The Brown Mountain Lights

Brown Mountain is one of the most famous mountains in NC. Located in the Pisgah National Forest in Burke County, it is not the size of the mountain that makes it famous but rather the strange things that happen there at night.

Occasionally, lights can be seen on the mountain shooting up into the air and slowly falling back down until they fade from site. Sometimes they appear so fast and in so many numbers that it’s nearly impossible to count them. While sometimes they appear red or blueish in color, the most common color is brown giving them the name of The Brown Mountain Lights.

The lights happen. That’s a fact, you can see for your self. Where the creepiness comes into play is that there is no known explanation for the lights. All the usual suspects have been given, gases, car and locomotive lights, reflections of other light sources. But all have been excluded. And the lights shine on.

Cherokee Indians have been aware of the lights since the year 1200. According to their traditions, the lights are the spirits of maidens looking for their lost loves who died in battle. Other stories say the lights are candles of ghosts forever wandering up and down the mountain.

Whatever the cause, the lights remain as one of the most famous North Carolina legends.

Below is a video produced by a North Carolina television station on the lights.