The Maco Light, Ghost Trains and Spectral
Stories of Legendary Locomotives
Stories of
phantom locomotives and a phenomenon known as the, “Maco Light” are among the
most primitive as it pertains to the history of haunted trains. Legends of this
unusual genre are abundant in North Carolina, suggesting that this state may be
the supernatural train station of the south. Typically, accidents and violent
deaths are associated with these tales and train accident reports from North
Carolina date back to as early as 1884 and as recent as 1943.
In 1867, just
a few miles West of Wilmington. There was a tragedy that led to the birth of a
phenomenon known as the, “Maco Light”. A cargo train, carrying a signalman
named Joe Baldwin, was headed down the tracks when it started to shake
violently. The caboose, which Joe was riding in, unlocked itself from the car
in front of it. He woke during the commotion and grabbed his lantern to attempt
to signal the other train he knew would be traveling the same route that night.
But it was too late, while Joe bravely swung his lantern back and forth from the
back of the caboose, only a flicker of the pale yellow candle could be
seen against the blackness of the North Carolina night sky. The passenger train
approached quickly but did not see the signal in enough time stop.
The train
and the caboose collided in a fiery and devastating crash and Joe was killed
instantly when he was decapitated, his head flung into the surrounded creek. This
violent crash happened in the town of Maco, North Carolina and ever since has
been the source of the local legend associated with the crash and death of Joe
Baldwin. Those who have seen the, “Maco Light” believe the spirit of Joe
Baldwin still trying to signal the oncoming passenger train that killed him. Generations
of people have witnessed the phenomenon and even president Grover Cleveland
reported a sighting while on his Whistle Stop Tour in 1889.
Some
speculate that the light anomaly is somehow associated with a natural phenomenon
known as, “earth quake lights”. Earth quake lights were not scientifically
proven to exist until 1965 when the seismology community acknowledged them. However,
the Maco Light disappeared for a few years after a 7.3 earthquake rattled the
eastern coastline of North and South Carolina in 1886. This has led many to
believe that the Maco Light is ghostly in nature and even since the removal of
the tracks in 1977, sightings are still happening.
Phantom
trains are another supernatural occurrence associated with locations in North
Carolina. The train accident of 1891, near Statesville, was the worst train
accident in North Carolina history. This accident is also associated with the
story of another legend that happens every year on the Bostian Bridge that
crosses over the Third Creek. On August 27, 1891, a passenger train from
Salisbury was in route to Asheville. At 3 AM, a car carrying several passengers
came loose and derailed from the tracks on the Bostian Bridge. The car plunged
violently off the bridge, several hundred feet below until impact. The screams
of the passengers were short lived and twenty two people were killed instantly.
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| The 1891 Train Accident near Statesville, North Carolina was the worst train accident in North Carolina history. |
Sightings of
the train wreck are still happening today. Countless reports all summarize the same
events and at the same time every year. On the anniversary of the 1891 train
wreck, the eerie whistle of the train can be heard. Those who have witnessed the
spectral locomotive say; it speeds toward them, derails from the tracks and the
terrible screams of those inside echo from within the steel beast as it plummets
to the ground. Those who have been brave enough to look over the Bostian Bridge
at the wreckage, find that nothing is disturbed and no train or wreckage can be
found what so ever.
These
residual and unpredictable sightings of spirit trains are not limited to North
Carolina and legends of this sort stem from all over the United States and abroad.
Many violent train wrecks and disasters are the catalyst for ghost stories but the
ones that are still being told from years of sightings and paranormal research,
will continue to live on throughout history. The mystery of why this ghostly phenomenon
exists may never be known to the living but for the dead, it seems to be an
endless purgatory of peril.
