The legend
One night in the 1920s, a CNR engineer was checking the tracks near St. Louis when he got hit by a train and lost his head. Now, at night a light from a phantom train or lantern appears - it's the engineer looking for his head.
Some people checked it out:
St. Louis Saskatchewan Mayor Emile Lussier, who runs a hotel at the foot of an iron bridge once used by the old trains, did not believe tales of the nightly ghost train. So he once went with his brother-in-law to the crossroads with a somewhat daring plan in mind.
"So far as we knew, nobody had actually walked the tracks. So we did," says Lussier.
They walked about a mile along the old track bed, without seeing anything. Then suddenly, "there was a light right at our heels -- a strong light that cast shadows. When we turned around, it was gone."
Lussier's son and some friends decided to go out to the old track bed to see for themselves. Lussier stayed at the crossroads as the boys hiked off down the old track bed. As he watched them in the distance, something very strange occurred.
"The light lit everyone up. It looked just like a globe -- really bright. And yet, they didn't see a thing."
Lussier points to that episode as an indication the "phantom light", as some people in St. Louis prefer to call it, "appears in two very different ways".
Serge Gareau took some visitors from Alberta one evening for the midnight phenomenon.
"We sat there for about an hour, and nothing was happening," Gareau recalls. "And then all of a sudden we saw this light. It was just like a train coming. A bright light coming at us, with a little red light towards the bottom."
Enthralled, the Gareaus and their friends watched "for a good two hours" as the steady white beam and its crimson companion appeared to approach, but never arrive.
The solution to the mystery is quite possibly in white below.
Click here
All right, that appears to be that. Well, what about this then?
... or this?
"I don’t think it’s car lights," says Rita Ferland, one of the few people who’ve seen the phantom beam in broad daylight.
Scientists on the scene have also confirmed sighting this apparition. They saw the light of the train on the tracks and saw it get closer like the train was travelling forward.
The Ghostlight
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Well I've looked at everything available now and the footage is not exactly conclusive. I don't see everything flooded with light although they all report it does sweep around the trees at them. Why not photograph that? If true that it does flood the area in light, can't see how that can be headlights 5.3 miles away. And why not everyday? And how in the middle of the day?
Two teenagers reported their alternator caught on fire. Again - their word. I can see the taillights might be the red lantern but why not two lanterns? The light splitting could be car headlights front on at a dip in the road.
Wish we could see a vid of the whole thing.
Very interesting,it would be good to see a less obscure video!
ReplyDeleteJury's still out on that one.
ReplyDeleteThis is all very interesting. Have you ever noticed how poor the film/video quality tends to be in these cases? Never covers the important aspects properly.
ReplyDeleteAgreed - why doesn't a professional film crew get out there and just do the whole thing? Why has it never been done?
ReplyDeleteYes this definitely needs some professional investigation!
ReplyDeleteJust thought I would add a point here as I have actually seen the lights. I really didn't believe in it until I saw it.
ReplyDeleteMost people who have tried to take pictures of it have had the pictures/video not work out.
St Louis is in the middle of nowhere. Truly. It's extreamly dark and difficult to capture the light.
The Light looks just like a trains headlight. I expected to hear a whistle. Very cool. It's one of those things you have to see in person to understand.
I didn't want to believe but after seeing it I do.
Me and my friend have been out to st. louis and been given all sorts of directions and locations as to where the old tracks are...but we have never seen anything or know if we are in the right place....the last time we were there was last year...i remember we turned left on to a dirt road off the highway then shortly after another left into what we thought had to be the old bed...not sure if this makes sense.but if anyone has simpler directions to follow to get there could you please share them?
ReplyDeleteYes, it would be nice to know.
ReplyDelete