1.... 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)
2.... . 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.
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 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. Stephen (http://www.ghosts.org/ghostlights/maco-story.html)
3.... 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
4.... 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)
5.... 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)
6.... 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