I Saw the Light, Pt. 1

At dusk, cars rumble to a stop at the end of a dirt road in Northern Michigan. The occupants step out and look to the skies. This scene could initiate an evening of Hex fishing, a college astronomy club outing, or perhaps just a backwoods beer bash. But it's also a routine played out nightly at the site of the Upper Peninsula's #1 paranormal tourist attraction, the Paulding Light.

The Paulding Light appears nightly along a power line right-of-way off Robins Pond road, just south of the town of Paulding in Ontonogan county. It is a bright light resting low in the sky, coming and going throughout the night. Sometimes it appears as a very strong white disc of light, at others as a smaller, dimmer red point. Some witnesses claim it also takes on blue and green shades. Local chambers of commerce provide directions to the viewing spot, and the Forest Service lets tourists know when they've arrived.



Paulding is not too far from where I made my UP fishing excursion a couple of weeks ago, so I decided to check out the phenomenon for myself. I drove to the viewing site on my way home from fishing at Burned Dam, pulling in around 11:00. At least fifteen cars were already there. A crowd had gathered behind the guardrail at the road ending, but I stayed in my car for a while, not in the mood for mingling with a throng of strangers. Actually, I wasn't in the mood for much except going back to my motel and getting some sleep. I was on the verge of scrapping my X-file outing when a bright light appeared in the near distance beyond the road end. It took a moment to realize that was it--I had been expecting something more dramatic. But once I knew it, I got out and joined the crowd of viewers. Here is a link to a page with a video clip of the light, which captures the phenomenon pretty much as I saw it.

While we watched, people didn't seem too enthralled. They talked, smoked, bickered about one thing or another, listened to Ipods. They tried to take pictures of the light with cell phones. Children cried and were told to hush. Some viewers were disappointed, and said as much. Some left, and others came to replace them.

After about five minutes or so, the light vanished. I stayed out hoping to see it one more time. A bit later the light returned, this time as the small red point. It lasted around ten minutes. Some say that occasionally, the light will move, but that night it remained stationary, never getting brighter or dimmer. While the red light was out, I did see a smaller white light moving toward the viewing area--this was the flashlight a group of people had used when they hiked down the right of way to investigate the light's source. With great excitement, they announced, "There's nothing down there!" This proclamation drew little reaction.

I wasn't that amazed by the light myself. But if it seldom provokes awe, it certainly invites curiosity. While I watched the light, and long after I left the viewing site, I wondered as many others have about what the light is, and what causes it. (To be Continued)

Tags: Michigan; Mysteries