On a chilly and clear autumn night on Brown Mountain in North Carolina, one might see a group of lights floating close to the ground within the forest. The lights will continue to waveringly float about 10 feet in the air before disappearing, leaving the night dark and the viewer stunned. These are known as the Brown Mountain Lights. Thousands of witnesses have recorded their experiences over the years, yet no one can explain this phenomenon.

Many legends have circulated throughout history regarding these lights, as well as many theories which have all been disproven. The only legend that has withstood the critique of baffled scientists and visitors alike is the story told by the Qualla Cherokee people.

The Qualla Cherokee people have seen these lights as early as 1200 AD. They tell of a fierce and vicious battle between the Cherokee and the Catawba (Sioux) people that took place on this ridge in the autumn. The battle roared long into the night, and many men on both sides lost their lives. When the surviving warriors came home to the village, the women lit torches and set off to find their husbands, fathers, brothers, and sons in the ridge’s dense forest. When they arrived to the battlefield, they found that their men had perished. The women left their torches with their loved ones, to light their path home to the spirit world and the ancestors that awaited them.

The torch lights can still be seen on Brown Mountain each autumn. When the night is clear and cool and the conditions are right, the men that died on that ridge light their torches, reminding everyone that sees them of the grief and lasting impact of war.