Marfa Lights

Author: Shelby Tasker

Weird Nature Phenomenon: Marfa’s Mystery Lights, Chinati Mountains, West Texas

This paranormal phenomenon we call “Marfa Lights” has been reported as glowing orbs across the Mitchell Flat, an area near Marfa where they’ve mostly been observed. Many witnesses have said the lights are all different colors such as white, blue, green, yellow and red. They have been reported to be as big as a basketball, and come in unpredictable directions, and distances. They can appear at any point of time throughout the year, on any day of the week, and in any weather condition for seconds at a time, or even hours. These puzzling lights are shoulder height, float above ground, or high in the air. They can split into two, dart across the sky, or melt into just one light.  They are usually reported ten to twenty times a year, and have yet to be seen during the day. In recent years the lights have become a tourist attraction. The Texas State Highway Department has constructed a viewing area a few miles away from Marfa for anyone to stop and enjoy the lights. The biggest mystery of all: we have no idea what causes the Marfa Lights.

There are thousands of explanations of the strangeness making the lights extremely controversial. Many researchers have tried coming up with a scientific reason for the lights, but have not had any luck. Therefore, many imaginers have come up with their own theory. Onlookers have described them as ghosts, and even UFOs. One explanation for these lights is the wandering ghosts from Spanish conquistadors who were looking for gold but were left behind, and will forever be around (Smith). Another theory is when World War I soldiers witnessed the lights; they feared the lights were an invasion (Smith).  Pilots of the war looked for the source from the helicopters, but had no luck.

The most logical theory found was researched by the Society of Physics Students at the University of Texas at Dallas to determine an origin of the Marfa lights. They set up video cameras and traffic monitoring boxes for their experiment. The purpose was to find if there was a correlation between the numbers of lights being observed and the number of cars of the nearest highway (Stolyarrow). When the videos were played at real-time, all the lights seemed to jump, float, and change colors. However, when the videos were played at high speeds the lights moved from left to right along a path, just like cars would (Stolyarrow). The experimenters concluded all the suspicious lights observed by this group and anyone else could be identified as car headlights traveling on US 67 through Texas.

According to Julia Smith, publisher of the Texas State Historical Association, the first historical record of the lights was in 1883. Robert Ellison saw a flickering light while driving some cattle. When he told others what he saw, they often saw the lights also while driving their cattle through Marfa. When they went to investigate, they found no ashes or any other evidence from campfires (Smith).  This theory makes it hard to believe the reasoning behind the lights are cars, because cars were not around that long ago. 

Marfa Lights Up Close

Although some of the ideas seem very logical, others seem quite far-fetched. No matter what the idea is, there isn’t enough research to support any of the theories. In all, every theory proposed is simply a speculation at this point with none of them having any proven facts.

Work Cited:

Darack, Ed. "Unlocking the atmospheric secrets of the Marfa mystery lights." Weatherwise. 61.3 (May-June 2008): p36. Academic OneFile. Article. 9 October 2013.

Hall, Michael. “The Truth is Out There.” Texas Monthly. June 2006. Web. 9 October 2013.

James, Peter. “Marfa Lights Up Close.” YouTube. Google. MP3 file. 18 February 2007. Web. 10 October 2013.

Lallanilla, Marc. “What are the Marfa Lights?” Livescience. Life’s Little Mysteries. 19 June 2013. Web. October 10, 2013.

Smith, Julia. “Marfa Lights.” Texas State Historical Association. n.d. Web. 13 October 2013.

Stolyarrow, Alexander. “An Experimental Analysis of the Marfa Lights.” University of Texas. 10 December 2005. Document. 10 October 2013.

“Weird Nature Phenomenon: Marfa’s Mystery Lights, Chinati Mountains, West Texas.” Photograph. Strange Sounds. 16 February 2013. Web. October 15, 2013.

Links for Further Research:

Marfa Lights Research. NightsOrbs. 2013. This website gives you a slide show of all the different images of the Marfa Lights.

The Marfa Lights. YouTube. Google 5 April 2011. Web. October 15, 2013. This video has interviews from the mayor of Marfa, Texas and other old-timers who have witnessed the lights first hand.

Hunting Marfa Lights. Amazon. n.d. Web. October 15, 2013. This website gives you a short summary of the book written by James Bunnel, “Hunting Marfa Lights,” and gives you the option to buy it. 

The Marfa Lights

Author: Bryce Saunders

Every small town in America has its local legends and folklore. However, none are quite as concrete and easy to spot as the mysterious Marfa Lights. The town of Marfa, Texas is located not far from the Mitchell Flat.  Looking out onto the flat from Marfa on most clear nights, you can see strange floating, blinking, and moving lights.  The source of these lights has been controversial ever since they were first reported. 

Marfa Light on the Mitchell Flat by J. Bunnell, 2007.

 Most critics believe the lights come from some type of reflection through the desert from headlights on nearby roads.  However, there are reports that date back to the late 1800s which would refute this idea altogether. Cars did become prominent in America until the 1900s. Many frontiersmen would search for these lights through the desert thinking they were actually Native Americans who intended to hurt or kill them, their families, or their livestock.

              
 However, cow herders and ranchers are not the only ones who have gone searching for the source of these lights though.  One local war veteran tried to chase the lights down with his plane, however could not find anything.  A group of scientists conducted experiments to find a scientific solution to the lights. They discovered that the lights matched up very precisely with cars passing on the near by highway. 

Video of the Marfa Lights in Marfa, Texas. 

However, this still does not explain how the lights were seen before cars came into existence.  Neither can scientists explain the high pitched noises many hear while observing the lights or the playful nature that the lights seem to have as people chase them (Kelley). Because the lights playfulness, there are also many ghost stories about the ghost lights, mainly by Native Americans.  Many believe the lights are lost lovers forever searching for each other.  Many others believe they are fallen warriors who will wander the Earth forever.  As much as people search and hypothesize theories for their existence, it is likely we will ever know for sure and that we should enjoy their sight rather than question their existence. 

Works Cited:

 Kelley. “The Marfa Lights”. Dave Republic. N.p. n.d. Web. 24 Oct, 2012.

J. Bunnell. “Marfa Lights View Park”. Photograph. “Mystery Lights”. Marfa Lights Research. Marfa Lights Research, 23 July 2007. Web. 25 Oct, 2012.

PJNARS. “Marfa Lights up close”. Youtube. 18 Feb 2007. Web. 25 Oct, 2012.

Links for Further Research:

Skeptoid

http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4038

Gives more information about the Marfa Lights and their existence.

Night Orbs

http://www.nightorbs.net/

Gives general information about what the Marfa Lights are.

SPNational

http://www.spsnational.org/wormhole/utd_sps_report.pdf

Gives a scientific explanation towards what the Marfa Lights are.