This Paranormal Life - #264 The Gurdon Light: Ghost Lantern or Human Soul?

Episode Date: May 24, 2022

There's something strange happening near the old railroad tracks in Gurdon, Arkansas. For years locals have claimed to see a strange orb of light floating along the rails, sometimes even passing right through them! Is it a ghost lantern? The tortured soul of a murder victim stuck here on earth? OR a patch of ancient crystals, buried in the earth, generating paranormal magic? It's time for Rory and Kit to hit the rails!Support us on Patreon.com/ThisParanormalLife to get access to weekly bonus episodes!Buy Official TPL Merch! -  thisparanormallife.com/storeFollow us on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTubeJoin our Secret Society Facebook CommunityAdvertise on This Paranormal Life via Gumball.fmResearch by Amy GrisdaleEdited by Louis BlatherwickIntro music by www.purple-planet.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are rhinos just buff unicorns? Why can't I be there and be square? All of these questions you can find the answer to on This Paranormal Life! Hello and welcome to This Paranormal Life, the comedy paranormal podcast where every week we investigate a brand new paranormal tale and come to a conclusion at the end of the show as to whether or not it truly is paranormal my name is rory powers and across from me sits the one and only kit greer malvena a man who needs no introduction so i might have to actually cut that bit from the start where I did introduce him because, as I said, needs no introduction. Well, I wouldn't go that far because the numbers tell all Rory and I don't have enough Instagram followers.

And it's a bit galling and jarring and offending that Rory has more than me. So I'm going to need the introduction button if you wouldn't mind putting the Instagram handle in at the end. But again, we don't really need to talk about it because you're a man who, as I said, cool, collected, needs no introduction. Right. So on today's episode. That would be. Sorry, just quickly. That would be fine if I had more Instagram followers than you.

But I don't. So I'm going to need the introduction, man. Like, let people know why they should be following you. You can't have this both ways. You can't be the man who needs no introduction. I didn't ask for no introduction. I need the introduction. I'm borderline begging you to give me a f***ing second to plug the gram.

I've been putting in front of these people for five years, and they don't know who I am. Joking aside, I wish I really didn't care about this, but I think I am 90 followers away from 10K on Instagram. And I don't really, look, i know i shouldn't care about that but 10k is the point where your follower count stops being a number and goes to just the little k yes like 10.k i love this i love this so guys i'm about 8 400 followers short of the same mark um so let's just do me first. Well, cause I got a lot of catching up to do. Whoever, whoever search first, if you got time,

I'm sure there's 90 bozos out there who would take the time to, I'll get my, I'll get my balls out. I'll get my balls out. If you follow me on, I'll do an Instagram live where I eat a B. If you fall, I'll do anything glass for the K to see that,

to see the K on my profile. So we're just begging. Why would anyone want to see me eat glass? Welcome to the show. If you have listened before, then you will, you understand what this is about. And if you haven't, hopefully that quick rambling of two maniacs explain the premise pretty decently. But on the show, what we do is we pick a new paranormal tale, whether it is one that we've come across, whether it's submitted from our audience, or whether or not it's something that we've experienced ourselves. And we investigate it to find out whether it's truly paranormal. And that's what we're going to do today. Just a reminder before we start, you can get this episode ad-free on patreon.com, where we've added a ton of new tiers

and amazing rewards, including a new weekly show called The After Party, new merchandise, and more. So check it out. Today's case begins in Gurdon, Arkansas, around 75 miles north of Little Rock. And about 50 miles south of Big Rock. We don't have an exact date for this story, but that doesn't detract from its legitimacy, I assure you. It happened recently-ish. Well, we got a... Let's call it...

Like 1945 or last week. Post-1960, to be safe. How about that? Is that Rory Parr's seal of f***ing recency? 1960? We're crystal clear about the setting though we're on the railway what railway the railway brother the great railways of the 1960s so it is definitely 1960 i can't be any more specific about the date jimmy hendrix is on stage at woodstock right as we speak our protagonist

john was working as a conductor on a train running through arkansas it was late at night and dark as hell on the narrow track snaking through the dense forest the only source of light was the train's white headlamps illuminating the track below as was protocol he got up and walked the length of the train to the very back to make his checks. Everything seemed in order, until he reached the back platform near the rear carriage. It was typical to take a look out of the train's rear door. There were usually no other trains in sight, especially not that late at night. But a strange glow caught John's eye. A ball of light seemed to be hovering on the platform, coming up at the approaching station.

It looked almost like a lantern. It was too far away to see if anyone was holding it, but as the train rushed on, it didn't seem to be getting further away. It was moving, and what's more, it was following the train. Interesting, a lantern on wheels. A heat ran through John as his stomach flipped over. He thought it was some kind of weird reflection when he first laid eyes on it. But this thing could fly! It seemed almost sentient.

Interesting. A lantern on wheels, but yet without wheels. Never said wheels. I don't know why you're so insistent on the wheels part. Only it's on the train track is the thing. John wondered what the hell it could be and how long it would keep chasing them. At that moment, it took a sudden turn and darted away across the neighboring field. It lit up the landscape as it accelerated along the ground. John watched as it flew past the cemetery, its warm glow cast long shadows over the gravestones, accelerated along the ground. John watched as it flew past the cemetery.

Its warm glow cast long shadows over the gravestones until suddenly it disappeared and the landscape was swallowed by darkness again. Wow. That was pretty interesting, lucky timing that he happened to be looking right at that very moment. Yeah, I mean, I guess that's why you do checks on a train. You're like, all right, enough coals in the oven. All the passengers are safe.

I think it's called an oven, yes. Oh, there's a f***ing banshee riding a ghost bike down the tracks. Good to know. Sure, that's when you fire up the radio, guys, we've got an 11C on the old railway. It's kind of scary for something like that to happen to you on a train because trains are one of the only mode of transports where it's like oh my god we're being chased what should we do can't do much go a little faster i don't know

slow down speed up that's your options buddy oh and if you speed up too much you'll fall off the track uh yeah your options are highly limited yeah it and if you speed up too much, you'll fall off the track. Yeah, your options are highly limited. Yeah, it's like maybe we could lose him at this next junction. Let's cut left in 45 minutes and see if we can swerve him. Also, I don't know how sentient this Banshee is, but... I never said... I shouldn't have said Banshee. This borderline Irish woman screaming into the night. If you're chasing a train, it's not like chasing a car.

That train's going to hit the end of the road eventually if you just keep following. Good point, yeah. You can just kind of trail alongside and it's going to have to stop eventually. You're basically in a prison on wheels. Snapping back to reality, John walked back through the long carriages to the driver's seat, sitting down in utter confusion. He took a deep breath and tried to process what he'd just seen. But as long as he lived, he never managed to do so.

The mystery remains unsolved to this day. But John isn't the only person to witness this phenomenon. This mysterious glowing sphere has become known as the Gurdon Lights. Ooh. So, really sold us down the river with the old Banshee word, the B word, bud.

Yeah, shouldn't have done it. That was just a throwaway phrase. This is a mysterious light that appears in one specific location on these tracks, almost like a bizarre floating lantern. But as we heard from this description, it's got speed. It's got speed and it's got agility and I think it can fly. Interesting. Yeah. I don't know if we have had such a thing in recent memory

on this paranormal life. Yeah. But this is almost, I would say, a subcategory of paranormal being or ghost or entity, right? These kind of strange lights. I think that's what makes it weirdly even scarier. You know, if you were out in the woods and you saw Bigfoot, you're like, great, I'm about to get my dick hole smashed in. Sure. This guy's gonna f*** me up. If you saw Mothman, I think he appears to foretell misfortune, right? So you're like, oh, shit. The forest is probably gonna burn down.

If it's an alien craft that's descending, you're like, shit. I'm gonna get my dick hole probed. But a light? A mysterious light? Am I dead, sir? Is this the entrance to heaven? Totally.

And it's also frustrating because imagine trying to go back to the real world and tell someone about this. No one's going to care. Yeah. At least Sasquatch, at least you can join

a kind of weird AA group of like Sasquatch Survivors Anonymous in the Pacific Northwest. And I'll share your stories of seeing the beast. But what are you going to do now? This is such an indescript, vague paranormal sighting. It really doesn't live anywhere. There's no organization of light seers that you can find solace in. Be like, oh, you saw the light too?

You know? Yeah, yeah. Have you seen the light? Of course, of course. Ever since my first day like, oh, you saw the light too? You know? Yeah, yeah. Have you seen the light? Of course, of course. Ever since my first day at church, I really saw the... No, no, no. No, it's not a metaphor.

I'm not talking about the light. I saw the light too. Gary, we all know you're blind. Go home. I saw a literal floating jack-o'-lantern, not just the light of the Lord. It's a really hard one. It's not that sexy

if you were telling someone about it you'd be like i saw a light and they're like yeah but whatever it's like it was flying pretty fast along the tracks it's like right we don't really care it had a gun the light had a gun and he and he shot at me okay you have to you'd have to sex it up a little bit yeah just to get people's attention. You think you're getting invited to the big UFO conferences across America if you just saw a light? You might want to revise that story, bud, and add in a little banshee. Like I did to get people on board

this story. This light, the Gurdon Light, can be orange, white, or have a blue hue. It tends to move along the railway line or through the trees that surround it descriptions do vary though earlier i mentioned there were a lot of witnesses right maybe i didn't i don't remember did i mention there were a lot of witnesses i don't think so

how about nine million single or what how about nine million. No, nine million old men have witnessed the Gurdon Lights. They have even featured on an episode of Unsolved Mysteries. I just have to clarify that nine million. Well, the episode of Unsolved Mysteries was watched by an audience of nine million. You have to know that. Nine million people witnessed. Disingenuous presentation of this case. There's a great note here in the script from our researcher, Amy, that says in brackets,

if Kit asks at any point if the Gurdon lights actually feature in the episode, deflect him. And that's it. So what the f*** is the episode about? It is about the Gurdon lights, but if they ever actually, did they show in the lights? Were they, were the lights seen in the lights were they were the lights seen in the episode so possibly you've been deflected we can't talk about it now i feel like i'm being gaslit here so just to be clear the garden lights have only been seen by that one guy absolutely not my friends what we're going to discover today is that millions of people have

they haven't though they haven't, though. They haven't, because you just explained... Okay. One of the earliest sightings is one of the most memorable. As a train approached town, an elderly conductor named John stepped onto the back of the caboose and was startled by what he saw. Don't laugh at the word caboose.

It's not funny. It's a train term. They say that John went out on the back platform to investigate, and the light was real far off and kind of faint, but it seemed to be traveling the same speed they were. And then all of a sudden, it just shut up, and he was just like paralyzed and just hanging onto the grab barn and just transfixed,

staring right into the light. ROBERT STACKLIN, According to John, the light followed the train for more than a mile. Finally, it veered off in the direction of the cemetery. Ever since, looking for the Gurdon Light has become something of a local pastime. If you go down there with some regularity, you're definitely going to see it.

After a while, you may go a few days, you know, where you get frustrated and you don't see it, but with a little time and a little concentration, you most definitely will see the light. He's never seen it. There's no way he's ever seen it. I think you'll find that all of the residents who have wanted to see it have seen it with a little concentration and enough time. Have we ever had a paranormal case like this where it's like,

it's not like, hey, some people have seen it on a dark and stormy night. This is a case where the residents are saying, oh, you'll see it. Oh, you will see it if you go for long enough and squint hard enough and sure, have a couple of bud lights before you head down there. Yeah, you'll see the beast. Great point. Normally, the paranormal is elusive, subtle, works in mysterious ways, only shows itself to the chosen few who go out of their way to find it uh this is just this is like going to see the new james bond movie at the cinema it's there it's there you just you just got to pay the price of admission go down to the old graveyard get some popcorn and sit back and relax bud which hopefully is an indication of why i

wanted to cover this story because even even though, sure, on paper, it's not the most interesting spectacle to investigate, a mysterious ball of light, hopefully the evidence that we have today is enough for us to really consider, is this real? Is this paranormal? And I'm just going to put it out there early in the episode and say... Double no.

What? You can't do that to me just get up and walk out come back if it is indeed this easy to spot if anyone who wants to go see it can i'm looking forward to seeing a lot of physical evidence a lot of photos videos sure from multiple eras. Because I heard those recordings. That's a recent recording, that television show. Yeah, and like, as I said, if that many people have seen it, if anyone can see it, you can expect. Like that guy owns a smartphone, right? A smartphone or at least a digital camera.

Probably on TikTok by now. Bear in mind, though, light, it's hard to really like, let's not get too excited because light, what even is light? It's hard to photograph. It's kind of, it's actually the principle of how cameras work is by capturing light so this would be almost easier to see spiritual light though spiritual light from like a ghost or a specter is like i thought you said it wasn't spiritually specifically said it wasn't the light of the lord but actually a f***ing banshee don't keep saying banshee because

i shouldn't have said it is obviously not a Banshee. Right, it's just a light that screams when someone dies. And it's Irish, of course, yeah. To get Banshee out of your head, why don't we talk about the most widely accepted origin story behind the Gurdon Light? Ooh, I would love to. To tell this story, we're going to have to go all the way back to December 1931. So at the beginning when you said you had no idea when this was, but it was sometime in the modern era, you knew it was after this point.

That's why I said the 1960s to be safe. That video, as I said, is incredibly recent. I think that video started with, it was May 1972. I was close. I was close. Not long after the rails were first set down, old steam locomotives ferried cargo through the heart of America.

Freight trains thundered along miles upon miles of steel tracks, delivering all kinds of goods across the country. Just a quick aside, if Arkansas is the heart of America, where is the ass of America? In terms of like where the states are located? Florida?

Maybe? You said it on me, bud. I don't want to insult our Florida listeners, but it's like kind of the back end. It's kind of the butthole. Just the actual shape of the damn thing. America's caboose, I think it's often referred to as. It's swampy as all hell. It's a of the butthole. Just the actual shape of the damn thing. America's caboose, I think it's often referred to as. It's swampy as all hell.

It's a train term. No disrespect, no disrespect. At this point, the only humans involved were a skeleton crew of staff, which I admit... Skeletons? It's poor choice of words for a paranormal podcast. Given that we recently featured a skeleton train riding through the underground of London. Sure, by skeleton crew, I mean not a lot of people. It was a difficult, demanding, and dirty job that left every crewman exhausted at the end of the day.

And this was the olden days as well. You think they had workers' rights or health and safety? Back in those days, they'd give you a bottle of whiskey and a Bible and say, good luck, brother. Whenever you sign up for the job on your first day, they just chop off all your fingers and go, it's easier this way. You were going to lose them anyway.

One of these powerless workers was named Lewis McBride. He was a lowly manual laborer who worked his fingers to the bone day in and day out. We get it. He was powerless. He was a piece of shit. At any given moment, he'd be dodging speeding trains, fingers to the bone day in and day out we get it he was powerless he was a piece of shit at any given moment he'd be dodging speeding trains hammering bent railroad tracks back into shape

or lifting heavy rocks within pitch black tunnels with only a lantern to light his path jesus i know we did say how horrible these working conditions were but i also can't stress how sexy they were as well. Oh, right. Rippling abs, covered for some reason in oil, shirtless, oiled up. Hammer and metal, bending plates.

It was the cast of Magic Mike and they all looked like Channing Tatum. They all had the jawline to go with the bod. After yet another seemingly endless day. I mentioned perfect teeth for some reason, pre-dental care. Are you done? Do you have anything else

to say about these men? Leather trousers. They were powerless. They were beaten down. They were, they died young, of course, but they were top ten studs.

They were. After yet another seemingly endless day with his nose to the grindstone, he decided enough was enough. He plucked up the courage to strike up conversation with the foreman, Will McLean, and asked for a pay rise. Now McLean was an intimidating character, to put it lightly, and Lewis knew he had to tread carefully. The last person who asked for a pay rise, Will did that thing in the cartoons where they shoot at your feet and make you dance.

thing in the cartoons where they shoot at your feet and make you dance. Say boss, I've been doing some thinking, you know. The wife's about to have another baby. Number nine it'll be. Front door's coming off its hinges. We got a hole in the roof. None of us have shoes. It would really help me out if you could just increase my wages a little bit. But Foreman McClain was not having it. He went from zero to furious in the blink of an eye. Pay rise? You're asking for a pay rise? The guy I caught messing around on the track while he should have been working last month? I was rescuing a baby possum.

The guy I caught sleeping on the job not one week ago? I've been on duty for three straight days, sir. The guy who was late this very morning. It's a long walk with no shoes. But no matter what McBride said, McClane swatted it away like a bothersome fly. Things were getting heated, and Lewis was getting frustrated that his boss refused to even listen to him. Hey, I'm out here risking my life day after day for you. Yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before. Now get back to work before I cut your salary, you worthless wretch. Lewis had reached the end of his tether. He turned to walk away, but looked back at his cruel manager.

You'll be sorry. I'll make sure of that. McClane thought his employee was all talk and didn't give his final words another thought. He had a busy railroad to run. He didn't care about stupid little Lewis McBride. But he should have. Hours later, Lewis was still stewing. The echo of the foreman's words were swimming in his brain. Worthless wretch. He was muttering to himself furiously. Piece of dirt. Idiotic numbskull okay fine shoeless bastard all right let me get on with it let me keep going with the story though

lewis was a upset it's a hunky piece of garbage hunky no it's more of like the harmful the hurtful things he said that were echoing around his head so not hunky sexy sort of stay away from my wife lewis you sexy bastard you know that's why i'm in the office lewis because i don't look like you because you're such a f***ing stud to keep you out in the track you think that's what was bouncing around in his head after that conversation? Lewis said, worthless. Worthless? I'll show him who's worth something. An incoming train signaled its arrival. It was only just coming into view. The lamp at the front was a distant glow. In a moment of madness, Lewis leapt down onto the tracks. Without people like me, this whole railway would collapse.

Now he's gonna get a taste of what it would be like if old Lewis weren't here. He levered a crowbar under one of the tracks and pulled with all his might. The metal plate started to bend. There! An entire piece of the track was now twisted upwards, jutting out high above the rest of the line. The oncoming train then struck the sabotaged rail, crashing off the tracks. The crew jumped into action. If they didn't, the next train would be coming along soon and smash into this mess.

McClane the foreman stood on the platform, looking down at the chaos. But then something caught his eye. On the opposite side of the tracks stood Louis McBride. He wasn't hard at work with the others. He was standing there, leaning on a post post with a cigarette between his fingers smiling doing the jack off gesture with his arm pointing at him uh i feel like uh if this was you at least try and blend in right at least try and be like oh oh no the it's come it hasn't come off the rails has it oh i guess that's what

happens if there's not enough people getting paid enough money on the track right he could he could uh prove the point and get the raise yeah actually you know uh on this podcast we're definitely a pro worker pro union uh anti fat cat for sure uh i can't recommend this approach of getting a raise yeah if if you work in a nuclear power plant and you ask for a raise and they say no sorry it's not in the budget and you go you're gonna pay for this i'll make sure of that and then you uh short circuit the cooling system and you cause a nuclear meltdown yeah i think this is why unions do exist and should exist to yeah argue on your behalf so you don't have to get your hands dirty so you don't have to say things like you're gonna pay for that sure it's

true mcbride screamed out lewis you did this boy, you're gonna regret that! He flew at the young worker, getting ready to fight it out. The other workers had to hold them apart just to stop them from killing each other. Get out of here, Lewis. You're fired. Get out of here and never darken the door again. Lewis wasn't having it. He'd been employed there since he was a child. Fired? You son of a bitch! I'll kill you! You hear me? I'll kill you!

Since he was a child? I think at that point, even the co-workers would be like, Lewis, there's not much coming back from this, man. Sure, we could maybe have explained that you didn't really know what you were doing with the bent rail when you're screaming. I'll kill you!

Right. Again, again, unions, guys. Eventually, Lewis staggered away and headed home to plot his revenge. And he got it. A few days later, he returned to the railroad with a pickaxe. And murdered McClane. Oh, okay. In a fit of rage. A man of his word, truly.

Man, I am conflicted about who to support in this story. Yeah, I know, right? You go in thinking like, oh, this poor guy who's being worked to the bone. I really hope he... Kills his boss with a pickaxe. Of course, Lewis was convicted of murder and sentenced to death by electric chair.

Oh boy. And the reason why this story is relevant Lewis was convicted of murder and sentenced to death by electric chair. Oh boy. And the reason why this story is relevant is because it wasn't long after these events that witnesses started spotting the Gurdon lights in the area. Okay, okay, I'm putting two and two together. Some people believe that the light comes from the restless soul of Will McClain, whose spirit still wanders the tracks, carrying his regulation lantern to light the way. Or, alternative theory, it's Lewis's lit cigarette as he humps the air from the ghostly realm. I mean, that would make more sense because it would really suck if the dude who was trapped on Earth for all eternity to haunt the tracks was the guy who got murdered not who did the murdering it's like that's kind of not cool isn't it it stands to reason though

in typical paranormal ghost logic that he has been wronged and he probably feels annoyed about it in the ghostly realm right so maybe his soul does need to be put to rest unfinished business god is like hey lewis is obviously going to go to hell. And we want you to go to heaven, even though you were a fat cat bastard. You were fine, I guess. Just for the record, definitely should have given them the raise. That was a dick move. And you would have lived.

But you didn't murder anyone. And that's, I guess, enough to get into heaven. It's kind of a jury system up here. And if we can't prove with enough evidence that you were a bastard, you have to get into heaven. It's kind of a jury system up here and if we can't prove with enough evidence that you were a bastard you have to get in. And Will is like, of course my lord, anything

Don't have to call me that, it's fine. Anything to make my peace on earth and join you and the rest of society in the heavenly clouds. All you have to do of course to truly be at peace is to apologize uh to um to lewis here uh lewis can you can you just come in here for a second i'll kill you i'll still kill you even though you're an angel you worthless wretch i should have cut your

pay years ago all right get out of here can you two both get out of here? Back to Earth. Back to Earth, you f***ers. Yeah, maybe that's it. Maybe until his soul can be at peace, he's stuck there. Who knows? But look, that story is merely one of the many theories about what this light is and why it's appearing. There are others. Some a little more scientific. And others, even more paranormal.

Whoa. Let's start with the science. One popular theory by scientists is that, sure, the railway is pretty close to a highway. I don't know if I mentioned that at the start. You didn't. You refused to tell me what year it was, so you were being pretty scant with the details. Could the Gurdon lights possibly be from a car yes but when they tested this theory at the actual site they realized the angles were off the location that the lights were spotted in didn't match up with the highway and even more

damning how could they explain the hundreds of reports of the Gurdon lights that outdated the construction of the highway by decades? You're using cars to explain something that a f***ing medieval knight spotted. It doesn't work, buddy. Also, did you hear this story from the start? You're getting very defensive. Where it said that this light went into a graveyard and was zipping about? Sure. Look, I'm still on your side.

You know, the lights is... Just watch it is all I'm saying. Because if you poke any more holes in this story, I'll straight up smoke your ass. I will roll up your cheeks, pack it tight, and I will smoke your ass. So just be careful.

it's fine. I'm on your side. I just wanted to qualify it by saying it is interesting that there's a lot of light sources. All right. Near the f***ing Gurdon lights. But sure, the angles don't add up or whatever you said. I warned you at the start.

Yeah. I warned you at the start not to poke holes in the story. I'm not trying to figure it out. I didn't. You're the one who's presenting this as a scientific explanation oh for your case i just remembered why i didn't pack my vape today because i'm smoking your ass stop saying that you've never said is this a new phrase for you you've never said this before you've never deserved an ass smoking before so that's what's weird and it sounds uh weirdly sexual so please what is sexual

about it's at least too intimate about dragon don't finish that sentence your ass you done are you done sir i've just told you that it can't be explained okay so you you're the one presenting the scientific explanations do you want to present your next scientific one and will i just stay quiet because i feel like if i so much as open my mouth, you're going to say I'm poking holes in it only for you to smoke my ass through the hole. I will give another scientific explanation. And sure, it could be that this is the cause of the Gurdon Lights,

but it could very much also not be the cause. So be careful which side you choose because one involves an ass smoking of a lifetime. I'm going to be borderline choking on your ass. I don't know what that means. Another popular theory is one that we've talked about in previous episodes. I believe it was the Will-O-Wisp episode, which was one of yours. It's a phenomenon where natural gas buildup in swamps essentially combusts, creating a light.

Well, I don't know if that was the full explanation for the Will-O-Wisp and Onibi episodes of This Paranormal Life. I don't appreciate you poking holes in episodes that sure resulted in double no's, but just be careful. I'm not saying anything. I'm not saying anything.

I will say Arkansas... Just hold on to your ass. Okay, fine. I don not saying anything. I'm not saying anything. I will say Arkansas. Just hold on to your ass. Okay, fine. I don't want to be too blunt, but your ass is a joint to me. Your buns are going to be f***ing ashes soon. Arkansas can get pretty hot and swampy. That heat is probably pretty dense in the vegetation of the swamps. So, sure. It doesn't quite explain a lot of the characteristics of the lights

because I feel like this kind of weird combustion would be like a flash almost, not a persistent light that hovers and chases and moves with a train. At this point, I'll admit, I was kind of ready to throw in the towel for this episode when I came across a theory in that same episode of Unsolved Mysteries that is definitely worth investigating.

Okay, I'm listening. Listen to this kid as a possible explanation behind the Gurdon Lights. The theory of it being swamp gas doesn't hold up to me just because I've seen it on a windy night. So that would eliminate any sort of swamp gas out there. The closest theory that I've come to for explaining the Gurdon Light is the piezoelectric effect. And piezoelectricity is a simple phenomenon where if you squeeze crystals such as quartz or Rochelle salt,

you get an electric current out of them. Gurdon sits atop an abundant deposit of quartz crystals in an active fault line known as the New Madrid Fault. Michael Klingin believes that when the plates shift, an electric charge is released from the crystals and seen above ground as the Gurdon Light. People tend to say that the light appeared after the murder of Will McClean.

And looking back, that also coincides with a major earthquake on the New Bridge fault line. Rory is looking at me with highly raised eyebrows as if to drive home the impact of what we just heard. Could this light possibly be generated by the collision of ancient quartz crystals buried deep in the ground? I've never heard of such a thing. That's very interesting. It's a really cool idea, right?

I will say this is a great episode of Unsolved Mysteries. That really goes into some really cool theories as to what this could be, both paranormal and scientific and i think i really liked this theory because it kind of sits in both camps in a weird way it is a very scientific explanation where you can break it down to what the compounds are and the friction that's causing this light but also electricity generated by magic crystals buried in the earth all right i don't know if anyone said they were magic it's pretty paranormal i think he said they were what court a quartz deposit or something quartz crystals buried in the ground that apparently during earthquakes they rub against each other causing friction which is emitted up through cracks in the earth creating the light

i mean it's very cool it's a very cool explanation damn these guys are having to dig hard for explanations to these goddamn lights yeah once again i will say that um sure even that doesn't really explain a lot of the characteristics of the light what that it traveled at 80 mile an hour and uh traveled to a graveyard where its soul resides to this very day exactly but when we're looking at something like this where you, you know, basically an entire town of people are claiming that, one, they have seen it,

and two, anyone can see it if you just go down there. There are a lot of ways in which light could be seen down here, as we just said. The swamp gas, the f***ing crystals. Sure, lights from a highway

at certain angles. Sure, cars with LED headlights. And some of those are a little more paranormal than others. So I guess it's up to us today to come down on a conclusion. I will say on YouTube, there are a few videos where people claim that they have seen the Gurdon lights. There's even a photo, I think,

that was used in the episode of Unsolved Mysteries. And on any forums where you hear people discussing it there are so many people more than I've maybe ever seen with any other paranormal case where it's individuals claiming that they have seen the lights on multiple occasions like it's not even a big deal like you will see it if you go down there. Which is pretty cool. Why are you showing me any of the images or videos? I really thought you were going to grab onto the crystal part. So I thought maybe that explanation of the crystal was enough. You want to see the Gurdon lights? Alright, Gurdon.

Is it too much to ask? If you're claiming that there's dozens of images and videos of the thing. I've spelt it wrong, apparently. It's a U, sorry. Sorry, just... I feel like you're stalling. Can you fill, please?

Can you say, can you fill for a second? Gerdon, can you talk about the Patreon or something, please? How long could it possibly take to type in Gerdon Light? Talk about, just plug the Patreon. You've been typing for like 30 seconds, man. If you could just plug the, if you could do anything. I think Rory's in Photoshop trying to create an image from scratch. Yeah!

There it is. That is what they're calling the confirmed picture. That's like the cover of a book. Yeah. What am I looking at? So it is a very dark picture of a book. Yeah. What am I looking at? So it is a very dark picture of a railway and at the end of the railway is a very huge

bright red glowing light. I can see it's hard to miss. Yeah. I don't know if you caught that. It's a very dark image though. What do you want from me? What do you want? It's a f***ing light. I'm gonna smoke your ass Mulvanna. I'm gonna smoke your ass. Before you smoke these cheeks show me a video your ass before you smoke these

cheeks uh show me a video there aren't videos so for this thing that's been seen by i think you said earlier seven million people nine there's not one video of it hold on saying nine like german for no or nine for the number i can't find one you put me on pressure why didn't you think you're gonna show me a video i'm getting stressed now i think there was look amy did include one in the research but the quality was so poor that it was not even you have to know you have to know as the person who is uh for probably 150 episodes of this part of my life sat in my chair that wanted us to pick this apart and come down on the conclusion uh you must know that i was going to ask for a video or that you in in the same position would ask for a video honestly i thought the story would be enough to kind of

charm you and then the crystal theory would really bring you home i didn't realize you're gonna want actual evidence it's not a dinner party i don't need to be charmed that brings us to the end of our episode okay and i here's what here's all i'm gonna say here's all i'm gonna say is i think one of the explanations behind this phenomenon could be possibly the quartz crystals being shifted about underground, creating a light source. That's kind of paranormal in a way. It's not normal, is it, to rub crystals together and make magic? So just bear that in mind when you're coming down on your conclusion. I have to bear in mind that one of the possible explanations for what might be going on is that crystals are potentially rubbing

together which isn't technically paranormal but it's kind of paranormal if you think about it pretty weird it's some harry potter shit isn't it i'm pretty sure they do that in the movies look this is very very fun and cool and you might be getting the wrong read from me i don't have strong opinions either way just we have touched on a couple other cases that have been about light sources. These are tricky because lights reflect, they dance, they move around. If it's night, they could be reflecting off any number of things. It could be reflecting off water. Sure. Anything that could make it look or feel as if it's zipping around or following you or traveling when it could just be a bug.

It could be a firefly. It's really hard to say. As the investigator, what do you think? Paranormal or not, Rory? You know, I think this is a funny case to investigate because one, what we're looking into is essentially just a floating light. Two, the origin story is quite bizarre and dramatic. And three, the explanations are either insane or realistically quite boring.

So, but I don't want that to take away from genuinely at points how close I was while researching this case, tipping towards yes. I think, I think as soon as I saw that interview where they were talking about the crystals underground rubbing together and making magic, I was like, okay, sure. That could be, that could be it. In my head, I had to make a decision at that point, whether or not, if that

was what was causing it, if I would consider that to be paranormal or not, which is kind of where I am. It's kind of where I am right now. You keep calling it magic, but to be clear, this is the kind of magic that is available at Disneyland. Sure. Kind of the magic of life and celebration or something. It's the same kind of magic as when you just rub your socks on a carpet and then zap someone when you touch them and give them an electric shock. It's a good point, though.

Yesterday's magic is today's new technologies you know um just because it seems strange it feels paranormal but is it though is it yeah is it paranormal or is it science and annoyingly even though i think smashing crystals together to make the souls of the dead come back to life yeah i think it is science i feel like i would be almost more on board uh i just got really thrown by the highway thing uh there's a lot of light going on i shouldn't have brought up the highway the highway is not that close to the rail but i do feel culturally sensitive towards whoever lives there and has seen this and i don't mean to deny you of your real world experience. I know what it feels like when you see something crazy and you're like, I know what I saw.

Yeah. Oh, and some of the testimonies of people, sometimes it'll be as vague as we saw it at the end of the rail and then it disappeared slowly. Some people say it came down the rail, went through their body. And smoked their ass. and smoked their ass smoked their ass like a salmon so so i wouldn't insult the fine witnesses of this paranormal phenomenon um look hey you know what i was kind of on the fence when i was researching this and while i was hosting it but um i think you were right to question the amount of evidence that we have in today's case, which is none, truly.

If it is so common to see, there really should be more video evidence, I would say, of this, or photographic evidence. The guy said if you just go down any time of day, it's pretty much open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., bring snacks, bring a bud. bud yeah you should be able to like look it up on google maps and see like oh it's it's usually busy at this time you know like seven and eight when's the peak hours of the girden lights um yeah uh girden light

unfortunately i think this week from me is gonna be a no i think it's a no i feel like the grinch but um maybe just one we have to see in person, Rory. I think so too. You know, if we ever get to do a big paranormal road trip around the US, this would be a great stop that would hopefully guarantee some paranormal activity. I like that idea.

A road trip, because we do have plans to go to the US. They're just pending. Yeah. A road trip where we even visit some of the yeses and nos, and we try to turn those nos into yeses. That would be a cool idea. That would be a really cool idea,

because there probably are some nos that we have given out that would be worth revisiting. Definitely are. So look forward to that, listeners. Also, can we crash on your sofa? Because the budget is just there for the flights but truly honestly it is not there for the hotels all of our arkansas listeners we need to crash at your place they're like uh you guys cool with sleeping on the the sofas

i'll kill you i'll kill you i need your bed you sleep on sofa. Is that any way to treat your cult leader? Welcome to my house. Help yourself to anything in the fridge. Unfortunately, my wife just gave birth, so the spare room is the baby's. So if you guys are okay with a futon, is that all right? I'm going to smoke your ass. I'm going to smoke. Lay your ass down.

Lay your ass down in front of me. Rory, can you smell something? Because I think I can smell a f***ing barbecue being lit under this motherf***er's badonkadonk. You have to leave. The baby's crying. I'll smoke a baby's ass.

Trust me. I'm calling the police. Hard cut to the police pinning you against the car. I didn't mean it like that. You know what I mean? Hard cut to the police pinning you against the car. Oh, I didn't mean it like that. You know what I mean? Hard cut to the courtroom. A gavel. The defendant said, and I quote,

I'll smoke a baby's ass. Don't test me. Don't test me. Wait, I was kidding. Not like that. Don't call the cops. Please, please. I'll spare your ass

the smoking of a lifetime if you just let me go. Please, please. I'll spare your ass the smoking of a lifetime if you just let me go. Son, you're lucky that Arkansas has some of the most lenient ass-smoking laws in the entire country. Dismissed. Yes! It's a double no, unfortunately. Thank you guys for listening to this week's episode

of This Paranormal Life. What a great episode. A fun one. You know, it's fun to do these ones that have kind of crazy backstories where we get to bring those origin stories to life. And hopefully we did a decent job of that today. Guys, if you missed this exciting announcement last week, we have relaunched the This Paranormal Life Patreon! Oh my god! For as little as five bucks, you can get access

to This Paranormal Life ad free, plus a monthly bonus episode. We've also got a ton of cool new rewards that are genuinely, genuinely awesome. We've got a brand new weekly show called the TPL After Party. We've got a monthly raffle where you can win actual props used in the episodes of This

Paranormal Life. It's true. Like the Ouija board or the cursed doll. And finally, we have a limited edition Knight of the Commune collector's coin that grants you access to the new headquarters of the Paranormal Commune when it's completed construction. Construction might not be completed in your lifetime. guarantee admittance will be accepted but it is a real coin that can be yours it is actually a real coin look if you're interested in any of those really cool rewards and there's so many more that we haven't even mentioned head on over

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grants you access to the Paranormal commune when it's eventually completed, many, many, many, many, many years from now. We're talking light years from now. It's also a cool way to acknowledge other members of the commune in public, you know? Flash your coin. Hello, brother. Hello, sister. Flash the coin.

If you get pulled over for reckless driving or maybe you run a red light, flash the coin. Because you never know if the officer of the law is actually a member of the commune and you could say, what seems to be the problem? Officer! And you take out your coin and then you do some sort of secret handshake. And he might probably still give you a ticket because he still has to do his job. Might just get you a discount, yeah. But you could talk about like your favorite episodes

and stuff as well, which is cool. Much like in the John Wick movie, if everything in your life goes tits up, you can redeem the coin to fake your own death and start over. It has many, many uses, which we don't list because where's the fun in that? That's for you to work out, bud. I want you to just like try and rent a car at an airport one day and see if

they'll take the coin. I want you to try and buy a tux for your wedding and see if they'll take the coin. You might as well try it because we're never going to tell you all the uses it has. All available on patreon.com forward slash this paranormal life. The link to which is in the description of this podcast. Thank you so much guys for listening to another episode of the show. We will be back as always next Tuesday with a brand new paranormal tale. We'll see you then. Bye-bye.