The Paulding Light, the Mysterious Phenomenon That Fascinates Visitors to a US City (and How Science Explains It)

Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is home to a chilling attraction frequented by travelers with a special interest in the paranormal.

It’s about the light pickinga phenomenon that is only visible if you visit the right place at the right time.

Whether on foggy summer evenings or during endless, knee-deep snow winters, crowds of locals and spectators gather in a small open area next to the highway. US 45 at Robbins Road.

As the sun sets and twilight turns to the black of night, small glowing orbs, varying in color between white, yellow and red (depending on the season and atmospheric conditions), form on a hill about 8 km away.

They float in the air, without growing, shrinking, dancing, advancing or retreating. They flash as unexpectedly as they come to life, appearing and disappearing randomly, and vanishing as someone approaches or chases them.

Although they may seem impossible to capture, the lights are undoubtedly visible and remain so in varying amounts and frequencies until dawn puts an end to the party.

Visitors armed with professional photography equipment They managed to capture cloudy images of what happens there, but those images have been there for years they couldn’t explain it the phenomenon they observe.

Local folklore offers different explanations for said ethereal enlightenment.

The most popular story says it is the ghost of a railroad worker who died in a train accident. The anima appears every night to hold his lantern and warn future victims to stay away. But there are no records or visual evidence of a railway line in the area.

There are other paranormal theories about the Paulding light, such as one that attributes it to alien probes exploring the treetops.

Whatever the story, the light has put the town of Paulding on the map. Travelers keep visiting the place to see what could be the most punctual ghost in the world, with shops and restaurants where you can buy caps and t-shirts related to the phenomenon and where you can eat.

“I’ve seen the Paulding light several times,” said Sarah Bakker, an employee at the Sylvania Outfitters store.

“I didn’t think it was anything supernatural, but it’s cool to see. Some people say they definitely see car headlights, but others swear they see something else that can’t be explained.”

What does science say?

In 2010, Jeremy Bos, then a PhD candidate in electrical engineering at Michigan Technological University (MTU), led an expedition with students to the area.

Equipped with cameras, photometers and powerful telescopes, their only mission was explain Paulding lightly.

They have empirical evidence than many less imaginative visitors to Paulding had expected. They are cars: distant headlights that combine with atmospheric effects to create a beautiful mirage.

Bos received his PhD and is now an associate professor at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at MTU. Despite his team’s efforts to provide a clear explanation for the phenomenon, legends persist.

“I asked the people who saw the light what they saw and what they thought they saw,” Bos said. “If they ask me to explain it, I will. Most people say they see yellowish or red lights that appear to be moving. If there is any movement, most of what you see is due to an autokinetic effect,” he says.

Michael C Roggemann, professor emeritus of electrical engineering at MTU, was the faculty advisor for the student expedition. He suggests that scientific explanations of light can be just as interesting as paranormal explanations, if people choose to accept them.

“A ‘normal’ mirage is actually light that originates in the sky and is refracted toward the eye due to a strong temperature gradient in the air near the surface,” says Roggemann.

“I ask people who see the lights if they’ve ever heard of temperature inversion, which occurs when air temperature – as a function of height near the Earth’s surface – falls and then rises.”

Roggemann notices this Geography and local climate favor frequent temperature inversions in the early afternoon, when there is always traffic on the highway.

The result is an ‘upside down’ optical illusion: car headlights in Paulding are aligned with the road as they refract and tilt towards the ground.

The effect is visible only from the place where visitors gather.

Myths about light

Bos encourages “ghost hunters” to look through a telescope or telephoto lens, assuring them that they will see car headlights and brake lights.

However, there are visitors who just… they want to believe in his visions.

“For those who don’t think about the interaction between light and air all their lives, a ghost story is more interesting,” Bos admits. “You can combine that with local people who want to make this place, an area that most people know nothing about, special.”

Roggemann believes so myths about light are reinforced by locals, who managed to create ghost stories. “I think the lights seem harmless and people enjoy the local legend because it is completely benign,” he says.

“People love stories and we must admit that we cannot refute the existence of a ghost.”

Cyndi Perkins, a content specialist from Michigan, believes the MTU statement: but he visits the place with his daughter for an occasional evening of entertainment. She points out that there are now as many travelers in the area trying to prove the scientific explanation as there are enthusiasts of supernatural causes.

“People who believe in Paulding’s light do not believe the mystery has been solved,” Perkins points out. “They claim that what investigators saw was not the real Paulding Light.”

Bos writes the the persistence of the Paulding phenomenon to animism, the belief in a supernatural force that gives identity to natural phenomena.

“This is still the oldest belief, and the Paulding light is a perfect modern example of that very human tendency,” he says. (JO)