Hi friend!

This is a personal note. It should not exceed more than a 3 lines. Now I am going to add some lorem ipsum to fill in the space. This is where most likely I would have affiliate links.

Now to the actual story…

On a clear night in 1883, a young cowhand named Robert Reed Ellison was driving cattle through Paisano Pass in West Texas when he spotted a flickering light on the horizon.

He assumed it was an Apache campfire. But when he mentioned it to other settlers, they told him the lights appeared often...and no one had ever found their source.

Over a century later, no one still has.

The Marfa Lights appear in the desert flatlands east of Marfa, Texas, a remote high-desert town sitting at nearly 4,700 feet elevation. The phenomenon occurs over Mitchell Flat, a wide stretch of Chihuahuan Desert bordered by the Chinati Mountains.

Witnesses describe basketball-sized orbs of light that hover, split apart, merge together, and vanish without warning. The colors range from yellow-orange to white, blue, red, and green. They move in ways that defy easy explanation...darting, floating, sometimes remaining stationary for minutes before blinking out.

The lights appear only a dozen or so nights per year. No pattern has ever been established. They've been seen in clear weather and storms, by skeptics and believers alike.

Native American tribes spoke of them as "fallen stars." Early settlers wondered if they were supernatural. By the 20th century, scientists began taking interest.

None have provided a definitive answer.

The first published account appeared in 1945, when the San Angelo Times ran a piece titled "Ghost Light Appears in Marfa Area." By 1957, Coronet magazine described the phenomenon as a "weird Cyclopean eye" gleaming from the darkness.

During World War II, tens of thousands of military personnel stationed at nearby Marfa Army Airfield became aware of the lights. Pilots from Midland Army Air Field attempted to locate the source from the air. They found nothing. The airfield was constantly patrolled by sentries, yet no explanation emerged.

In 1989, a team of Japanese scientists spent a week at Mitchell Flat with sophisticated monitoring equipment, releasing balloons and tracking screens. They waited. Nothing appeared. The lead scientist suggested a natural phenomenon but offered no conclusions.

The University of Texas at Dallas sent physics students in 2004. They documented lights southwest of the viewing area and found their frequency correlated with traffic on nearby Highway 67. Their movements appeared to follow straight lines matching the road.

Texas State University conducted spectroscopy observations over 20 nights in 2008. Every light they recorded could be explained as automobile headlights or small fires...but they acknowledged the rarity of "genuine" Marfa lights with behavior that defied such explanations.

Former NASA engineer James Bunnell set up automated infrared cameras beginning in 2003. Over five years, he identified an average of 9.5 unexplained lights on 5.25 nights per year.

Something is out there. The question is what.

Scientists have proposed several explanations, though none account for all reported sightings.

Atmospheric Mirage (Most Plausible):

Temperature inversions in the high desert can bend light over great distances. Cold and warm air layers create effects similar to a fata morgana, where distant headlights might appear to hover, split, or dance. Marfa's 40-50°F temperature swings between day and night create ideal conditions.

Automobile Headlights:

Studies confirmed Highway 67 is visible from the official viewing area. Traffic patterns correlate with many light appearances. Atmospheric distortion could transform ordinary headlights into something otherworldly.

Swamp Gas Variant:

Some theorize natural gas seepage could ignite upon contact with oxygen, creating the legendary "will-o'-the-wisp" effect. Marfa sits above significant petroleum reserves. However, the area lacks the marshy conditions typically associated with such phenomena.

What Remains Unexplained:

Long-time observers insist some lights behave in ways no car headlight could...splitting into multiple orbs, changing colors, moving against the wind, appearing miles from any road. Those who watch the lights over years tend to personify them, describing them as curious, even friendly.

Local resident Mrs. W.T. Giddings, whose father claimed the lights once led him to shelter during a blizzard, considers them "curious observers, investigating things around them."

The Marfa Lights may be several phenomena sharing one name, some mundane, some genuinely mysterious.

The lights have become central to Marfa's identity. In 2003, the Texas Department of Transportation built a $720,000 viewing center nine miles east of town, complete with mounted binoculars and informational plaques.

Every Labor Day weekend, the Marfa Lights Festival draws visitors from around the world with live music, artisan markets, parades, and storytelling centered on the phenomenon. Local artists incorporate the lights into paintings, sculptures, and installations.

The mystery has appeared in Unsolved Mysteries, King of the Hill, and inspired David Morrell's novel The Shimmer. James Dean reportedly became obsessed with the lights while filming Giant, keeping a telescope trained on the desert from his hotel window.

Scientists continue to debate. Locals continue to watch. The lights continue to appear...and disappear, on their own unknowable schedule.

The only certainty is uncertainty itself.

Sleep well... and may the lights not keep you awake for too long
- The Editor (aka Liz)

Ps. Tell me what you think! Do you have any theories, or do you have a similar story you would like to read about? Reply to this email! I’ll be sure to answer you back, my friend.

Five fishermen vanish in a Hawaiian storm. Nine years later, their boat appears 2,200 miles away…with a single grave marked by objects no one can explain.

Coronet Magazine - "The Ghost Light of Marfa" (July 1957)

James Bunnell - Marfa Lights monitoring research and documentation (2003-2008)

San Angelo Times - "Ghost Light Appears in Marfa Area" (February 1945)

Texas Monthly - "The Truth is Out There" by Michael Hall (June 2006)

Texas State Historical Association - Marfa Lights historical documentation

Texas State University - Spectroscopy study of Marfa Lights (May 2008)

University of Texas at Dallas - Society of Physics Students investigation (2004)

Wall Street Journal - Marfa Lights coverage (March 24, 1984)