MIAMI, Okla. and Hornet, Mo.—Thousands have traveled down
these rough back roads with full intentions of disproving the existence of the
mysterious Tri-State Spooklight. Several disbelievers fled the scene visibly
frightened, yet went on to spread the tale of dancing lights flickering through
the Ozark hills and hollers.
And the stories vary greatly in detail, with little consistency
in the description or action of the Spooklight, located three miles from the
state lines where Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri converge.
Some people say the light is rectangular in shape, others
claim it is a round or spherical ball of light. Appearing in singular or
multiple fractions of light, witnesses have reported seeing a variety of
primary color combinations including red, green, blue, orange, and yellow.
Although it is difficult and time-consuming to catch these rays of light,
several pictures have been documented at the site, from professional and
amateur photographers alike.
The Spooklight has been described as floating, bouncing over
the countryside, skipping down the road, zipping overhead, hovering above the
trees, and even darting in and out of cars.
Nearby farmers learned to keep livestock out of fields along
Spooklight Road, animals seem to become just as unnerved over flashing lights
and possibly more frightened from the human activity on the frequently traveled
roadway.
During the peak season, it is not unusual for 1,000 cars to
travel along two roadways (E40 in Hornet, Mo. and E50 in Miami, Okla.) for a
glimpse of the mystery refraction. Local sheriff’s deputies from the tri-state
area share responsibility for control of the resulting traffic problems. Some
law enforcement officials believe episodes are heightened in direct proportion
to how much alcohol is consumed prior to viewing.
Craig Stevens, a resident of Kansas City, whose father lives in Seneca, has been visiting the Spooklight since 1985.
Joined by his cousins, Brent and Brad Needham, of Tulsa,
Craig said the trio has shared several unusual and funny experiences on their
treks to the Spooklight. Brent has taken several digital photos of the lights
and has also captured the mystery while making video documentaries at the site.
Craig recalled one two episodes that took the boys aback. He said one night while catching a glimpse of the light a black bird swooped down out of nowhere and another time when a shooting star appeared to frazzle the trio.
At least two families have capitalized on the steady stream
of traffic flowing in the area throughout the years.
Until 1962 Olivia Buzzard and her late husband O.W. “Bud”
operated a general store on E 40 road in Hornet, Mo. The couple gave out
directions and sold a Tri-State Spooklight pamphlet. The couple claimed the
light attracted visitors from coast to coast.
During the 1950s the tale had it the light moved to E 50
road near Miami, which is currently considered Spooklight Road but also referred
to as Devil’s Promenade. In actuality, residents had documented the sightings
on both roads going back as far as the late 1800s.
Beginning in the 1950s, successive proprietors Arthur
“Spooky” Meadows and Garland “Spooky” Middleton ran a Spooklight museum on E 50
road. Visitors read newspaper articles hanging on the walls while locals
playing pinball machines would spin fascinating yarns about their encounters. A
telescope that cost a quarter to use was mounted outside the building and on
weekends, cars lined the road with passengers hoping for a glimmer of light.
Although hundreds have recalled contact with the mysterious light, nobody has reported being harmed from its presence. Several people have been hurt exercising poor judgment, however, while trying to shoot high-powered rifles into the light. More often they come into harms way while running into objects when attempting to flee the scene.
Stevens recalled hearing stories of the light burning cars, but is quick to point out that he’s never seen any kind of damage done by the refractions.
It is however a spot recognized the world over. Stevens said when a friend of his traveling in Ireland was asked by one of the locals where she was from, she responded by saying, “It’s a little town called Seneca, Missouri.
To which the elderly Irishman quickly replied, “Oh yes, the
Spooklight is there, isn’t it?”
Despite many theories, both folklore and scientific, a sound
rational explanation for the light has never been proven beyond reasonable
doubt.
The Quapaw Indians were the first people to report seeing
the light in the mid-to-late 1800s. Their account is of an old Indian who was
beheaded after a feud with his wife. As the story goes, the wife hid the head
and now his spirit continually searches for it.
Since the area was predominately lead and zinc mining
country, it comes as no surprise another legend is of a miner decapitated in an
accident. The light represents his lantern scanning fields in search of his
head.
The Spooklight drew the attention of the U.S. Corps of
Engineers during World War II. Reportedly many soldiers from nearby Camp
Crowder viewed the light via escorted tours by the Buzzard couple that ran the
general store in Hornet, Mo. The Corps tested an area cave, streams and highway
routes but failed to draw a conclusion, indicating time erases the theory the
light is caused by gas from marsh grasses, old stumps or mineral deposits.
Since those things would have changed properties over the years, the light
would have worn itself out by now.
Not long after the Apollo moon landing in 1969, a university
professor, John W. Northrip, accompanied by some students of physics and
astronomy at Southwest Missouri State University, examined the scene and
offered his explanation. He said the investigation proved rising heat from
surrounding hills carried reflections from car lights traveling on nearby
Highway 66. Northrip staunchly maintains the Spooklight is an Ozark folklore
passed down after the invention of the automobile, but wasn’t visible by Indians
during the nineteenth century.
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources book
‘Geological Wonders and Curiosities of Missouri,’ offers no explanation for the
light, but documents the light being seen by many people long before Highway 66
or an airport was established in Quapaw, Okla.
A publicity director for the
Bureau of Standards in Washington, D.C. accompanied Dr. George W. Ward and
other companions to the site in 1945 as documented in Vincent H. Gaddis book
‘Mysterious Fires and Lights.’ Observing a colored flash of light about five
feet in diameter, the publicity director reportedly said he had seen all he
cared to see and promptly locked himself inside the automobile.
Although many people profess a desire to solve the mystery of lights flashing in the light, others are perfectly content to keep the Tri-State Spooklight just the way it is—a source of harmless entertainment to be enjoyed by generations to come.