The View from the Viewing Area

1....My binoculars proved the Spook Light was nothing more that car headlights on that stretch of Highway 66 in Oklahoma about 10 miles away. Occasionally several lights were visible with my binoculars (representing 2 or more cars), but the lights would merge into one light when seen with the naked eye. The presence of more or less cars could explain the apparent brightening and dimming of the Spook Light as seen by the naked eye. I remained at the site until about 8:00 PM studying and photographing the Spook Light. The best photos were obtained shortly after sunset on Kodachrome 64 film at 1/15 sec. with my 50mm Minolta lens opened to F 1.4. So the Hornet Ghost Lights are only car headlights. How about other famous Ghost Lights...like the ones in Marfa, TX or the Brown Mountain Ghost Lights in North Carolina. Well, I have never seen the Marfa Lights, but I have seen the Brown Mountain Lights and I believe they are lights refracted/reflected from the town of Hickory, NC. But that is another story.

January 2001 Update The page above has brought lots of emails since I posted it, every one disagreeing with me. One person even said that the topographic map was wrong and there was a hill between my observation point and Highway 66 which would prevent me from seeing the highway (perhaps the hill grew since I was there in 1980). But I will stick to my story. To make a couple points:

1) Yes the spook light was seen before there were cars, but very infrequently. Those sightings could easily be explained by cabin lights or campfires in the vicinity of the future towns of Commerce or Quapaw. And

2) In every photograph I have seen of the spook light it is in the same place (just left of center of the base of the "V' of trees down the road). Look at my color photo above, the postcard above, the photo (Plate 21) in the book "Earth Lights Revelation", etc. In every photo the light is in the same place...exactly where it can be explained by the cars on Highway 66 as I mention above.