Along the border between southwestern Missouri and northeastern Oklahoma, there is a four-mile gravel road that locals call the Devil’s Promenade. And along this lonely road, a mysterious light has been seen there at night for at least 100 years.
This strange phenomenon is most often called the Spooklight or the Hornet Spooklight because it is located near the small town of Hornet, Mo. Other people use the name of the road when referring to the weird activity out there. It seems most fitting.
The Spooklight is often described as a single ball of light or a tight grouping of lights that are said to appear in the area regularly, usually at night. In some ways, it is similar to the Brown Mountain Lights and the ghostly light at Maco Station here in North Carolina.
The ball of light, described as varying from the size of a baseball to a basketball, supposedly dances and spins down the center of the Devil’s Promenade at high speeds. It will sometimes rise and hover above the treetops, before it retreats and disappears. Others have said it sways from side to side, like a lantern being carried by some invisible force. Some people out walking in the area at night have reported to even feel the heat of the fireball as it passed by.
The ball of light has reportedly appeared nightly for at least a century. Locals say the best time to view the light is between the hours of 10 p.m. and midnight. It also tends to shy away from large groups and loud sounds, according to a Web site.
Naturally, many legends have been told and retold over the years to explain the origin of the Spooklight.
The oldest is the tale of an Indian maiden who fell in love with a young warrior. Her father would not allow her to marry the young man because he did not have a large enough dowry. The pair eloped but was soon pursued by a party of warriors. According to the legend, when the couple was close to being apprehended, they joined hands above the Spring River and leaped to their deaths. It was shortly after this event, that the light began to appear and was attributed to the ghosts of the young lovers.
Another legend talks about a miner whose cabin was attacked by Indians while he was away. Upon his return, the miner found his wife and children missing and he is said to continue searching for them along the Devil’s Promenade, using his ghostly lantern. Still others say the Spooklight is the phantom of an Indian chief who was decapitated in the area and continues to look for his lost head, with a torch held high in his hand.
The first official report of the weird phenomenon occurred in 1881 in a publication called “The Ozark Spook Light.” Numerous paranormal and scientific researchers investigated the light and no one has come up with a good explanation as to what it is. Some researchers believe that it is actually caused by escaping natural gas while others suspect that it might be electrical atmospheric charges. No one seems to know for sure.
One thing is certain. The Spooklight has been around since before automobiles were invented or even before the road was built through there.
During the 1960s, an old-time general store in Hornet, Mo. operated a “Spooklight museum.” The owner of the store would give out information about the light to sightseers. Other businesses along the Missouri-Oklahoma state line served a similar purpose, but they are long since closed. During the 1960s and 1970s, the road where the Spooklight usually appeared was often packed with parked vehicles and people hoping to get a glimpse of the mysterious light.
If you are in that area, you might want to check it out for yourself. To get to Devil’s Promenade Road, take Interstate 44 west from Joplin, Mo. Before you reach the Oklahoma state line, take the next to the last Missouri exit onto Star Route 43. Traveling south for about four miles, you will reach a crossroads and find yourself on the Devil’s Promenade, according to a Web site.
Contact Mike Conley at 652-3313, ext. 3422 or e-mail nconley@mcdowellnews.com.
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