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In reply to the discussion: Share a secret place that you have seen, that might not be popularly known. [View all]Arkansas Granny
(32,265 posts)I grew up just a few miles from this natural phenomenon and saw it often while I was growing up. It has been studied many times, but is still a mystery. Some of the old folks that lived in the community then recalled their parents and grandparents talking about the legends that grew up around it.
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Bobbing and bouncing along a dirt road in northeast Oklahoma is the Hornet Spook Light, a paranormal enigma for more than a century. Described most often as an orange ball of light, the orb travels from east to west along a four-mile gravel road, long called the Devil's Promenade by area locals.
The Spook Light, often referred to as the Joplin Spook Light or the Tri-State Spook Light, is actually in Oklahoma near the small town of Quapaw. However, it is most often seen from the east, which is why it has been "attached to the tiny hamlet of Hornet, Missouri, and the larger, better-known town of Joplin.
According to the legend, the spook light was first seen by Indians along the infamous Trail of Tears in 1836; however, the first "official report occurred in 1881 in a publication called the Ozark Spook Light.
The ball of fire, described as varying from the size of a baseball to a basketball, dances and spins down the center of the road at high speeds, rising and hovering 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. In any event, the orange fire-like ball has reportedly been appearing nightly for well over 100 years. According to locals, the best time to view the spook light is between the hours of 10:00 pm and midnight and tends to shy away from large groups and loud sounds.
http://www.joplinmo.org/575/The-Spook-Light