The Ghostly Saratoga Lights

It is late, and there does not seem to be an active tour that night. But you have heard of this place of old Bragg Road, fascinated by the legends told about it. You park your car and sit there for a bit, wondering if this is actually a good idea. People had warned you about dark roads, especially dirt ones, with nothing surrounding you but the green trees that now look like faded shadows on both sides of you. You check the time on your phone, almost midnight. Suddenly up ahead you see them, a faded glow materializing in front of you, a color you don't quite recognize, pulses between white and blue. You get out of the car, phone out and ready to catch anything interesting up ahead. But as you walk, the strange orb begins to float away from you. You pick up the pace and it gets farther away. But then you get the sudden urge turn around. Has someone been looking at you through the trees? You hurry back to the car and shut the door. It's true, they were there the Saratoga lights. During the day, Bragg Road might seem like just another lovely trail with greenery and a nice space to take a break from daily activities, But at night this area transforms into the home of the place to one mystery that still baffles those who witness it. The dirt road is eight miles long and two cars wide, and it it's a very dark at night. In fact, the only things that are visible are floating objects lights about the size of a pumpkin sized orb. But the tales that surround this light go back further than we know, from tragedy to gruesome deaths. Today we explore the mysterious Sarah Toga lights in Hardin County, Texas. My name is Edmund Here the Dark n an editor and publisher of KONE's News, Archer Fullinger was performing an investigation for a story of a mystery that surrounded Old Bragg Road running through Big Thicket. The place used to be a railroad, a place that is normally dry and dusty during the day, going through a swamp, and overall being quite pleasant that at night turning into a different thing. What Archer was investigating was the source of these lights that I have appeared for many years to witnesses along that very road. He ran front page stories about what the lights were, and soon other newspapers started picking up the story, and the place became known for the mystery of its lights. You see, a strange light appears in the darkness of the road, with multiple witnesses, and yet nobody quite understands what the source of these lights are. At one point, a witness to the light got out of their car and ran to try and chase it. They came within thirty feet of the light, and then they shot up into the sky. And throughout the years the locals have come up with their own explanations as to what these lights are. The controller of the railroad always thought that the conductor passed way too fast the tracks. The man would zoom past the trees, making them rattle and shake as he dragged along the box cars behind him. It was something to be proud of, like a trophy, being able to arrive so quickly. You know, it was eight miles, As every good train conductor knows, it is dangerous to go that fast, and of course he knew that it was only eight miles. What could possibly go wrong? Well, one day the conductor was speeding through the forest right along present day Old bragg Rode. The dirt rattled with this rumble of the engine, and the unstoppable machine zoomed past the green branches and tall trees. Suddenly something went wrong. The front started wiggling, but it was too late to stop. The train twisted and turned on its side, still speeding off the tracks. The conductor, in a panic, tried to duck for cover, but being in the front of such a heavy machine, he could do nothing about the beam that went straight for his neck and sent his head rolling through the dirt, finally settling quietly against the tree truck, his ear against the ground, listening as the dirt soaked up his last remaining drops of dark blood. Ever since, locals have spoken of his headless ghost walking along Bragg Road, a lantern in his hand as he searches for his head. Near Bragg Road, a newly wet couple had gotten married, and they were having their honeymoon at a hotel nearby. The groom had always been protective of his wife even before they married, so you may already imagine the fear and worry he felt when this bride said that she would go out for a walk but hadn't returned. He gave it some more time until he could bear it no more, and decided to go out look looking for her by the dark road. He didn't find her. Nobody seemed to know where she had gone. With a broken heart, he grabbed the lantern and went outside. He walked up and down the old dirt road, looking for her, without another purpose in life but the glimmer of hope that he would someday be with her again. He roamed along the road every single night, his lantern in his hand, imagining the day when he would see her again. The years took a toll on his body, but his search would not stop. He searched for her every single night until he died. But even after death, his soul roams along the road a lantern in its hand, forever searching for his long lost wife. There was a phenomenon called will of the wisps, which are thought to be lanterns or torches carried by fairies and spirits that would cause a strange glow over swamps or bogs. They come from English, Scottish and Irish folklore, where they say that mischievous spirits and fairies lead travelers off the right path and into danger. Some say that they lead to the fairy kingdom. A mischievous blacksmith named Will absolutely Love to cause trouble when he was alive, and when he met Saint Peter at the Pearly Gates. When he died, he told Will that he was not worthy to enter heaven. He was sent back to live another life in order to prove that he was worthy of entering heaven. The poor Will couldn't prove himself. He messed up a second chance, and Saint Peter refused him entry. Will was destined to roam the earth with nowhere else to go for the rest of eternity. The devil took pity on Will and gave him a piece of burning brimstone to keep himself warm, but instead Will use it to lure people to their doom. That is exactly what happens. They say that this light would recede every time someone got near in order to lure travelers deeper into the swamp. Tours can be taken at Bragg Road to witness the Saratoga Lights or the Big Thicket Light, but you can also drive to it. It is a popular hotspot for paranormal tours in case you're ever in the area, and even paranormal investigators have checked it out before. Skeptics of any of these tales of ghosts and legends say that the light is a simple reflection from car lights, perhaps swamp gas. These lights are famous, with literature on the topic and even in twenty seventeen movie called Saratoga Lights. But are these alternative theories the same that are causing other similar occurrences in other places. The Marfa ghost lights, also in Texas, are a set of glowing orbs that appear in the night sky and have been recorded for over one hundred and thirty five years. In North Carolina, there is a place called Brown Mountain where lights can be seen sixty to seventy miles northeast of Asheville and Brooke County. The mountain inside Piscon National Forests have their own phenomenon, known as the Brown Mountain Lights. The earliest sights go back to before colonial times, tales told by the early Cherokee tribe. In fact, the government has investigated the sources of the lights three times in the past, and they have even been a topic in an episode of The X Files. Theories range from inflamed vapors, unidentified flying objects, or seismic activity and occurrence known as earthquake lights that are caused by thrust falls in the area. The mirage theory is another idea which says that the glowing lights could simply be reflections from Hickory or other towns in the area that, combined with the peculiar atmospheric conditions, give the appearance of eerie lights appearing out of nowhere. The thing is, the lights were seen even before electricity was invented. Our world is surrounded by mysteries like these, tales of fairies and their kingdoms, places that exist in dark swamps. For centuries, people have spoken of monsters and creatures, strange sounds, and lights that have no apparent explanation. But if we are always surrounded by our artificial lights, those from our phone screens and street lamps, buildings that block our views of the stars, what else could we be missing? Just like with the Saratoga lights, there are certain things that we will only be able to see in the dark. This episode of A Dark Memory was written and produced by me Edwin Cowarrouwis, with research by Madeline Guerre. Thank you for sharing your topics for upcoming episodes through our new Instagram. We're looking forward to sharing more about them. As always, you can stay up to date with new episodes by tapping follow For at three episodes, visit a Dark Memory dot com Forward slash Premium until next time. Thank you very much for listening.