The Maco Light

Author: Rhett Barnard

Near the coastal areas of North Carolina, nestled in swampland, is the small town of Maco. In this quaint little town lies a legend, one of tragedy and searching from beyond the grave. That is the legend of the Maco light. In the years after the Civil War, the railroad was king. Joe Baldwin, a flagman for the trains out of Maco Depot Station, was asleep in the back of the caboose. He was awoken by a loud noise and a violent shake. The caboose had become unhinged. 

Joe ran to the back to the train to alert another train, which was traveling nearly top speed towards the caboose. Unfortunately, the conductor didn’t see Joe through the mist, and hit the caboose at full speed. He was decapitated, and after much searching for his head with no luck, he was buried without it. After his death, many sightings of a mysterious light were reported. It was said to be Joe with his lantern, looking for his head. Many people, including President Grover Cleveland, claimed to see this light. That is until 1977, when the railroad was torn up. The sightings stopped after this. The legend of Joe Baldwin has inspired legends, skeptics, even videos about the subject. 

The story of Joe Baldwin is a tragic one. It is said that after his death, he was viewed as a hero for giving his life trying to prevent a collision. Of course, as with most legends, the lines between what really happened and what people perceived became blurred. In this particular legend, even details about the ghost became skewed. There are variations of this story that say Joe’s ghost can be seen carrying a two light, one red and one green, to warn an oncoming train. This is a stark contrast to the most widely believed accounts of him carrying one lantern in search of his severed head. 

In a short documentary, those who claim to see it claimed that the light began to slowly recede as they moved closer. The legend, however, states that the light will suddenly disappear upon looking at it for more than a few seconds. As the years go by, and the legend diminishes, the crazy claims are sure to outweigh the long standing legend.

Though there will always be skeptics, the legend of the Maco Light will live on in the hearts of the people of Maco. The light is not predicted to ever be seen again, due to the railroad being pulled up. There are, however, those who remain loyal to the legend of Joe Baldwin. With the lack of reported sightings, it is a very large possibility that this legend may disappear in areas far from this sight. But this small town will surely never forget. 

Works Cited:

Steelman, Ben. “THE MACO LIGHT | BRUNSWICK'S ‘TRUE' GHOST STORY.” Star News. 10 October, 2008. Web. 14 October, 2013.

“The Maco Light.” Northcarolinaghosts.com. N.p. n.d. Web. 4 Oct. 2013.

Will Davis. “The Maco Light ( & The Legend of Joe Baldwin)” Yotube.com. Web. 14 October, 2013.

Links for Further Research

The Maco Light

darkartsmedia.com/Maco_Light.html

Leads to a multimedia presentation on the Maco Light.

The Light at Maco Station

www.ibiblio.org/ghosts/maco.html

Gives detailed description on the Maco Light and leads to an interactive sight where multimedia can be viewd.

History of the Maco Light

www.thenbm.com/macolight.htm

Gives detailed description of the legend along with credible real life sources that can be found today.

The Haunted Railroad Crossing of San Antonio

Author: Hunter Norris

The world has many legends. One legend in particular takes place in San Antonio, Texas. The legend in question is about a haunted railroad track. According to Stephen Wagner on About.com, in the 1930s or 1940s a bus driver was doing what he does best: driving a bus. Needless to say, there were kids riding on the bus. Unfortunately, the bus stalled as it was crossing a railroad track, and they became stuck on the tracks. As it was a railroad track, a train came by and smashed straight into the bus, killing ten kids and the driver.

            In the present day, the legend is if you drive your car to the train tracks at the corner of Shane and Villamain, says informationsanantonio.com, set it to neutral, and let go of the steering wheel, your car will ominously start rolling forward. Sure, cars roll forward on a downhill, but the tracks are on top of a hill. It is physically impossible for a car to roll uphill by its own accord. Word goes around that the ghosts of the kids and the driver are pushing your car across the tracks to the other side to protect us from suffering the same fate.

            This is not just a case of one or two isolated incidents, either. On roadsideamerica.com, you can read countless personal stories from different tourists who have tried it out for themselves. Some people claim to have even seen the ghost. One tourist, although not on the aforementioned website, claims to have taken a picture of the ghost.

 “Picture of one of the ‘ghost children.’”

            A group of paranormal investigators called Long Island Paranormal Investigators decided to do their thing and investigate the area with all of their professional equipment and experience. They did not pick up a single thing on any of their devices. On legendsofamerica.com, experts have determined the explanation of the haunting. Although it may look like the car rolls uphill, it’s just an optical illusion. It is actually a 2 degree inclination going downhill. This may explain how the car rolls forward, but what about the picture? It may be a hoax, but you never know. There are a lot of things in this world, and not everything is as it seems.

Works Cited:

"Haunted Railroad Crossing - Ghost Tracks." Informationsanantonio.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2012. 

“Railroad Tracks, San Antonio." Liparanormalinvestigators.com. Long Island Paranormal Investigators, n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. 

"San Antonio, Texas: Ghostly Gravity Hill." RoadsideAmerica.com. N.p., 12 Mar. 2011. Web. 24 Oct. 2012.

Wagner, Stephen. "The Haunted Railroad Crossing." Paranormal.about.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2012.

Weiser, Kathy. “Ghost Children Upon San Antonio’s Railroad Tracks.” Legendsofamerica.com. N.p., January 2010. Web. 24 Oct. 2012.

Links For Further Research:

About.com: Paranormal phenomena 

Paranormal.about.com. 

This site contains anything about the paranormal.

Legends of America. 

Legendsofamerica.com. 

This site has information and articles about many of America’s legends.

Welcome to San Antonio. 

Informationsanantonio.com. 

This site, you guessed it, has plenty of info on San Antonio.