Railroad Ghost Stories
by Theresa Beck, Education Intern
What’s your favorite ghost story? Did you perhaps grow up hearing about ghosts in graveyards, or maybe a haunted hotel? Rail workers had their own ghost stories that they told, chilling tales of mystery and intrigue. One of these more popular tales is the legend of the Joe Baldwin Ghost Light, or more commonly known as the Maco Light.
The story originates in North Carolina, 1867, back when workers had to manually couple cars together before a trip. One night, Joe Baldwin, a conductor, hopped out of his train to recouple some cars that were separated, and there was an accident. He died with a lantern in his hand as he tried to refasten the coupler.
After that night, it is said that a mysterious light began appearing along the tracks. It would wander back and forth around the tracks before trailing off into the night. Some say that Joe was decapitated during the accident, and that the light can be explained by his ghost wandering around each night to find his missing head.
Later, in 1873, a second light began appearing opposite the first each night, before meeting and trailing off together. Passengers and workers alike theorized that perhaps this was a sign that Joe had found his head, and that his head had been searching for him as well.
This story gained so much popularity, with so many sightings, that it even reached an investigator out in Washington, DC, who failed to scientifically explain the light. There are also accounts of engineers who stopped their trains for the light, believing that there was someone on the tracks trying to flag them down. Maybe Joe is still out there, searching for his head each night.
Rumor has it that our very own depot has its own ghost stories. Perhaps, if you look closely enough, you may see a ghost right here at home.
The Romance & Folklore of North America’s Railroads. Edited by Bill Yenne. New York: Brompton Books Corp., 1994.