This haunted horror
story takes place on the Atlantic Coast line railroad at a station which was
known as Farmers Turnout. The station was later renamed and is now known as the
Maco Station, a few miles west of
Wilmington North Carolina. The
Maco Light is one of North
Carolina's great ghost stories. For over a century, spooky and mysterious
lights were observed and even photographed appearing up and down along the
railroad tracks. Like any other mysterious light, the light would disappear
whenever anyone approached it.
 |
| Headless Joe Baldwin searching for his head |
The story took place in late 1867. Joe Baldwin was sleeping in the last
train cart, which is known as the caboose. Then he was awakened by a loud and
rough jerk. He jumped up quickly knowing that the cart had detached from the
train. He also knew that the train which he was on was not the only train
schedule to be on the tracks at the time.
Joe rushed and grabbed
a warning light. He ran to the back of the detached cart and waved it back in
forth hoping that the oncoming train would see it and stop. It was too late.
The speeding locomotive ran full speed into the cart and Joe Baldwin was decapitated.
During the accident, his head was thrown into a nearby swamp by the force. It
was never found and Joe was buried a week later headless.
After
that night, lights have been seen
moving up and down the track around the Maco Station area. Most of the time it
was one light, but there were even reports of two. People say that it's the ghost of Joe
Baldwin, still searching for his missing head. Later on, the tracks along the
route were pulled up in 1977. Ever since
they were pulled up, the lights have never been seen again.
Stories from the coast stated, “The Maco Light is too well documented and has been too often seen to be
dismissed as mere superstition. But I think that what was seen around Maco was
a natural, not supernatural, phenomenon.” It is believed that the lights were
simply a tremendous electrical charge
from earthquakes that give off globular balls of light. I guess the world will
never know.
Works
Cited:
"The Maco Light| North Carolina Ghost
Stories and Legends." The
Maco Light| North Carolina Ghost Stories and Legends. N.p., n.d. Web. 22
Oct. 2012. <http://www.northcarolinaghosts.com/coast/macolight.php>.
Further information.
Display video of the accident.
Essay of the Joe Baldwin legend.
North Carolina horror stories.
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