Outside Crossett, where the old railroad tracks once ran, there is a light that people say will not let you catch it. It is one of Southeast Arkansas’ best-known ghost stories, and it fits a Halloween drive well.
According to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas, the Crossett Light has reportedly been seen since the early 1900s by a lot of people. Witnesses describe a glow floating two or three feet above the ground. Sometimes it drifts side to side or rises into the treetops. Its color is said to range from yellow or orange to blue or green.
The strangest part of the story is that the light fades as you walk toward it and then reappears the same distance away. Nobody ever seems to get a close look.
The tale: As locals tell it, the light is the lantern of a railroad brakeman who lost his head in an accident on the line in the early 1900s and still walks the tracks looking for it. Arkansas tourism writers have added another version, in which the lantern belongs to his wife, still out searching for him. A few people have even blamed visitors from outer space, though the encyclopedia notes that idea is “not widely credited.”
The history: Reports of the light began around the time the railroads came through the young timber town, which may be where the railroad worker story started. The Crossett Light is one of several Southern “spooklights.” Others are reported near Gurdon in Clark County and near Joplin and Senath in Missouri.
The explanations: Skeptics point to swamp gas, or to car headlights bent by a rise in the land. The headlight theory is more popular, but it has one problem: people were reporting the light before cars were common in Ashley County.
Whether it is a lantern, a trick of the land or something else, the light has entertained generations of Ashley County families who drive out on a dark night to watch for it. If you go looking, stay on public roads, respect private property and watch for traffic.
Sources: Encyclopedia of Arkansas — Crossett Light; Little Rock Public Radio — Encyclopedia of Arkansas Minute: Crossett Light.
