The Maco Light
Along a railway line in North Carolina, a swinging light was said to be a conductor's lantern, still waving down trains.
What was reported
The Maco light was reported for more than a century along the railway near Maco Station, west of Wilmington, North Carolina. Watchers saw a light swinging above the tracks at night, like a lantern, moving towards them and then vanishing.
Legend says it was the lantern of Joe Baldwin, a conductor killed in a train collision in the 1860s, who had swung his lantern to warn an oncoming train.
Explanations offered
The light was investigated many times without a clear answer; suggestions include headlights from a nearby road and marsh gas. The tracks were removed in 1977, and the light hasn't been reported since.
- When
- Reported until 1977
- Where
- Maco, near Wilmington, North Carolina, USA
- Witnesses
- Railway workers and crowds of watchers
- Status
- Legend
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.