THIS STORY TAKEN FROM THE BOOK NORTH CAROLINA LEGENDS BY RICHARD WALSER On a night in 1867, at a small Brunswick County station of Maco fifteen miles west of Wilmington, a slow freight train was puffing down the track. In the caboose was Joe Baldwin, the flagman. A jerking noise startled him, and he was aware that his caboose had become uncoupled from the rest of the train, which went heedlessly on its way. As the caboose slackened speed, Joe looked up and saw the beaming light of a fast passenger train bearing down upon him. Grabbing his lantern, he waved it frantically to warn the oncoming engineer of the ominent danger. It was too late. At at a trestle over the swamp, the passenger train plowed into the caboose. Joe was decapitated: his head flew into the swamp on one side of the track, his lantern the other. It was days before the destruction caused by the wreck was cleared away. And when Joe's head could not be found, his body was buried without it. Thereafter on misty nights, Joe's headless ghost appeared at Maco, a lantern in its hand. Anyone standing at the trestle first saw an indistant flicker moving up and down, back and forth. Then the beam swiftly moved forward, growing brighter and brighter as it neared the trestle. About fifty feet away it burst into a brilliant burning radiance. After that, it dimmed, backed away down the track, and disappeared. It was Joe and his lantern, of course. But what was he doing? Was he looking for his head? Or was he trying to signal an approching train? In 1889 President Grover Cleveland, on politcal campaign, saw the mysterious light, as have hundreds of people throughtout the years. But in 1977 the railroad tracks were removed and the swamp reclaimed his haunting grounds, Joe seems to have lost interest in Maco. At least, he has not been seen there lately. The following stories all come from North Carolina Legends by Richard Walser. This book is available from the Historical Publications Section, Division of Archives and History, 109 E. Jones Street, Raleigh, NC 27601-2816 or 919-733-7442. (http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Corridor/8370/macostory.html)
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 (http://www.ghosts.org/ghostlights/maco-story.html)
From: jynxx5309@aol.com (Jynxx5309) Newsgroups: alt.folklore.ghost-stories Subject: Re: Maco Light Date: 3 Apr 1999 12:40:21 GMT My parents also saw the light when they were dating, I've gotten the same story from both of them independantly. It had been the thing to do for young couples. Go down to Maco, just down the highway from Wilmington NC. You would park your car off the little side road towards the station, then proceed to walk down the tracks till you git to the trestle (Bridge) Then you would sit and wait. If the conditions were right the show would begin.My mother tells me that her, my father (Before the fact) and another couple sat out there one night to watch on a summers evening. It than appeared at a distance down the track, flickering as if a match was just struck, then beagan to methodically swing back and forth about 5 feet above the track. It then starts to speed up as it swings wilder and wilder as if you can almost sense the doomed conducter getting more and more frantic, finally after repeating this silent bobbing. weaving dance for a few hundred yard it seemed to be flung violently off to the side. there it sat fickering in the swamp off to the side of the old Atlantic Coaost line till moments later it faded away. If you got to close to it the lantern would dissappear, but if it performed once, it was known to repeat at least a couple of times in one night, it would return. My Mother got close enogh to see the fastenings on the lantern, but also as an extra twist she experienced the cold spot phenomenon. Even though it was a hot muggy night (I was always told the best nights were before or after rain, some form of high humidity) After seeing the show (This would have been the late 60's) they were walking alongside the tracks when my mother came across an icy cold spot about a foot wide. The rest of the are around it was warm, hell it was summer. She stayed quiet a minute then brought it up to my father and the other couple with them. They then proceeded to tell her they had felt it to but had been to scared to mention it. They all then ran back to car, without a further word. Unfortunately the locality around the scene changing so much seems to affect the haunting. The road widening seems to have affected it, the deserting by the railway line (Not because of haunting, trains heyday is over), well that and it's just been a long time. The tracks have been ripped up, but there is a stretch remaining that DuPont rents to ship to their warehouse, the remains of the trestle are a few miles further down. Pretty much all that is left is stumps jutting from the water. But as most people who live next to railways know even after the tracks are gone there is till a visible path where it was and lots of loose gravel to mark it. I went out once with friends. (They stayed in the car) I hacked my way through till I stood among the weeds by the riverside at 3 am with a full moon out. I waited, and felt strange as I challenged him to show himself. No such luck, someday I will go back though. There was a feeling. If there is anybody who has seen it in the more modern times please post a response. I know there has got to be few people in my old hometown Wilmington, or Maco, or Lake Waccamaw that has a computer. If you need more refernce materials look up "Tar Heel Ghosts" by John Harding. Here's to You Joe Baldwin, An Uprooted Tarheel in Fl Jynxx5309@aol.com < http://www.ghosts.org/ghostlights/maco-story2.html
There was fog in the low places and out of the blackness overhead fell a fine, steady rain. It made little ponds of the ruts in the lonely country road. Hugged by scrub pines, vines and underbrush the road straggled for perhaps a hundred yards. Then the woods stopped abruptly and there lay the wet softly gleaming rails at Maco Station. Maco lies fourteen miles west of Wilmington on the Wilmington-Florence-Augusta line of what is now the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. It is today much as it must have looked to Joe Baldwin more than one hundred years ago. Joe was conductor of a train headed toward Wilmington that rainy spring night of 1867. Just fourteen miles from home his thoughts turned to his family. Would his wife be up to greet him? Even his train sounded as if it were glad to be on the home stretch. There was something comforting about the chugging noise of its wood-burning engine. For the moment Joe forgot his shower of soot and sparks which he battled daily to keep his coaches clean. It was time now to go through the cars ahead and call out the station. He glanced proudly at his gold railroad man's watch. The hands of the watch read three minutes 'til midnight. Just about on time.( http://www.ibiblio.org/ghosts/maco.html)
HAUNTED NORTH CAROLINA The Maco Railroad Light Maco, North Carolina THE MACO RAILROAD CROSSING LIGHT The mysterious lights of Brown Mountain are not the only anomalous lights in North Carolina. Perhaps just as famous, and strange, is the light that is seen at Maco Station. Over the nearby railroad crossing appears an unexplainable light and while it has many of the same characteristics as other railroad "ghost lights" it has puzzled both witnesses and scientists for many years. The story of the light dates back to 1867 and involves a railroad man named Joe Baldwin. In that year, the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was rebuilt and now included a small station that had once been called Farmer's Turnout and was now Maco. Joe Baldwin was a conductor for the Atlantic line and his job involved riding in the last car of the train. One night, as the train was steaming along, he realized that his car seemed to be inexplicably slowing down. With one look, he realized that it had become uncoupled.... and there was another train following behind! He was sure they would crash into the slowly moving car! Joe ran out onto the rear platform of the car and started wildly waving his signal lantern, trying to get the attention of the engineer of the train behind him. The engineer paid no heed to the lantern and continued on, finally crashing into the car where Joe had remained at his post. The coach was completely demolished and Joe was killed, his head severed from his body. A witness to the accident reported that Joe stayed where he was, waving the lantern, through the entire wreck. Just seconds before the engine collided with the car, Joe's lantern was hurled away as if by some unseen, but mighty, force. It hit the ground and rolled over and over again, finally coming to rest in a perfectly upright position. Shortly after this horrible accident, the Maco light began to appear along the train tracks. It has been appearing there ever since and has become a popular curiosity to seek out on a warm summer night. Cars can be parked along the highway and the curious can walk the hundred or so yards down an old road to the train tracks. Rarely is anyone disappointed wither, because the light is one of the most regular anomalies in the south. It is said that the light often appears to be very small and then grows to the size of the lantern that Joe Baldwin must have been carrying. It has been reported here since 1873 and has been seen by literally thousands of people since that date. In 1886, an earthquake stopped the light for a short time but when it came back there were 2 lights for a short time. In 1889, the light was even seen by then president, Grover Cleveland. No one has been able to figure out what causes the light, as just about every explanation has been discussed and tossed aside, from automobile headlights (seen before cars existed) to swamp gas. During one investigation, all traffic was routed away from Maco and no cars were allowed to approach the area.... and yet the unearthly light still appeared. On one occasion, a machine gun attachment from Fort Bragg encamped at Maco to solve the mystery, or at least shoot it down, but they did neither. Joe Baldwin, or whatever ghostly source for the Maco light, still continues on.. still swinging the signal lantern and contacting the train that journeys from this world to the next. Maco is located in Brunswick County, in the far southern part of North Carolina. It is 12 miles northwest of Wilmington on US Highway 74/76. The railroad crossing is located outside of town. Copyright 1998 by Troy Taylor (http://www.prairieghosts.com/maco.html)
THE MACO GHOST LIGHT (aka The Baldwin Light) (Maco Station, North Carolina) On a rainy night in 1867, conductor Joe Baldwin lost his head -- literally. Joe worked for the Wilmington, Manchester and Augusta Railroad, now the Atlantic Coast Line. His train was heading home to Wilmington in a driving rain. It was almost at its destination. At the time Baldwin was in the last coach of the train doing paperwork. He looked at his watch. It was time for him to walk through the passenger cars to announce that the train was nearing its destination. When opened the front door of the coach he found to his surprise that the rest of the train was far ahead of the coach -- nearly out of sight. The last car had somehow uncoupled. He knew that close behind him was another train -- an express -- bearing down at high speed. Joe ran to the rear door of the detached coach and swung his lantern wildly, trying to catch the attention of the engineer piloting the train behind, but it was no use. The express careened into the coach, demolishing it and decapitating Joe. To this day, Joe's ghost lantern still burns over that stretch of railroad. Old railroaders swear that it is the ghost of Joe Baldwin looking for its head (which, by the way, was never found). The ghost light causes a real problem because other engineers have often mistaken it for a real signal. As a result, the railroad ordered its signalmen at Maco to use two lanterns, one red and one green. That way there would be no mistake as to which lantern was the ghost light and which lantern was real. (http://ny.essortment.com/ghostlights_rqui.htm)
The Story The Maco Light is surely one of North Carolina's best known legends, and certainly the best known of the state's various railroad lights. President Cleveland even stopped by Maco in 1889 to catch a glimpse (he was not disappointed), and Life magazine published an article on the light back in the mid-1950's. The light's story begins in 1867, when a railroad conductor named Joe Baldwin worked for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. The line ran from Wilmington through Florence to Augusta; Joe and his wife made their home in Wilmington. One of Joe's duties was to go through the cars and announce the next station to passengers, and Joe customarily used the little town of Maco, about 17 miles south of Wilmington, as a marker for announcing the Wilmington station. Late one night, just before the train passed through Maco, Joe got up from his seat in the caboose to begin his rounds. He glanced out the back window and noticed that the train coming up behind them seemed closer than normal. When Joe turned to open the door to enter the next coach, he realized why- his car had somehow become unhitched from the rest of the train! Joe had been a railroad man all his life, and instinctively he knew he had to signal the train behind him, to warn them that his car was stuck on the tracks, or else the approaching train might derail. Grasping his lantern with both hands, he ran out onto the rear platform of his car and began swinging that lantern for all he was worth, hoping that the train would see him in time to stop. Unfortunately for Joe Baldwin, the train bearing down on him paid no heed to the lantern. The train hit the coach with such force that, in the ensuing wreck, Joe was decapitated; the authorities never were able to find the conductor's severed head. A short time later, trains traveling those same tracks began reporting a strange light that would appear on the tracks until they were almost right on top of it, and then the light would disappear. People said it was Joe Baldwin, out looking for his head. Ironically, while Joe had been unable to stop the train that killed him, trains now began stopping for the light with such frequency that the railroad had to order its trains to use two lights- one red and one green- at the Maco station, so as not be confused with Joe's ghost. Hundreds of people actually studied the light, and numerous theories were put forth, but none could ever truly explain the nature of the Maco Light. What I Found I've been seeing pictures of this light since I was a kid, plus a lot of my friends' parents said they used to go over there when they were teenagers, hanging-out, looking for Joe. Maco is a town of about 200 people, so I figured the whole town would be into this Maco light thing. I stopped at the "Maco Mini-mart" -the only store in town!- thinking I'd find all kinds of Joe Baldwin paraphernalia (Maco isn't really known for much else), but no such luck. No t-shirts, no postcards, not even a bumper sticker. What gives, I asked the proprietor; what about Joe Baldwin? He just gave me a blank look, and then tried to interest me in some weird video. I was dumbfounded. This guy's billboard even had Joe's lantern on it, yet he didn't know who the heck I was talking about. I then spent the next thirty minutes riding around Maco, trying to find somebody who could tell me about Joe Baldwin. I finally did, of course, but no good news. The tracks were taken up back in 1977, and Joe's light hasn't been seen since! If You Want to Go
Get to where the Maco Road (Highway 87) crosses over Highway 74/76 (Andrew Jackson Highway). Head back into Wilmington on 74/76, and 1.2 miles later you come to Stella Road; its a dirt road, and you're in eastern North Carolina, so watch out for dogs. Hang a right onto Stella, go probably 50 yards or so, and you'll be able to see where the tracks used to pass through. Looking towards Wilmington, as the tracks approached the Maco station, was where Joe quite literally lost his head, and then came back to look for it. But like I said, the tracks are long-gone, and the scariest thing we noticed was the size of the mosquitos. tarheel@unforgettable.com (http://members.nbci.com/ncghosts/joe.htm)
The Maco Station Lights, HWYs74/76, 15 miles out of Wilmington, North Carolina, USA. It was discovered by a conductor of train, Joe Baldwin, in 1862.They were seen on the railways and next to the forest. There are reports and speech of president of USA about these light in October 1894.There are some rumours about these light as if they are ghost. Any scientific research has not been started yet. (http://www.tuvpo.com/ufotek/ufotek18e.html)
Historical Mysteries: Ghostly lights as common as dew in Dixie Web posted Jun. 07 at 11:37 PM By Randall Floyd Special Columnist Fog shrouded the North Carolina mountains one dark night in October 1894, when President Grover Cleveland saw a strange light flickering in the woods off to the right of his Pullman. Startled, the president called the conductor to his room and inquired about the mysterious glow. The conductor smiled and said, ``What you have seen, sir, is the Maco Station Light.'' Locals claim the light had been around since 1869, when a train conductor named Joe Baldwin was decapitated in a freak accident. Some say the luminscent ball is the spirit of Baldwin, swinging a lantern as he searches for his severed head. Others maintained it was the ghost of an Indian warrior killed in battle, while another old legend said it was the phantom of a black ``witch-woman.'' The president's experience was reported in the press. Soon, the Maco Station ghost light was the most famous ghost light in the South. Over the years, thousands of people have claimed to see the eerie phenomenon, bobbing and weaving alongside desolate stretches of tracks before disappearing as suddenly as it arrived. Spook lights are nothing new to the folklore of the Deep South. Since Indian times, stories about mysterious flashing lights and wispy halos of color floating on the night wind have entertained and terrified generations of Southerners. Nearly every county in every state has its own legend about ghost lights - or spook lights as they are frequently called - most of them associated with railroad lines and the spirits of railway workers who met untimely deaths. After Cleveland's encounter, hundreds of similar sightings were reported in the region. In 1925, two farm boys claimed that the light chased them several miles through the woods. A soldier home on leave during World War II swore he had to flee for his life when a series of ``ghostly lights'' pursued him down a railroad track. In recent years critics have tried to debunk the Maco ghost light by claiming that it is merely a reflection from auto headlights on nearby roads or highways. But there were no cars in 1869 when Joe Baldwin lost his head and reports of the mysterious light were first recorded. Another ghostly phenomenon that continues to astonish visitors to western North Carolina is the Brown Mountain Light. Usually visible on partly cloudy nights when the moon hangs low over northern Burke County, the light ranges in color from yellow to blood-red. As with the Maco Light, many legends have cropped up about the Brown Mountain Light. The first documented sighting was in 1771. Numerous sightings have been documented over the years, including many made along the Blue Ridge Parkway and from points between Blowing Rock and Linville, N.C. Earlier this century, a team of scientists traveled to Brown Mountain to put the legend to rest. Using a wide array of modern instruments, the scientists determined that the lights arose from the spontanious combustion of marsh gases. But locals knew that couldn't be true because there are no marshy areas on or anywhere near Brown Mountain. In the 1920s, a team of investigators from the Smithsonian Institution discounted the possibility that the lights were a manifestaion of St. Elmo's fire - an eerie, electric glow phenomenon - because such conditions do not occur in mid-sky, as the Brown Mountain lights do. And the mystery continues. Randall Floyd is a syndicated writer and a professor of history at Augusta State University. (http://augustachronicle.com/stories/060897/fea_floyd.html)
The Maco Ghost Light One time a presidential train, carrying Grover Cleveland, stopped at Maco Station, near Wilmington, North Carolina. Having ridden for quite a while and wanting the stretch his legs, the president decided to take a short stroll along the tracks. There he found a train brakeman carrying two lanterns -- one red and the other green. Curious, President Cleveland asked him about the two lights. "We have to use both of them, Mr. President," the brakeman answered. "There's a ghost along these tracks that waves a lantern. Gets things all fouled up sometimes. So the railroad told us to always carry two lanterns." The brakeman then told President Cleveland the story of poor Joe Baldwin who lost his head one rainy night in 1867. Joe was a conductor on the Wilmington, Manchester, and Augusta Railroad, now the Atlantic Coast Line. His train was heading home to Wilmington -- almost there. Joe was riding in the last coach of the train, which was empty. It was time for him to walk through the passenger cars and announce that the train was nearing its destination. He opened the front door of the coach and found that the rest of the train was far ahead. The last coach had somehow uncoupled. What made it worse was that another train, following his own, was bearing down on him. Joe swung his lantern wildly trying to catch the attention of the engineer, but to no avail. The train behind crashed into the coach, demolishing it. Joe was decapitated. Joe's ghost lantern still burns bright over that stretch of track. In fact, engineers have often mistaken the ghost light for a real signal. That was the reason that the railroad ordered its signalmen at Maco to use two lanterns, one red and one green, so there could be no mistake. The ghost light, itself, is quite bright -- estimated to be as brilliant as a 25-watt electric bulb. A former employee of the ACL said, "One night I was in a group of boys who were walking along the track when we saw the light. It seemed to be weaving along, directly over the tracks at the height of about five feet. Then the light took off, made a arc, and landed in a swamp beside the track." The light is said to appear at all seasons of the year and its brightness seems unaffected by rain or fog. (http://www.themestream.com/articles/65814.html)
Author: Mike Torrence Subject: Re: Spook Lights In reply to: The Unknown's message, "Spook Lights" on 08:15:45 11/18/00 Sat THIS MESSAGE WAS CONTRIBUTED TO OUR 'VIEWS' SECTION, WHICH WE NO LONGER HAVE. THUS, I HAVE TRANSFERRED IT TO THE FORUM. The 'tectonic stress theory' or 'seismic activity theory' is one possible explanation for spooklights. However, it must be regarded as an incomplete theory. There are lingering questions that are not explained by the theory: 1. The exact mechanism by which tectonic stress generates the lights is still not explained. 2. Why do some spooklights appear regularly in areas where seismic activity is low (Maco, NC) or nil (Saratoga, TX)? 3. Why aren't spooklights widespread and frequent in areas such as California where seismic activity is high? 4. If the quartz piezo-electric effect is the key, then why aren't spooklights widespread and frequent in California - which has both high tectonic stress and plentiful quartz deposits - or in northeast Arkansas - which has moderate tectonic stress (New Madrid fault) and plentiful quartz deposits? 5. If tectonic stress far underground generates electricity that causes the lights, how does this energy travel through rock to get to the surface? (http://www.voy.com/6429/313.html)
When you next pass through or near Wilmington, North Carolina, look on your map and find Maco, a little whistle stop 20 or 30 miles west of the coast. Stop for a cup of coffee and ask about the Maco Light. Story is that the light is really Joe Baldwin just looking for his head! Legend has it that sometime in the 1860s, a railroad man named Joe Baldwin was hit by a train and decapitated. Not long after, a light began to appear along the tracks at Maco Station. It would sway back and forth, and then it would drop into the swamp and glow. Back around 1969 or 70, I was passing through the area and having lived in Raleigh a few years earlier and knowing something about the legend, made it a point to stop and look for the light. We pulled off the road about a half mile from town and stood at the railroad crossing and looked back towards town. It wasn't very long before a fairly strong light appeared in the distance and began swaying back and forth, just as the story told. We watched for awhile and then began to walk down the tracks towards the light. After we walked 20 or 30 yards it disappeared. We walked in the other direction towards the crossing and it reappeared. Anytime we walked towards it, it would disappear again. No way was we going to get close to it. After awhile we grew tired of the game and left. But we had seen the Maco Light and were now believers.( http://www.thepsychicspot.com/odds_and_ends.htm)
Q: Did you ever see the Maco Light? (The Light at Maco Station is a ghost light near Wilmington, N.C., the birthplace of Charlie Daniels. Allegedly, a railroad brakeman, Joe Baldwin, lost his head in a track collision, and his head was never found. A light has been seen through the years going up and down the track, and people say it is Joe Baldwin's phantom looking for his head with a lantern. The Wilmington Morning Star has a morgue file on it as thick as your leg, noting how military specialists have studied it, and there is no answer for it besides swamp gas.) CD: Oh yeah. I've seen the Maco Light. Q: What was that like when you saw it? CD: Well, it looked just like a lantern down a railroad track when I saw it. I think they've torn that track up now. Q: Yeah, they did. CD: I used to, years and years ago, I've been over there a couple of times and seen it. Q: What do you think of it? Is it pretty weird? CD: Yeah, it's weird, but I'm sure there's an explanation for it. I have no idea what it is. But there is an explanation for everything, you know. It was not scary to me or anything. Of course, a bunch of us went over to see it, you know, and rode up there and looked. It's pretty wild. Have you seen it? Q: No, but my uncle saw it. I'm from Laurinburg. CD: Yeah. Uh-huh. (http://www.deadmule.com/content/writers/past_issues/charlie_daniels_bullard.htm)
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. (http://www.swcoast.net/~park/sprastro.htm)
In 1867, Conductor Joe Balwin lost his life near Maco Station in Wilmington, North Carolina. There was a freak train accident where Baldwin's freight train slammed into a fast moving passenger train by waving his lantern he saved the trainload of strangers. The crash caused Baldwin to be thrown from the caboose, his head went left into the swamp while his body and lantern went to the right of the tracks. Ever since this strange accident occurred local residents report a ghostly white signal light has appeared to the left of the tracks swinging back and forth about three feet above the ground. The light begins to twinkle lightly then grows brighter and swings faster as it moves up the tracks. Many witnesses believe that this ghostly light belongs to Joe Baldwin, who is looking for his missing head, which was never discovered. In 1977, railroad workers replaced the worn out tracks near Maco Station. The ghostly light was never seen there again. The 110 year old figure must have finally found what he was searching for. Retold by: JESSICA AND ERIC Orginal story: The Light at Maco Station, Mystery Tour: A Student Guide to North Carolina Ghosts and Legends by Beth Craddock Smith. 1992-Broadfoots of Wendell. (http://www.bsecubs.com/Fourth/ghostweb/MacoWeb/Maco.htm)
GHOST LANTERN The town of Maco, N.C., (outside Wilmington) would probably garner little attention outside of its neighboring communities in North and South Carolina were it not for "Joe Baldwin's light." Joe Baldin's light began to appear along the railroad tracks that run through Maco shortly after a train accident in the mid-1800s in which Baldwin was decapitated. According to legend, Baldwin was riding alone in the last car of a passenger train going through Maco when the car became uncoupled from the rest of the train. Baldwin knew that another train was coming up the tracks immediately behind his train, so he ran to the back of the car and began swinging his lantern to signal the engineer of the other train. It was a futile gesture, for the locomotive plowed into the car, separating Baldwin's head from the rest of his body and sending the lantern into the marsh paralleling the track. Bystanders who witnessed the accident said the lantern appeared to make an arc as it left Baldwin's hand and fell beside the tracks. Shortly after the accident, people began noticing a signal light along that stretch of track. The light, which resembled that emitted by a trainman's lantern, was suspended at about the level a man's hand would carry a lantern, although no one could be seen carrying the light. Word soon spread that Joe Baldwin had come back to search for his head. The "ghost light" even threatened to disrupt the signalling system of the railroad (a line that later became part of the Atlantic Coast Line, now CSX), so that the railroad was forced to implement a unique type of signal light for the Maco station so that crews would not confuse an earthly signal with one from another realm. One version of the story has President Grover Cleveland's train making a stop in Maco and the president inquiring as to why the signalling system was different from that used on the rest of the railroad. During the 1950s and 1960s, the section of track at Maco became a popular place for people to park at night and wait for the light to appear. Some witnesses said they saw the light hover by the tracks and then make an arc through the air, as if it was being thrown from someone's hand. Those who were present when a train passed by said the light would rise above the cars and hover, illuminating the top of the train. And one woman who remained "safely" seated in the automobile while her husband walked down the tracks to get a better view of the light said she saw a flash of light in front of the car, then the headless form of a man passed by in front of the vehicle. A personal account -- in the early 1970s my family vacationed in Wrightsville Beach, which is the beach resort outside Wilmington. Though we didn't visit Maco at night -- Wilmington was going through a period of racial unrest, and at the time it was not advisable to drive through the city at night -- we did stop by on the morning we left Wilmington. To get to Maco today you have to watch for a lone sign on the main highway directing drivers to a side road. We turned on the side road and soon came to the Maco railroad crossing. A state highway crew was working near the crossing, and the foreman volunteered that he was aware of the Joe Baldwin legend, although he had personally never seen the light. He also said that there was a woman living in Maco at the time who was a psychic and who claimed to have conversed with Baldwin while in a trance in her living room. The thing that struck me about the visit to Maco (almost two decades ago) was the close proximity of middle-class homes to the railroad. There was one house in particular that was closer to the tracks than the others, and its kitchen window appeared to look out on the section of track where the light is said to be most apt to appear. I remember thinking that that would be one way to relieve the monotony of dishwashing -- watching a spectral light weave and bob outside the window. BTW, there was an old cemetery by the tracks in Maco (but on the opposite side of the crossing from where the light is said to appear), but I don't think anyone has ascertained whether Baldwin was buried there after the accident. If someone has found records that indicate that Baldwin was definitely buried in that cemetery, I don't know if they have determined whether his head was interred with the rest of his body. D Lewis (http://www.ghostsightingcentral.com/articlesgsc/usrtales/ghost-lantern.asp)
Copyright (C) 2001 Dr. Sten Odenwald