This was an investigation to determine if paranormal activity does indeed exist at the cemetery near Anson, Texas. The conclusion of two previous investigations conducted at the location revealed a mysterious ghost light. The lights are viewed by driving down the dirt farm road to the crossroads, an equivalent of about a half mile or more. As you drive closer to the cemetery towards the lights, they disappear. The actual story of this occurrence is unsolved.
Local myth says that this light is the ghost of a mother carrying a lantern looking for her missing child. The child had left the house on a cold winter day and was lost and froze to death. The mother’s spirit still searches for her child. Other myths claim that the child or children were killed by a train. The cemetery is reached by driving east from Anson on Highway 180. We got to the dirt road turnoff and proceeded down to the crossroads, turned around, killed the headlights and engines of our car, and looked around for ANYTHING that could be construed as a “supernatural” light.
We didn’t see anything, so we flashed our headlights three times and waited. After a few seconds, a light began to feebly glow down the road. It appeared to be orange, looking very similar to an arc-sodium street lamp or such viewed at a distance. After a bit of time, the color gradually changed to a bluish, hue-similar to the xenon headlamps in some cars. Finally, after a bit more time had passed, the light, which appeared to be anywhere from 200 yards to a half-mile away, slowly faded out. We wondered if we could bring it back if we flashed our lights at it again, and sure enough, when we did, it gradually reappeared. So we begin by seeing if the elements of the local myths could be somewhat accurate.
We started by confirming the existence of railroad tracks, which exist but are located approximately half a mile to the south of the crossroads. From this vantage point, we noticed the layout of the surrounding terrain. The area where the crossroad is located is actually in a depression. One of the biggest questions occurred during our investigation of the
area. One investigator was down the road by the cemetery while the rest of the investigations team was at the crossroads observing the light. The investigator at the cemetery was not able to see the light itself or obtain any temperature differences. The entire area also had regular background readings considering a power line parallel the road. Later it was determined that the light only appeared on the left-hand side of the road, as viewed from the crossroads but seemed to be utterly invisible to someone standing by the cemetery. The light also disappears as one tries
to approach it from the crossroads. We also noticed that the light appeared independently, without having to “flash” it with the car lights. Something seemed to be out of place.
Test 1 (August 5, 2000)
In this investigation, we focused on determining exactly where the light was located down on the cemetery (north) end of the dirt road. We accomplished this by sending an investigator with a flashlight up to the north end of the road while another investigator stayed at the crossroads. Through radio communication, the “crossroads investigator” could direct the “Cemetery Investigator” so that his flashlight was positioned directly over the ghost light. When the cemetery investigator looked to the north, he could clearly see the light next to the foliage on the other side of HWY 180. It is definitely a light in the distance, although it is pretty bright. By now, the “cemetery investigator” is standing in the left ditch, far off the dirt road itself. The foliage on the other side of HWY 180 conceals the light when someone looks north from or near the road on the cemetery end. When viewed through a video camera with the zoom on maximum, the ghost light can also be easily identified as car lights. You can even make out other cars traveling behind it, which is not readily visible to the naked eye. If you look carefully, you will sometimes make out multiple lights, all determined by how many cars are traveling on HWY 277 at that particular time. Another intriguing effect can be obtained by having someone stand across HWY 180 and shine a flashlight down the road towards the crossroads. You would be surprised by how bright it appears and looks exactly like the ghost light itself.
The junction of Co rd 387 and US 180. The cemetery is on the right. Notice the vegetation directly in the line of sight when on the road.
The deserted tracks, they follow a power line that parallels the road.
Test 2 (September 15, 2000)
While the observations from Test 1 clearly indicated that the ghost light was most probably the headlights of a car traveling southbound on US-277, we needed to track the light to prove this and address the criticism of believers who still were not convinced. To accomplish this, we stationed seven investigators along US 277 at various intervals. Each investigator had a two-way radio and a high-intensity spotlight. After dusk, each investigator used the high-intensity spotlight to visually identify their location. These positions were noted from the crossroads. Once the checkpoints were ready, a car using a spotlight with a red filter over the lens would travel south along US-277. As the car passed a checkpoint, the spotlight would rapidly be turned on and off. The investigator at the checkpoint would also notify the observers at the crossroads that the test vehicle had just passed them. This would enable us to track the vehicle (and the “ghost light”) as it moved south down US-277. We also invited several people who believed that the light was a ghost light so we could replicate the test for them.
