Brown Mountain Light

c. One early account of the lights dates from September 13, 1913, as reported in the Charlotte Daily Observer. A fisherman claimed to have seen “mysterious lights seen just above the horizon every night”, red in color, with a pronounced circular shape. Soon after this account, a United States Geological Survey employee, D.B. Stewart, studied the area in question and determined the witnesses had mistaken train lights for something more mysterious. The lights are the inspiration for the bluegrass song, Scotty Wiseman’s “Brown Mountain Light”, later performed by the Kingston Trio, and the Country Gentlemen. In this version the light is being carried by "a faithful old slave/come back from the grave" who is searching for his lost master.