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JPW: As a small child, I remember my father sharing tales of the Brown Mountain Lights on spooky nights. He recounted the words to the song and was fond of the story, though he�d never seen them himself. When I was around twelve or thirteen, my father took our family to the overlook on 181. It was a cold autumn night, and we sat for over two hours, staring at the dark ridge. Then, something miraculous happened. The lights appeared, flaring and dancing about the rocky range. In a few minutes, the display was over, but I shall never forget the joy I experienced staring directly into the shining unknown. I would soon find out I was extremely lucky to have seen them on my first visit. I�ve heard of a ranger who worked the area more than twenty years before he saw the lights. In my case, I suppose it was meant to be. 2. What time of year do you go to see them and where? JPW: The lights have reportedly been seen at all times of year under most all conditions (including light snow). However, based on my personal experience and those whom I�ve interviewed, I believe the best time of year to see them is the fall. This could be for any number of reasons. Increased visibility due to fallen leaves surely helps (whereas it gets far too cold for comfort if you wait till winter). Also, it�s possible the leaves themselves deteriorate on the ground and add some essential chemical element to the reaction. The best viewing spot is the overlook off highway 181 at mile marker 20. You can find detailed directions on www.BrownMountainLights.com 3. What do you know about bioluminescence? JPW: It�s my understanding that all known illumination produced by bioluminescence is far less bright and powerful than the lights often appear. 4. What is your own personal explanation as to why the lights to appear? JPW: For now, the Brown Mountain Lights are a true mystery. They have been seen for perhaps as long as 800 years. In that time, they�ve been researched by numerous scientists who�ve proposed a number of theories. Swamp gas was the first one, but that one�s completely ludicrous. The lights are self-contained balls of illumination that appear to move independent of the mountainside. A gas light must stay connected to its fuel port, and it disperses into the air as it burns creating a flame, just like a butane lighter. Also, there have never been any significant fires recorded on Brown Mountain. Mirages and various optical illusions have been explored. However, there is no evidence that conditions at or around Brown Mountain are conducive to such optical refractions. Plus, we�ve found the lights give off a great deal of infrared energy, unlike an illusion. There are some who claim they�ve seen the lights as close as ten feet away. If true, such a close encounter would also disprove this theory. Those who see them close often describe them as balls of light around the size of a basketball, so bright white as to be opaque, silently hovering a few feet above the ground, and meandering off through the trees. The possibility of an electrical phenomenon has been investigated. Could the lights be a stable plasma (i.e. ball lightning), created by unusual atmospheric or geologic conditions? If the area produces electricity that turns a substance into a plasma, then what substance is being used? Nothing on Brown Mountain seems particularly special. Of course, lots of people believe they�re the product of extraterrestrial phenomena, ghosts, fairies, �beings of light� and all other sorts of esoteric things. There are problems will all theories, and no provable explanation has ever been found. That�s why I find them so fascinating though. There are lots of places on earth where unexplainable lights appear, but this location may be the most spectacular one of all. I feel we are growing closer to an explanation. With each passing day, our technology expands exponentially. The number one reason I feel they haven�t been explained thus far is because the location is remote and difficult to explore. Proper research equipment is expensive and bulky. But as our technology becomes smaller and more efficient�as well as able to peer into more and more of the subtle realms around us�the chances of documenting new phenomena will increase. I don�t promote a particular explanation for the lights since I must base my opinions on evidence. At this point, we don�t have enough to believe anything 100 percent. However, I wouldn�t be surprised if the lights do turn out to be a plasma. The ridge is almost completely encircled by thrust faults. They grind back and forth against one another and create an enormous amount of stress on the rocks. The rocks contain a good deal of quartz, and this produces electricity due to the piezoelectric effect. The electricity may reach the surface, or it may simply create pulses of energy inside the mountain that induce electromagnetic fields around the ridge. Somehow, these forces may interact with surface static electrical charges or some other, currently unknown substance, to create the unique illumination. But again, nobody knows for now. 5. What legend to explain the lights are you most interested in? JPW: I enjoy the story about the desperate battle between the Cherokee and Catawba Indians. When the lights appear as a group and move about the ridge, especially when they line up and seem to �march,� it�s easy to visualize them as a troop of torch-bearing warriors wading into battle. I�m not saying I believe this explains the lights, nor that it�s even true, but the legend seems more consistent with the lights� appearance than any other. 6. Why did a relative of mine only see the lights once? Are people lucky if they get to see them? JPW: Over the past ten years, I�ve seen them five times. You can therefore see how truly rare the experience can be. 7. Describe what the lights look like to you as best you can.JPW: The lights are absolutely amazing. You�re staring at a dark ridge in the middle of the national forest. Suddenly, a silver twinkle of light appears. It flares bright, turning blood red, then shrinks down to a shiny glint once again. It pulsates and oozes around the trees, then it stretches and splits into several smaller orbs of light. Each sphere orbits around the others, then they all do they most amazing thing of all: they line up and move across the ridge, bobbing or zipping along the sheer terrain. They march over the top of the ridge, and vanish. Or perhaps they simply settle in one place, waver and glide unsurely, then simply wink, almost hesitate, then disappear. 8. Have you seen other phenomena on earth that compare to the Brown Mt.Lights? What would it be?JPW: No, I�ve never seen anything like them. 9. Why are some people so interested in the lights that they spend so much time figuring them out? Why don't they just try to watch for them once and give up if they don't see them? What captivates them?JPW: Whenever we encounter something �unexplained,� that means it guards something to be learned. If we understand exactly what causes these lights, who knows what doors may open? We may understand more about energy and our planet. New knowledge could also advance our technology, producing practical benefits. Curiosity and hunger for exploration are pure elements of human nature. 10. Is there anything else you can tell me about the lights that would be of interest?JPW: Most all the goodies are included on the web site, www.BrownMountainLights.com 11. Do the lights appear anywhere else that you know of? Any other state?JPW: There are �spook lights� scattered all across the world. The Marfa Lights in Marfa, Texas are some of the most famous. Check out www.marfalights.com |