North Carolina Ghost Lights and Legends

North Carolina is considered one of the US headquarters for ghost lights—that is, for spooky and unexplained luminous phenomena. Nearly half of all reported ghost lights shine, blink, burn, dance, or float somewhere in the state. These ghost lights are well known in their localities. There are scary and fascinating stories associated with them, and they attract many visitors, each hoping to see a ball of fire floating over a cemetery or a jack-o’-lantern illuminating a corner of the Great Dismal Swamp or a long-dead railroad man swinging his lantern in search of his severed head.
Author Charles “Fritz” Gritzner has been chasing ghost lights for many years. A geography professor and luminous phenomenon buff, he has visited the sites, researched possible scientific explanations for the lights, and recorded the legends surrounding them. In this charming and fascinating book, he does not seek to debunk these phenomena, but to illuminate them as a part of the folk culture of North Carolina. This book—organized by the regions of the state—contains maps, site descriptions, and related stories for 54 separate ghost light locations. Written for a general audience, it is the perfect guide for a ghost light seeker or for those fascinated by ghost stories and local folklore.

In the early 1960s, Charles “Fritz” Gritzner saw the famous Maco light west of Wilmington, North Carolina, and became fascinated with the ghost light phenomenon. Dr. Gritzner holds a PhD in Geography and taught college at East Carolina University and South Dakota State University. He is the author or co-author of 33 books, more than a dozen chapters appearing in edited works, and more than 125 publications in various professional journals. During his career, he taught more than 70 different subjects, including the nation’s only course in “Geography of the Paranormal.”