The Hookerman Lights
Along an old railway line in New Jersey, a swinging light is said to bob towards you in the dark: a railway worker, still looking for the arm he lost.
What was reported
For decades, people in Morris County, New Jersey, went at night to a stretch of old railway track to see the Hookerman lights: floating balls of light, white, red or green, that seemed to move along the tracks towards them and then vanish.
Legend says they come from the lantern of a railway worker who lost his arm in an accident on the line, and now walks the track searching for it, with a hook in place of his hand.
Explanations offered
Investigators suggested the lights were headlights from cars on distant roads, or reflections, and some said they faded after the tracks were removed. The story is a version of the 'ghost light' legends told across the United States, often linked to lost railway workers.
- When
- Reported for decades
- Where
- Washington Township, Morris County, New Jersey, USA
- Witnesses
- Local teenagers and visitors
- Status
- Probably explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
More from New Jersey