The Gurdon Light: Something I Saw as a Teen That Still Sticks With Me

I was a teenager the first time I went looking for the Gurdon Light.
It must have been around 2004, one of those nights where someone says, “Have you ever seen it?” and suddenly you’re in a car heading down a dark Arkansas road just to see if the stories are true.

What surprised me most was this:
it wasn’t scary at all.

It was just… interesting.

Quiet. Strange. Almost calm.

The long way to get to it is more nerve-racking honestly.

Seeing It for Yourself

If you’ve never been, the Gurdon Light appears out near the old railroad tracks outside Gurdon (I’m not sure if they are still there, I heard that some things were removed). You stand there in the dark, listening to the woods, waiting.. and then suddenly there it is. A small glowing light floating in the distance like a train moving slowly down the tracks.. or a lantern swinging, moving, sometimes fading, then coming back again.

People describe it as different colors, white, blue, green, even orange. When I saw it I saw like a white/green blinking glow, it didn’t feel like something chasing us or watching us. It felt more like something existing on its own, whether we were there or not.

That’s what stuck with me. Like watching any animal carry on in the woods.. it belongs there.

The Stories Everyone Knows

If you grow up in Arkansas, you hear the stories early.
A railroad worker. A lantern. A death near the tracks. Some versions say he was murdered. Some say he lost his head in an accident. Either way, the light is said to be his lantern, still drifting along the rails.

And sure, those stories add to the atmosphere. Standing out there at night, you can see how people came up with them.

But honestly?
When I saw the light, I wasn’t thinking about ghosts.

Not Everything Has to Be Scary

Some people say it’s headlights from far away. Others talk about underground minerals or natural electrical activity or gas. There are theories, but no explanation that fully settles it.

And I kind of like that.

Not everything unexplained needs to be terrifying. Some things are just reminders that the world still has quiet mysteries in it.. the kind you stumble into as a teenager and carry with you long after.

Why I Still Think About It

Looking back, the Gurdon Light feels like one of those very Arkansas experiences. You don’t need a ticket. There’s no fence or sign explaining it all. You just go, stand still, and see what happens.

Years later, I don’t remember every detail of that night, but I remember the feeling. Curiosity instead of fear. Wonder instead of panic.

And maybe that’s why the story sticks.

Some lights don’t warn you.
They just show up, long enough to remind you that the woods, the land, and the past still have things to say.

Yours,

April