The Spooklight
Coordinates: 36°56′38.18″N 94°38′34.80″W / 36.9439389°N 94.6430000°W
The Spooklight, also called the Hornet Spooklight, Hollis Light and Joplin Spook Light, is a light that appears in a small area known locally as the "Devil's Promenade" on the border between southwestern Missouri and northeastern Oklahoma west of the small town of Hornet, Missouri.
Even though it is named after a small, unincorporated community in Missouri from which it is most commonly reached, the light is most commonly described as being visible from inside the Oklahoma border looking to the west. The Spooklight is commonly described as a single ball of light or a tight grouping of lights that is said to appear in the area regularly, usually at night. Although the description of the light is similar to that of other visual phenomena witnessed throughout the world, the term "Spooklight" when standing alone generally refers to this specific case. Numerous legends exist that attempt to describe the origin of the Spooklight, one of which involves the ghosts of two young Native American lovers looking for each other. In 2014, a professor from the University of Central Oklahoma conducted an experiment and explained the Spooklight as car headlights from the junction of S 610 and E 50 Roads outside of Quapaw, Oklahoma.
According to most accounts, it has appeared continually since the late 19th century, although it was generally not well known to anyone but locals until after World War II. Some date the first encounters with the light back to the Trail of Tears in the 1830s. However, the first documented sighting is generally accepted to have occurred in 1881, although some report sightings as far back as 1866. The earliest published report dates back to 1936 in the Kansas City Star.
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