Most bankers aren't ready to help you until after their third cup of coffee.
But with Central National Banks, after our service, you don't have to wait
for the bank lobby to open to get help. You can contact us from
six to eight thirty in the morning or from five to ten in the evening,
and we'll connect you to a real, live, local person who can
answer questions and fix problems seven days a week, Bank Different Bank, Central
Central National Bank Member FDIC. Haunted Highways, ghost Stories and Strange Tales written
by Dan is Far published by Lone Pine Publishing. The Light and Big Thicket,
The Bragg Road Light, Big Thicket Light, Ghost Light, Saratoga Light.
Many names have been given to the recurring supernatural phenomenon that appears among the
various flora of the Big Thicket in Hardin County, Texas. The hovering orb
of light was first spotted in the nineteen forties, moving south down Bragg Road
after sunset. No one knows for certain how long the light has been there,
but it was first observed by human eyes shortly after the railroad between Saratoga
and Bragg Station was made into Bragg Road. The original seven mile railroad branch
was constructed by the Santa Fe Railroad in nineteen o two to accommodate the oil
and lodging industries that had suddenly come to life in the county. Oilmen and
lodgers turned the land into money until the early nineteen thirties, when both oil
and lumber had been depleted. By nineteen thirty four, it was no longer
financially feasible to keep the Saratoga Track running. The track was pulled up and
a county road was laid in its place along the track bed. The new
path was called Bragg Road, and to this day it connects the small town
of Saratoga to Farm Road twelve ninety three. One of Texas's many scenic back
roads, the seven mile pathway cut through Big Thicket Country, a biologically diverse
wilds that attracts many outdoor enthusiasts. Yet over the years, Bragg Road itself
has becomes something of an attraction. Ever since cars replaced trains along the Big
Thicket Bathway, motorists have seen the mysterious light which casts the short road into
the canon of Texas folklore. Although sightings of the Bragg Road light go back
to the nineteen forties, it was not until nineteen sixty that the phenomenon got
statewide attention. In the summer of that year, the now legendary Texas journalist
Archer Fillingman began writing stories about the Bragg Road Light and a Hardened Counting paper
accounts News. The stories, featuring different observations and interpretations of the hovering light,
were picked up by some of the big publications in Beaumont, Dallas,
and Houston. What was once a local story suddenly became a curiosity throughout Texas.
On weekends, the streets of Saratoga and Counts filled with cars from all
corners of the lone Star state, packed full of young Texans intent on seeing
the Bragg Road light for themselves. They came on Friday nights, usually with
plans to camp for the weekend and the Big Thicket where they pitched their tents
and waited. As might be imagined, not everyone was a delicate to ghost
hunter. The road soon became famous for being Hardened County's premier party spot,
and those not so interested in ghosts were more than content to spend the weekend
quafing beer and coverting in the Big Thicket, letting the lights serve as an
excuse for drunken revelry and the backwards of Texas. But for individuals eager to
collect firsthand evidence of the supernatural, the sovereigns to Bragg Road allowed for many
experiences. The light appeared often enough in front of enough witnesses to lend the
road a haunted reputation across the nation. Descriptions of the light are usually quite
consistent. Spotted about two hours after sunset, it was a small yellow orb
hovering about seven feet above the ground. It always appears about a half mile
north of observers, slowly moving south down the road. It grows larger as
it comes closer, gradually changing color from yellow to white. As it draws
nearer, it begins to sway from side to side, transforming into a single
circle of bright white light. At this point, many observers feel a sudden
flush of fear course down their spines. No one has ever really articulated whye,
but the glowing orb seems to become more frightening than fascinating when it turns
white, and more than one trembling spectator has leapt into his vehicle and driven
away when it does. Those who remain standing, however, witness the light's
color change once more, drawing even nearer. The harsh white hues of the
light acquire amber tingeons. By the time it finally comes to a halt about
fifty yards away, the stationary light is a dark red, looking almost as
if it were observing the observers conjugated along the sides of the Bragg Road.
Then it vanishes. While the light always behaves similarly, it does not materialize
according to any set schedule. The mysterious apparition has been known to light up
Bragg Road every night for weeks on end, only to fall up with month
long stretches of absence. Nevertheless, enough people have seen the light to make
it one of Texas' most talked about supernatural phenomena. In October of nineteen seventy
four, it was featured, and national geographic and paranormal enthusiasts all across the
country have come to Hardin County with hopes of spotting the light. The theories
about the origin of the Broad Road light are as numerous as they are fascinating.
Wonto has the light as a spirit of his sixteenth century conquisadore, who
continues to hover over Aztec gold. He buried over four hundred years ago.
Another story, not nearly so wishful, poised that the light is the manifestation
of a Texas jayhawker killed in the Civil War. He was shot during the
Kasher Burnout, when Confederate Captain James Kaiser had his soldiers flush out to Union
sympathizers by setting fire to the bush. If the light is indeed the spirit
of a man killed during the burnout, it wouldn't be the only momentou of
the Civil War fires that had burned in Hardin County. For the big thickets
still bare scars of the case or burnout, a stretch of where the trees
grow thinly and the flora is stunted in sparse And then there are stories of
the railroad casualties. One accident tells of a train operator decapitated during a train
accident late in the nineteenth century. According to this legend, the light is
the dead man's lantern, swinging back and forth as he searches for his missing
head along Bragg Road. Or could it be a ghostly manifestation of the souls
of the Mexican workers who labored on the track. Local folklore has this group
of migrant workers, falling victim to the murderous parsony of their foremen. Since
he was unwilling to pay them Mexicans for their work, he had them killed
just as they hammerd the last spike. There are so many other explanations for
the Bragg Road light. More scientifically inclined observers speak of the chemical reactions in
swamp gases from the Big Thicket, or reflections of headlights from cars on Farm
Road twelve ninety three. Whatever the case, the light continues to attract paranormal
enthusiasts from all over the United States. So much so, in fact,
that in nineteen ninety seven, Bragg Road was designated Ghosts Roads Scenic Drive County
Park, making the Ghost of Bragg Road into one of the small Royal County's
biggest tourist attractions.