The Marfa Lights
On clear nights, people gather at a roadside viewing area in west Texas to watch lights flicker on the horizon.
What was reported
East of the small town of Marfa, glowing orbs are reported over the flat land towards the mountains. People describe them splitting, merging and bobbing before they vanish. Local stories say sightings go back to the 1880s.
The lights are now a tourist attraction, with an official viewing area beside the highway east of town.
Explanations offered
A 2004 study by students from the University of Texas at Dallas concluded that the lights they recorded were headlights from cars on a distant highway. Others point out that the oldest accounts come from before cars, and say some sightings still don't fit.
- When
- Reported since the 1880s
- Where
- Marfa, Texas, USA
- Witnesses
- Locals and visitors
- Status
- Disputed
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.