EDITOR’S NOTE: Strangeville explores the legends, folklore, and unexplained history of Western North Carolina. From Cherokee mythology and Appalachian ghost stories to Bigfoot sightings and UFO encounters, the Blue Ridge Mountains have long been a hotspot for the strange and mysterious. Join us as we dig into the past and uncover the truth behind the region’s most curious tales.
BURKE COUNTY, N.C. – On clear nights in western North Carolina, strange lights are said to rise above the ridges of Brown Mountain. Some call them orbs. Others say they flicker, drift, or dart through the sky before vanishing. No one knows for sure what they are, yet the stories have lasted for centuries.
Locals refer to them as the Brown Mountain Lights. The first written accounts appeared in the early 1900s, though Cherokee oral history includes similar sightings that stretch back much further. According to legend, the lights are the spirits of women searching for fallen warriors after a great tribal battle. Another story speaks of a slave who wandered the mountain each night with a lantern, trying to find his missing master. Both died during the search, though the light never stopped moving through the trees.
Some believe the lights are spirits from the Civil War. Others say they are something not of this world.
The Brown Mountain Lights even made their way into an episode of The X-Files. In the 1999 episode “Field Trip,” agents Mulder and Scully investigate the unexplained deaths of two hikers near Brown Mountain. The lights are referenced as a centuries-old mystery that even the Cherokee once witnessed. The episode blends hallucination with folklore, using the mountain’s reputation as a setting for one of the show’s more surreal cases.
The most common sightings describe glowing balls of red, orange, or white light. They rise above the horizon or float silently along the ridgelines before fading. Reports spike during clear, dry fall nights. Popular viewing spots include the Brown Mountain Overlook on NC Highway 181, Lost Cove Cliffs along the Blue Ridge Parkway, and Wiseman’s View, which offers a panoramic vantage point over the Linville Gorge.
From Wiseman’s View, visitors also look directly toward Table Rock, a well-known rock-climbing destination with its own trailhead and parking area. Some of the smaller lights seen from that angle have been explained as hikers carrying flashlights or vehicles winding along remote mountain roads. Lights that drift through the trees or move along the base of the cliffs often have clear, human sources. These kinds of explanations satisfy some visitors.
Even so, not everything seen from the overlooks fits into simple categories. Witnesses describe lights that rise vertically into the air, split into multiple glowing spheres, or disappear without warning. Some appear to hover far from any trail or roadway. The strangest lights show up when there are no hikers on the mountain and no vehicles nearby. These are the sightings that keep people returning to the overlooks, hoping to witness something they can’t quite explain.
The U.S. Geological Survey conducted an investigation in 1922 and concluded that the lights were likely the result of distant train headlights, brush fires, or reflections. That theory was challenged in the years that followed, especially after floods damaged local train tracks and sightings continued. Researchers from Appalachian State University have since installed cameras and monitoring equipment to track the phenomenon. Some of what they recorded could be traced to natural or human-made sources. Other occurrences remain unexplained.
The lights have become part of regional folklore and popular culture. Whether viewed through the lens of science or superstition, the Brown Mountain Lights remain one of North Carolina’s most talked-about mysteries.
People still gather at the overlooks, watching and waiting. Sometimes the night stays quiet. Other times, a pale light rises in the distance, floats for a moment, then vanishes. The mystery lives on, just like the mountain itself.
Visit Brown Mountain
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