Could the Summerville Ghost Lantern Be an Earthquake Light?

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2025-01-23 01:00:05

Legend has it that the strange orb sometimes seen hovering over the railroad tracks in the remote area around Summerville, South Carolina is a lantern borne by a ghost whose husband lost his head in a train accident.

But Hough, a seismologist at the U.S. Geological Survey, wonders if there might be a less ethereal but no less intriguing possibility: is the source of the Summerville Light a phenomenon known as earthquake lights?

Earthquake lights have been observed around the world, as glowing spheres, sparks, pillars and other shapes, but there is no accepted theory yet among seismologists for a possible mechanism behind their appearance. Some of the proposed mechanisms include ignition of released underground gases like methane or radon, or dialectric discharge from fault movements, as Japanese seismologist Yuji Enomoto detailed in a 2024 review paper.

In her Earthquake Lites column in Seismological Research Letters, Hough explains why Summerville’s combination of shallow faults, railroad tracks and ghost stories might offer an unusual guide for earthquake scientists looking for faults in the eastern United States.