown lights are probably due to back-country users such as campers, hikers, rock climbers, hunters, fishermen, forest rangers and maintenance personnel, sightseers, and pranksters.

 Over the last 100 years, many different theories have been proposed to explain the BMLs

However, after 18 months of serious investigations, I've found only a few phenomenon that actually produce nighttime lights in the area;
however, these probably explain the all of the reported mysterious BMLs

 

IMHO, the vast majority of mysterious lights seen since 1900 are manmade lights, specifically electric lights.  While a tiny percentage of mistaken lights might be due to Blue Ghost Fireflies, celestial bodies (sun, planets, stars, etc), lighting (ball lightning &/or heat lightning), and possibly swamp gas (not yet confirmed on Brown Mountain).  Of course a tiny percentage of unexplained lights also exists---mainly due to the lack of sufficient factual details recorded by overly-excited observers.

 

The Legend of the Brown Mountain Lights will continue to exist as long as people cling to unfounded supernatural beliefs and ignore factual evidence to the contrary. 

Additional morphs of the Legend are to be expected.

 

 

Moon Rise over Brown Mountain July 24, 2013

Moon Rise over Brown Mountain July 24, 2013

 

 

The 85% Waning Gibbous Moon (the Full Moon was two days ago) approximately 54 minutes after moon rise on July 24, 2013. Table Rock on the east rim of Linville Gorge can be seen on the skyline on the right side of the image. Brown Mountain is the nearly-flat ridge in the middle distance. City lights is the valleys east of Brown Mountain are visible.  This wide-angle, two-minute time exposure was taken from Wiseman's View on the west rim of Linville Gorge.

Canon REBEL EOS DSLR camera, ISO-100

Photography from Bear Rocks on Brown Mountain

July 16-17, 2013 Observation

On Tuesday, July 16, 2013, Cato Holler and I hiked to Brown Mountain and camped in the Rock City boulders (Devil’s Hole) area on the uppermost part of the north slope of the mountain.  Our purpose for the trip was to check for bioluminescent fireflies and glow worms.  Unfortunately only a few fireflies and no glow worms were seen.  Otherwise, we did get some neat photography!

We parked in Chestnut Gap along FS Rd 982 (Mortimer Road) and hiked south the 3 miles along FS Rd 4099 (Little Chestnut Mountain Road), then ½ mile up the connector trail to the summit of Brown Mountain.  We arrived about dark and set up camp within the large boulders of Rock City.  Afterwards, we hiked to Bear Rocks (approximately 1 mile by trail) where we photographed runnels, distant lights, skylines and planes.  For proper orientation, Bear Rocks is an area of very large exposed rocks on the northwest side of Brown Mountain at coordinates 35.91654^O N and 81.76766^O west.  Bear Rocks also includes Bear Cave, an approximately 50 ft X 100 ft maze of covered passages including a through going passage that some ATV enthusiasts ride their motorcycles through.

A careful search of Bear Cave failed to find any glow worms, and only a few fireflies were seen during our time on the mountain.  The lack of fireflies was particularly puzzling given our recent find of multiple fireflies at Wiseman’s View.  More investigation is planned.

Weather and Moon

The weather was typical mid-summer hot and muggy with afternoon temperatures up to 90^OF and nighttime lows approximately 68^OF.  Recent heavy thunder storms had every stream and drainage flowing with water.  Although yet another storm blew past to the north just as we started our hike, we were spared any rain and enjoyed a partly cloudy sky.

The 53% Waxing Crescent moon rose about 2:30 pm and by sunset was nearly overhead.  After dark, the moon was only occasionally blocked by clouds. 

Equipment used

A tripod-mounted Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera with an 18-55mm zoom lens was used.

 

Big Foot Found on Brown Mountain!

OK, maybe not! 

Image 4007 shows typical erosion runnels on the exposed granite at Bear Rocks. 

The 3 individual channels join down slope to form a single channel. 

Although at a vastly different scale, the runnels are somewhat reminiscent of the headwater drainages of a mountain stream, with all runoff flowing into a single channel. 

For the proper scale perspective, the small dark circular spot between the ends of the two closest runnels is a US quarter.

 

Jonas Ridge House Lights from Bear Rocks

Here the tripod-mounted camera is set atop Bear Rocks looking west-northwest toward Jonas Ridge. 

Gingercake Mountain is the high point of the skyline ridge on the left side of the image. 

Our BMLCam1 is located at one of the houses within the row of lights just to the left of center of the image. 

Careful inspection of the image shows a dim light illuminating the NC Highway 181 BML Overlook on Rip Skin Ridge to the right of the center of the image and between the two rightmost bright lights. 

Moon light reflecting off leaves on trees less than 100 feet in front of the camera can be seen in the foreground. 

The moon is located beyond the upper left corner of the image.

f/5.6, ISO-400

 

Airplane over Brown Mountain

Image 4018 is a half-minute time exposure taken from Bear Rocks of a particularly bright light from an airplane approaching high over head from the north. 

The camera is facing north and the airplane traveled from the bottom to the top of the image during the exposure. 

The stars are those in the basin of the ‘Big Dipper’ constellation. 

Apparently the plane’s landing light was on and produced the lighted flight path. 

To the naked eye, no flashing navigation lights were visible. 

However, careful inspection of the photograph clearly shows the flashing navigation lights on either side of the bright streak.

No sound was heard until the airplane was nearly overhead, at which time the typical rumble of a distant airplane was heard.

f/5.6, ISO-400

 

View Toward Linville Gorge from Bear Rocks

Image 4017 is a 2-minute time exposure looking west from Bear Rocks. 

Table Rock is the prominent flat top peak on the skyline to the left while Hawksbill Mountain is the prominent skyline peak to the right. 

Laurel Knob is the dark skyline high point near the center of the image. 

Wiseman’s View is located near the base of Laurel Knob and near the center of the image. 

Table Rock and Hawksbill are on the east rim of Linville Gorge, while Laurel Knob and Wiseman’s View are on the west rim. 

Star trails are visible in the sky above the mountains, while moon light can be seen reflecting off of leaves on trees about 100 feet in front of the camera. 

The 50% Waxing Crescent moon is just beyond the upper left corner of the image.

f/5.6, ISO-400

 

Marion, NC from Bear Rocks on Brown Mountain!

Image 4024 is a two-minute time exposure looking southwest from Bear Rocks. 

The prominent single white light above a dark peak on the skyline left of center of the image is the flashing light on a communication tower atop Mount Ida on the south side of Marion, NC. 

The measured azimuth to this light is 220 degrees, which matches the line-of-sight plotted on the appropriate USGS topographic map. 

The brighter cluster of lights in the center of the image may be from the Wal-Mart/Lowes shopping center near the junction of US Highways 70 and 221, and NC Highway 226 on the northwest side of Marion.

f/5.6, ISO-400

Lights over Brown Mountain & Catawba Valley Light Pollution---June 26, 2013

Photography from Wiseman's View June 26, 2013

City lights of Lenoir east of Brown Mountain

55 minutes after sunset

Table Rock on the east rim of Linville Gorge can be seen on the right edge of the image

Tripod-mounted Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera w/ 18 mm lens,

f/4.5, 45 second exposure, ISO-400

 Light Pollution from Catawba Valley east of Table Rock

1 hour & 36 minutes after sunset

Collective Glow of City lights from Hickory & nearby towns reflecting off high thin clouds

Individual lights near Lenoir are visible over Brown Mountain on left side of image

Several short star trails are visible in the sky over Table Rock

Tripod-mounted Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera w/ 25 mm lens,

f/4.5, 122 second exposure, ISO-400

 

Comparing Blue Ghost Fireflies with common yellow-blinking fireflies

This image shows a direct size comparison between adult male specimens of the smaller Blue Ghost Firefly (Phausis reticulata) and the larger more common yellow-blinking firefly (Photinus pyralis).  Both fireflies are lying on their backs, exposing their undersides.  Although not lighted in the image, the two bioluminescent tail segments on each specimen are obvious, with the pale bluish white color of the smaller Phausis reticulata and the pale yellowish color of the larger Photinus pyralis.  This image clearly shows that the BGF is less than half the size of the more common yellow-blinking firefly, while it's bioluminescent segments are only about 1/20th as large!  However, when seen in the total darkness of a moonless night deep in the forest, the continuous burn of the BGF can seem very bright and eerie indeed.

Photo by Ed Speer
Canon REBEL EOS DSLR T3i camera (f/2.8, 1/60 sec, ISO-800, 50 mm lens)

& AmScope binocular microscope SM-1T (7X magnification)

The smaller firefly (Phausis reticulata) has a broken antenna. 

The length measurements were taken from the far end of the antennas to the tail end of each firefly.

Fireflies from Brue Ridge Parkway

Fireflies Monday, June 17, 2013 near mile 342.1 on Blue Ridge Parkway, McDowell Co, NC.

These 3 images show two types of fireflies at the same time.  The common yellow-blinking firefly Photinus pyralis, and the rare long-burning Blue Ghost Firefly (BGF), Phausis reticulata.  These time exposures show the greenish-yellow dashed flight paths of the common firefly and the long continuous greenish flight paths of the BGF.  Click on the individual photos to see larger images.  The common firefly (Photinus pyralis) began flying first as darkness fell, followed a few minutes later by Phausis reticulata.  The brighter light of the the common firefly greatly overshadowed the dim BGF for the first hour or so until the common firefly diseminated upward leaving the BGFs more readily visible near the ground. This population of BGFs is at 3,800' elevatin and is about 25 mi SE of Brown Mountain. 

Specifically it is situations where only 1 or 2 BGFs are present at any given time in a totally dark forest that could be mistaken for mysterious Brown Mountain Lights by an uninformed or unsuspecting individual.

 

These time exposure photos were taken with a tripod-mounted Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera with a 50 mm lens set near infinity focus, f/2.5 and ISO-6400

More Blue Ghost Firefly Images from DuPont State Forest

Several members of our BMLs Research Team viewed the BGFs again last night at DuPont State Forest in Transylvania Co., NC.  These time-exposure images were taken with a tripod-mounted Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera with a 50 mm lens set at near-infinity focus.

Blue Ghost Fireflies (Phausis reticulata)

DuPont Forest State Park, NC

 

43 second time exposure

60 second time exposure

70 second time exposure

60 second time exposure

 

Clicking on an individual image brings up a larger and more readily visible version of that image.  The male BGFs fly near the ground with their bioluminescent light continuously burning for several seconds to several minutes while searching for the females that live in the leaf litters on the forest floor.  The long flight paths seen in the images show that individual flight distances can be 100 feet or more.  To the human eye, the faint light appers white or bluish white, while the camera detects it as greenish white lights.

 

Sightings of Blue Ghost Fireflies by uninformed and unsuspecting individuals may explain a few reported mystery light close encounters with suspected Brown Mountain Lights.  While the existence of BGFs haven't yet been confirmed on Brown Mountain itself, they have been seen on North Harper Creek (Ed Speer, 2006, personal communication), only 5.5 miles north of the mountain.

Can Fireflies explain the Brown Mountain Lights?

Can fireflies explain the BMLs?

Of course not, at least not the majority of the reported light sightings.  But now that I have your attention, I'd like to introduce you to the Blue Ghost Firefly (BGF)----Phausis reticulata, which I suspect has fooled some people in the past. 

 

Blue Ghost Fireflies (Phausis reticulata)

DuPont State Forest, Transylvania Co., NC

This 62-second time exposure of the rare and little-known BGF shows a hatch of males flying between trees and brush in search of females which don't fly, but instead live on the forest floor.  Unlike the quick blinking of the common yellow firefly, the male BGF stays lighted for several seconds to several minutes while flying about 2 feet off the ground for horizontal distances up to 100 feet or more.  To the human eye, the BGFs burn with a pale bluish white light---however, the camera records a pale lime green color which appears to be the true color.

 Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera, f/2.5, 62 second exposure, ISO 6400, 50 mm lens

 

When seen for the first time by an uninformed or unsespecting person, the BGFs certainly can be mysterious and eerie.  Especially when encountered on a dark night in unfamiliar woods, the BGFs can be misintrepreted as sightings of distant bright lights rather than close encounters with a pale-light bioluminescent flying beetle. 

 

 

Phausis reticulata (Blue Ghost Firefly)

male on left, female on right

 

The most definitive research on the BGF is presented by Jennifer Frick-Ruppert & Joshua Rosen (2008) and can be found online at: http://www2.brevard.edu/jefrick/Blue%20Ghost%20pub.pdfhttp://www2.brevard.edu/jefrick/Blue%20Ghost%20pub.pdf

 

In the published literature of the Brown Mountain Lights, several light encounters may be consistant with the BGF.  Specifically, the 1916 account of H.C. Martin and Dr. L.H. Coffey (Pearson, 1916), the 1962 account of P. Rose (Charlotte Observer & Winston-Salem Journal, August 3, 1962), and the 1962 alien-abduction account of R. Lael (Lael, 1965).

 

While the BGFs don't explain the vast majority of BML distant light sightings (afterall, the BGFs can't be seen more than about 100 feet away), they may explain a small portion of some close-encounters with mystery lights.

 

Video from BMLCam1 May 14/15, 2013

Dan Caton, Professor and Director of Observatories, Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC has just uploaded a video from our up-graded BMLCam1 located on Jonas Ridge, NC and overlooking Brown Mountain.

YouTube video of May 14/15, 2013 BMLCam1

The 4 minute video is composed of 8 hours worth of 30-second time exposure still shots over the night of May 14 & 15, 2013.  BMLCam1 is owned, maintained and operated by Professor Caton for Appalachian State University.

The video clearly shows vehicle headlights on NC Highway 181 at the Brown Mountain Lights overlook, stars in the night sky, airplanes, flashing communication tower lights, and miscellaneous stationary electric lights in the valleys beyond Brown Mountain.  While no unexplained lights are visible in the video, the plan is to run the camera as often as possible to look for unexplained lights or light phenomena.  Additional telephoto lens upgrades are planned.

Wiseman's View 25Apr13

Last night's full moon rising above Table Rock Mountain was photographed.  In addition, distant city lights and other landmarks in the Catawba River Valley east of Brown Mountain were also photographed.

Full Moon Rising over Table Rock Mountain

Sunset was 8:04 pm

Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera, f/3.5, 1/30 second, ISO-400

 

Full Moon and City Lights from Wiseman's View

Brown Mountain is the flat-topped mountain in the middle of the image.  The dark foreground ridge is the east rim of Linville Gorge with the north slope of Table Rock Mtn to the right and the south slope of Hawksbill Mtn to the left.  City lights of Lenoir and the surrounding area are visible between Brown Mountain and the distant horizon.

Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera, f/3.5, 1/30 second, ISO-400

 

 

Landmarks Visible Looking East from Wiseman's View

The Google Data Center south of Lenoir (21 miles away) can be seen

just above the second "a" in the word Data.

Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera, f/18, 1/200 second, ISO-400

 

Landmarks Visible Looking East from Wiseman's View

The Google Data Center (21 miles away) and numerous other buildings

in the Lenoir/Gamewell/Hudson area are visible is this late afternoon image.

Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera, f/14, 1/200 second, ISO-400

 

Landmarks Visible Looking East from Wiseman's View

The Google Data Center (21 miles away), numerous other buildings, and

Hibriten Mtn (24 miles away) are visible in the Lenoir area in this late afternoon image.

Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera, f/8, 1/400 second, ISO-250

Telephoto Photography 17Apr13

Between rain showers this morning, I was able to get some spectacular photos from the location of our BMLCam1 on Jonas Ridge, NC.  Both natural and manmade landmarks are readily identifiable.

View looking east showing Brown, Adams, & Hibriten Mountains

Brown Mountain (7 mi away) is the long flat topped ridge in the middle of the image, Adams Mountain (8.8 mi away) is the small domal shaped peak just to the left of Brown Mountain, & Hibriten Mountain (22.5 mi away) is the domal shaped peak on the skyline almost directly above & beyond Adams.  Ripskin Ridge is the dark tree-covered ridge in the foreground.  NC Highway 181, including the Brown Mountain Overlook (seen just to the left of center of the image, 2.1 mi away), follows the backbone of Ripskin Ridge.

Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera, f/10, 1/250 second, ISO-100

 

Telephoto view of Brown, Adams, & Hibriten Mountains

The left sloping north end of Brown Mountain (7 mi away) is visible in the center of the image, with Adams Mountain (8.8 mi away) immediately behind & to the left of Brown Mountain.  Barely-visible communication towers atop Hibriten Mountain (22.5 mi away) are visible in the distance.  The flat tree covered Little Chestnut Ridge with Forest Service Road 4099 can be seen in the foreground.

Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera, f/13, 1/800 second, ISO-800

 

View looking east with Brown, Adams, & Hibriten Mountains

A tractor-trailer truck can be seen parked at the Brown Mountain Overlook on NC Highway 181 (2.1 mi away) in the lower left corner of the image.

Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera, f/7.1, 1/250 second, ISO-100

 

Communication towers atop Hibriten Mountain (22.5 mi away)

The tall tower on the left is lighted with a flashing white light both day & night.  Compare with night time images previously posted on this blog.

Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera mounted on MEADE EXT-125EC 5" Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope, f/15, 1/60 second, ISO-250

 

Communication towers atop High Peak (22 mi away)

The tall tower on the left is lighted with a flashing white light both day & night. Compare with night time images previously posted on this blog.

Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera mounted on MEADE EXT-125EC 5" Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope, f/15, 1/60 second, ISO-200

 

Municipal Water Tower in the Valdese-Drexel area (~22 mi away)

Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera mounted on MEADE EXT-125EC 5" Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope, f/15, 1/60 second, ISO-400

 

Brown Mountain Overlook on NC Highway 181 (2.1 mi away)

A passengar car, 3 display signs,  & a trash can are visible in the center of the image, while the guard rail along Highway 181 can be seen stretching completely across the image.

Canon EOS REBEL T3i DSLR camera mounted on MEADE EXT-125EC 5" Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope, f/15, 1/60 second, ISO-640

 

 

Today's photographs clearly show easily identifiable mountain peaks, communication towers, a water tower and the Brown Mountain Overlook on NC Highway 181.  These telephoto- and telescope-assisted images taken from the site of our BMLCam1 on Jonas Ridge conclusivelly demonstrate the sources of some of the man-made lights visible at night from this observation site.  Comparing these images with some of the night time images previously poseted on this blog shows a clear connection.

March 23, 2013 Observation

On Saturday evening, March 23, 2013, Charles Braswell & I met Mike Fischesser and about 15 of his TASSC kids for an hour of observations from the back deck of a Kistler Highway (NC 105) house, which looks up Linville Gorge from near the mouth of the gorge (see attached image).  The Kistler Highway house has been chosen as the location for our next full-time BML Camera (BMLCam2)---to be installed soon.

Linville Gorge from Kistler Highway (NC 105) Home Site

Looking North with prominent Shortoff Mtn on the right

Canon EOS REBEL T3i Digital SLR Camera, 18 mm, f/3.5, 1/5 sec

March 23, 2013  8:05 pm

Binoculars, spot lights, a Canon REBEL EOS digital camera and a tripod-mounted Canon VIXIA HFG20 nighttime digital video camera were employed.  During the observation, a single white light was periodically seen slowly moving upward on Shortoff Mtn, eventually stopping near the top, and moments later was joined by an orange light, which was then observed at the same location until we ended our observation about 45 minutes later.  We interpret the white light to be that of a solo hiker ascending the Mountain-To-Sea Trail on the south flank of the mountain to the popular backcountry campsite on the summit, at which point the hiker started a campfire (the orange light).  These were the only lights we saw in or near Linville Gorge last night.  The weather was high cloud cover and fair with only a gentle wind.  Smoke from the Kistler Highway house 
fireplace/woodstove occasionally drifted between us & the gorge, providing some strong, well-developed light beams from our handheld spotlights (coon-hunting type spot lights).  At times the beams appeared to streak nearly all the way to Shortoff Mtn from the house.  The video will be made available later.

Additional nighttime video observation is also planned from the Kistler Highway house---we expect some great photography from this excellent observation site.  We hope to also conduct our own staged light tests on the Mountain-To-Sea Trail, as well as the Wolf Pit Trail, to the summit of Shortoff Mtn---also Pinnacle, Hawksbill, & Gingercake Mtns, as well as overlooks along the Kistler Highway.

Meeting of Brown Mountain Lights Research Team

Our Brown Mountain Lights Research Team held a mini-symposium meeting Friday night, March 22 at the home of Cato and Susan Holler. The gathering provided the opportunity to review our progress for the past year as well as our plans for the future. Guest speaker Matt Elliott entertained with his light encounters in Linville Gorge. Everyone left with a better appreciation of the teams efforts and progress to date. We all feel that if our next 12 months are as full of discovery as the past 12 months have been, we may actually crack this nut!

BML Cam1 Video Feb 11-12, 2013

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.

Mystery Lights, Cars, Railroads & Electricity

Mystery Lights and The Arrival of Cars, Railroads and Electricity

in Catawba Valley, NC

 The remarkable timing between the first documented reports of mystery lights seen over the top of Brown Mountain and the first arrival of cars, railroads and electricity in Catawba Valley to the south and east has been mentioned in several BML publications (Mansfield, 1922; Brown, 1964; Phifer, 1982; Dunning, 2010).  The first documented reports of mystery lights come from Lafayette Wiseman c1854 (Parris, 1971 and 1972), Stokes Pendland c1882 (Babington, 1927), and the numerous sightings from Cold Springs from c1897 until c1917 (Charlotte Daily Observer, 1913; Scott, 1915; Wilson, 1915; Loven, 1916; Elam, 1916).  It is specifically these early sightings from Cold Springs that gave rise to the ‘Legend of the Brown Mountain Lights.’

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.

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.

First Known Picture of BMLs---1929

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

http://toto.lib.unca.edu/findingaids/photo/ball/ball.htm

 

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.

 



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.

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

 

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

 

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

 

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.