Two encounters, both mystifying

I like to hear about and collect experiences people have had or heard about regarding the Brown Mountain Lights.

In celebration of today’s annual Brown Mountain Lights Festival in downtown Morganton, here are two such first-hand accounts.

John Carter’s experience

My friend, John Carter of WBTV News, did an episode of his Carolina Camera series on the Brown Mountain Lights some years ago. One night, after midnight, John ventured deep into the area around Brown Mountain with a guide, some family members, and his cameraman.

After a while of hiking, sure enough, they spotted a light only about 50 yards away through the bare branches of the trees. John estimates it was about two to three feet in diameter and rose some 20 feet from the ground.

It was coming toward them in a zig-zag path, right to left, and then as it got closer made a dramatic turn to the right and disappeared. There was no noise associated with the light and each person in the group saw it.

Unfortunately, the cameraman did not have time to set up to capture it! John swears no one in the group had engaged in any partaking of mountain moonshine or hallucinogenic substances during the venture.

He has no explanation, but he saw what he saw.

My experience

It was a dark and stormy night. Actually, it wasn’t stormy, but a crisp, clear October night; but it was night, so I guess it was pretty dark.

Travelling up Hwy. 181, to quote Alfred Noyes’ The Highwayman poem, “… the road was a ribbon of moonlight across the purple moor” — or, in this case, the purple Pisgah National Forest.

I was taking an excursion to the Brown Mountain Lights overlook with a van full of young adult singles. We were a mix of 30-plus something single adults from different churches across the denomination spectrum.

As I recall we took some finger foods, snacks, and various soft drinks for a time of telling scary stories or simple conversation while we gazed across the way with hopes of seeing the mysterious phenomenon and unsolved mystery of the Brown Mountain Lights.

One of the group brought his guitar, so we also had a mini-concert and some sing-a-long moments, too.

We made it to the overlook in good spirits and disembarked to blankets and folding chairs around a big rock (no longer there) for our watch party. We waited with no sightings of the lights, munched out, occasionally listening to our guitarist-singer or singing along.

Before long, it was time to go. It has been a pleasant, but uneventful, somewhat disappointing excursion.

I led the group to the van and made sure everyone was there before we left, but in my usual overprotective anxiety to make sure no one was left behind and all trash was picked up, (left over from youth ministry days) I then went back to where we had been gathered to do a quick check.

No one was lingering behind, and we had gathered up what we brought. As I turned to go back to the van, I looked down into the underbrush right below where we had been gathered to see an amazing bright white light!

It was not out along the Brown Mountain ridge as the lights usually manifested, but right below the ledge that dropped off the overlook. It was pretty far down there. I’d say at least 40 feet.

It did not even occur to me to think it was one of the legendary lights. I just thought it was one of our group playing a prank with an exceptionally bright flashlight.

I called down saying something like, “All right, very funny, now come on up we need to leave.”

It did make me wonder how a member of our group could’ve gotten that far down a steep incline in pitch darkness without us hearing or seeing the trickster. The light continued to shine, almost blinding me if I looked straight into the beam.

Unlike the apparition John Carter saw, the light remained stationary. “Seriously,” I said, getting irritated that the trick was going on too long, “Come up! Now! Or we’ll leave you!”

The brilliant light lingered a half a minute longer, then went out.

Still thinking the whole thing was a prank, I went quickly back to the van to catch the perpetrator before he or she got back to the van having accomplished their little joke.

Every one in our group was waiting in the now chilly van, wondering what was taking so long. I did my count, and all were present.

So, unless one in the group had set up an accomplice in a dangerous and elaborate hoax, to be waiting all that time in the undergrowth before we arrived and then inexplicably doing nothing while the entire group was there, I guess I have seen the Brown Mountain Lights.

At least, I have seen one of them!

I would love to hear your experience of seeing the lights. Enjoy the Brown Mountain Lights festival!

(The Brown Mountains Lights Festival begins today at 10 a.m. on the Historic Courthouse Square in downtown Morganton and will continue into the evening.)