From: "SPR" (park@jacksonville.net)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.ghost-stories
Subject: Maco Light
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999 20:05:33 GMT

THE MACO LIGHT

I vividly remember my first trip to Maco Station to see the infamous Maco Light. I was 3 or 4 at the time and generally believed that there were no ghosts. Apparently, my parents had warned my sister about telling me what the Maco Light was, so I never quite figured out that it was a ghost (on this trip). My sister (more on her later), being true to form, spent the trip harassing me about the light, and trying to scare me. She was unsuccessful, as I kept picturing this advertising icon from CP&L (Carolina Power and Light) which was a man with lightening bolt arms and legs with a light bulb for a nose. Let's face it, a cartoon electric guy wasn't that scary to a post toddler. So this was what I expected to see when we arrived, and I didn't expect to be at a railroad track, I expected to go to a power station.

When we arrived, there were at least ten cars lined up at the tracks. I liked trains, so I was not disappointed. Soon the fun began when the light made its appearance. For those of you swamp gas enthusiasts, I can tell you one thing, gases do not behave in specific patterns when unconfined. The light would come up the track dead center at an adult's eye level, at a slow speed, with an apparent swinging motion, then it would go out, or it would "flip" end over end into the wooded area and go out after apparently hitting the ground. Shortly, the light would reappear somewhere else and then complete a completely different pattern. For instance, I have seen it fly at high speed along the tree line along the track, much higher than a signal lantern would normally be seen under normal circumstances. The most repeated pattern was the first one I mentioned, but the manner of the track run would vary in distinct ways. One was that it didn't always flip into the woods. Instead, it would simply go out, then reappear elsewhere. Another variation was the color, I read a story that said the Maco Light was only white, which is not true. The Maco Light changed from White to Green to Red, just like any standard railroad signalman's lantern. Often the variation of the track run would be that while swinging back and forth, it would alternate Red and Green (meaning Danger!). The color also varied as it made its passes over and around the crowd gathered to watch the thing.

On one visit to Maco, a man was standing in the middle of the track as the light made its track run. Instead of hitting the man or stopping, at a distance of about five feet from the man, it went out for about 2 seconds, then reappeared about five feet behind the man . On another visit, there were a couple of guys chasing the light with nets. Two grown men chasing a giant Lightening Bug. The light was obviously having a wonderful time as it would do its routine, but would disappear or fly away when the two guys got close to it. Swamp Gas??

Over the next few years, my family made many visits to the tracks to see this phenomena without being disappointed. We usually made the trip when relatives were visiting from out of town. After what seemed like an eternity without going, I asked my mother if we could go see it. She then informed me that since the state had widened Highway 74/76 that the light was now rarely seen (74/76 ran parallel to the tracks and was widened so that cars were now very close to the tracks). I made a least five trips there between 1975 and 1980 hoping to see it at least one more time, without satisfaction. Finally, on my last visit, I saw that the tracks were gone forever! I don't know if the trestle was gone, but the tracks were long gone. All that could be seen was the empty railroad bed with weeds growing where the once celebrated tracks had been.

Noteworthy Information on the Maco Light

The light according to legend, first appeared shortly following a train wreck in which a signalman, Joe Baldwin, was decapitated after unsuccessfully attempting to stop an overtaking train coming up from behind very quickly. The legend goes on to say that Joe was looking for his head, which was the explanation for the "off track" excursions of the light. Joe's head was supposedly not buried with Joe and was also said to have never been found.

The light rarely (if ever) appeared following the construction on 74/76 in the late 1960's. At one time, it was not a question of whether you were going to see the light, the question was how good was the show going to be.

Hans Holzer came to Wilmington, conducted a public lecture and investigated the tracks. He took a medium with him and his report only partially supported the legend. Yes, it was Joe, but Joe was still signaling the train, not searching for his head.

There were some infrared photographs taken of the light that showed a body holding the light (yes Virginia, he did have a head). I do not know who the photographer was, or who the photos were for (Wilmington College, (now UNCW), or the Star News??). If these photographs still exist, it would be fascinating to see them published again.

Stephen