As a teen growing up in southwest Missouri during the 50's and 60's, I looked for, but never found, the spook light. There was no internet, so directions to the light were purely word of mouth. Sadly, I was forced by Uncle Sam to leave that area in 1970. Thank you for the very respectful look at that part of the country. I really enjoyed the video.
I grew up in Carthage and have been to the Hornet Spook Light three times - and have seen it all three times. I watched it move back and forth across the road, split in two, change color, and go back into one light. Crazy thing! Also, next time you're in Joplin, check out the house that Bonnie and Clyde had their shootout in. It's also where Bonnie's poem Suicide Sal was found. Neat place.
Have seen the Bonnie and Clyde House!!! Also have been to a few places where they had shoot outs in the KCMO area and in the Dexter, IA, area. Also been to their ambush site in Louisiana as well.
I drove truck for many years and when I needed to park for the night I aways tried to find a place in these small towns. They were quiet and it was easy to visit with people. I'm retired now and swore off trucks, but I do miss the small towns and their residents. Alot of good times. No, I'm not tired of your videos and I don't care about anticlimactic. Just glad you take us along.
I live right outside of Joplin. I wish I had known you were around, there are some other lovely spots you could have documented, although they were not on highway 43. I have seen the spook light many times. It is very spooky when it comes up to your car or when it separates and is on both sides of the road. It has been years since I have been out there but it has never disappointed every time I went. There used to be an old place at the head of the road you turn on that had the history of the place. I am not sure its still there. SW Missouri is a very beautiful place to live. Its so close to Oklahoma, Kansas and Arkansas that it takes no time to get anywhere! Anyway, keep doing what you do, John!! I love all your travels and especially the behind the scenes!!! Drive safely!! God bless and happy Easter!!
Thank you! That would’ve been crazy to see the light do that! I drove all around the area and didn’t see a sign but it was very dark too. I filmed more on the KS side of the area for future videos 😊
Awesome roadtrip! I love short day road trips. The spook light was very interesting. I can imagine high school kids have had fun with that! Thanks for sharing.
I'm glad to see that some of the towns have actually increased in population. I always enjoy the ghost towns. Love the tiny abandoned post office. Thanks for the trip.
Local lore is so fun and fascinating! And the spooky ones are even more fun. It was fun to go along down the quiet country road on a quest. Hopefully there wasn't a hook in the rear door handle when you arrived back in town!
I find it encouraging that not all of those smaller towns were experiencing a rapid decrease in population, I bet they're lovely places to live. Both of the POs were awesome - the old abandoned wooden one, and the brick one that used to be a bank (❤ the old tile floor). Thank you for chronicling these places that don't sit on major interstates - even ghost towns will never be truly gone because of content like yours.
Oh wow thank you so much for your generosity! And I totally agree - nice to see the towns were doing well comparably to other places. It was a pretty busy road so obviously it’s needed and helps the towns. That old PO was maybe my favorite part of the day 😊
The greenery of spring and summer really do put the finishing touches on an area. But even without the green, we have such a wonderful area here in our country's middle area. The winding and hilly start of the journey is such a wonderful type of land to travel. And the rural two lane roads are just a wonderful way to enjoy your travel. Love it from start to finish.
Happy Easter. You could probably have seen the spook light better if there hadn't been those red flashing tower lights. Happy trails to you and God bless.
THIS SPOOK LIGHT LEGEND WAS GOING AROUND IN MY HIGH SCHOOL DAYS! (1955/60), AND I DID CHECK IT OUT ONE NIGHT!! LOL, APPARENTLY THEY FORGOT TO PAY THE ELECTRIC BILL, LOL!!
For a few years growing up I lived about a mile down from spook light road and never did see it. I finally saw it for the first time a few years ago. I also have driven 43 a few times and love the beautiful country through there. I love Southwest Missouri and Northeast Oklahoma and cant imagine living anywhere else. It would be awesome to meet you when you're in the area sometime but I do know you're a busy guy. Thanks for the video and I always look forward to new ones.
I was a sophomore at Neosho high school in 1966 & we use to go see the spook light on weekends. I saw it several times including when it bounced down the road and split in two. When we saw the light it wasn't static, like what you saw, it looked like a weird ball of light that went all over the place & sometimes disappeared. Thanks for the memories!
lived out there (near spook light) as a kid-heard so many stories about what it was, granny always said it was a little farm boy who went out to milk the cows and never came home. Welcome to our neck of the woods! South of Joplin is beautiful.
When we were kids, our parents took us to Noel, Missouri to camp on the Eagle River and once we went to the Spook Light. Down a long, long road you could see the light and it never got closer. And just when you thought you'd get close to it, it went out. We turned around and it lit up again while looking out the rear of the Ford station wagon.
Hey Coach. I can't form an opinion on the Spook Light based on what I did see. I like the vibe the roadside scenery gives off especially around the 11;00 mark. Good drone over the river .Happy Motoring.
If you could fly your drone at night. I wonder how close you could get to the light(s)? That would be interesting. I kno you probably thought of it, lol😅. Safe traveling annnd Happy Easter!👍
Same to you! I definitely thought about flying the drone but it was so dark out there I was worried about flying it into something. I feel like I still probably should have tried haha
I loved this video! I lived in Baxter Springs Ks for about 45 years, so I'm familiar with all these areas. I have in-laws buried in the Hornet Cemetery, but haven't personally seen the spook light. So many in my family in that area have, though. Great video John!
Been to the spook light many times as a youngster, then a couple times as a teen. was better then as no tower lights. This time in my life was back in the 50's back then some one had a telescope set up $00.25 to view the light, looked like a gas flame. Was better to view with the naked eye. The story was that was a women with a lantern looking for her lost family, and many more! The source looked for an not found. Will have to go back down there before long been bout 60 years or so time to go again. Gunny Joe
THE SPOOK LIGHT....We have a similar thing here in Australia called The Min Min Lights, in far outback Queensland, lots of fun stories, although its just a Superior Mirage...
Always love the small towns videos. Quiet, unassuming places that keep marching on. I believe you saw the spook light, thanks for taking the effort to find it . 👍 HAPPY EASTER! Stay safe and GOD bless
Great video……Seneca, my home town………..I remember a time in the early 80s going to the Spook Light and that night it was very active. The ball of the light would come toward the pickup and move back and forth to the right and left and up and down. Then it would retreat back down the road and then do it again. We were there several hours and it continued that all-night. Of course, with a pickup loaded with Aunts, Uncles and cousins ranging in age from 6 to 60 made it even more fun. This was the first time seeing the Spook Light for some and some provided stories of previous sightings. Fun Night
I went there after moving from Wichita to SEK. '80 or '81. We did see a light in the distance that appeared to be a dirt bike going over a track. It was up and down with no noise. It was over 100 yards away, creepy but interesting!
Yup. Been going to see the spook light since I was a kid. I got to meet Spooky when I was little at the little store he ran at the corner of State line rd and spook light road. One watched it zoom in and out. Been at the bottom of a hill and would see it at the top of the hill. One night we were frustrated that the car in front of us would not turn off their dome light in their car. They would turn it on and keep it on for a bit then turn it off. So my dad put the car in drive so we could be in front of the car, but there was no car to be found. My parents said they saw it go up and over and behind their car before when they were saying in the 60’s. It is a weird phenomenon.
When I was in high school at MCdonald county in late 60's we made several late night trips to the spook light and would always stop at Spookys store. I remember him telling us that sometimes he would awake early morning and the spook light would be in his front yard. We seen it several times. Great memories.
I grew up in Joplin but I never saw the spook light. We did look for it a few times. Grand Falls on Shoal Creek is not far off Rt. 43. Also Prairie State Park north of Joplin. Indian Creek, Big Sugar Creek, Elk River and Shoal Creek are great paddling streams. It's bad that so many historic buildings there are in trouble such as The Union Depot. I think that the city was recently unable to raise the $ to rehabilitate Memorial Hall.
Dear diary: Coach is messin with UFOs now and he might not be the same man...he could have been replaced with an alien. I am going to ask him our secret code word and if he gets it wrong, it will confirm he has been replaced. 👽
I went to northeastern A&M 70-72. I have been to some of the places you went to on this trip, especially the spook light. A group of intoxicated friends on a cold night went to see the spook and we did. It is caused by a gas ball that hovers above ground and glows.
Hey John , really enjoyed this video of western Missouri route 43. My home state, never been to that part of Mo. thanks for sharing an interesting trip. 👏👍 Drive safe and God Bless
Pecos Hank on his channel solved the mystery of the Marfa lights out in west Texas. He pulled up alongside the road in the dark and turned on his high beams and dozens of light reflections of longhorn cattle eyes lit up and many were moving. Good job.
Yeah your search for the spook light was about as productive as mine. A family friend lived in Joplin and when we would visit we’d go hunting. This all back in the early 60’s when the hype was probably at it’s height. No spook light and countless nights wasted.
Great video!!Have driven that route a few times myself and it is a nice drive. Have tried seeing the Hornet Spook Light myself at least 6 times, but never noticed anything. Been to the area in daylight to scout out the area just to see what the terrain was like, then visited at night at various times. Have driven that road as well at night at various times of year and nothing. Never seen anything that was not explainable. At that intersection that you turned on, that road was called Spook Light Road at one time. Also, there used to be an OBSERVATION stand to your left once upon a time. Can remember on my 1st visit there that the observation stand was still in place, though greatly rotted out/unserviceable (that was late 1990s-early 2000s). Think there used to be a rotted-out billboard there as well advertising the Spook Light. Last time I was down that way was around 2013 or so and the Billboard and observation stand were no longer there. Also, locals that read this gibberish of mine may correct me but have read that the actual Devil's Promenade is supposed to be a BRIDGE along that road. Also have read that IF you stop at that bridge and walk in a circle a certain direction/number of times and say some type of words, then the Devil himself is supposed to appear and grant you 3 WISHES. However, IF you did something wrong during that procedure then the Devil will appear and take you away!! Also, you were not very far from Commerce, OK, boyhood home of Mickey Mantle - baseball great. There should have been a memorial to him in town by a baseball field, if I remember correctly. Also, the Tr-State Marker for OK/KS/MO is not too far from that spot. Have visited the Tri-State Marker for OK/AR/MO where you started this journey, just interesting to me to be at a spot like that. Yep - I like/enjoy quirky nonsense like you have been showing on your videos, at least I can say I have been to places that not very many people would even think about/consider.
Very interesting, I've traveled between Joplin and hiway 54 quite a bit back in my youth. Searched for the Spook light too,back in the 70s, never did see it. 😢 Thanks for the tour. 😊 Watch out for the BOOGER MAN !😮
I lived in the Joplin area (Saginaw and Neosho) for 32 years. Went out to find the Spooklight back in the early 90s when I was in college with college friends. We saw it floating in a field. It seemed to follow us along the road. Definitely creepy! Highway 43 area holds many great memories for me. Another great drive is Joplin South main through Redings Mill and NN Highway. So much history through there. The butterflies you see at Joplin entrances represent the "butterfly people" that many survivors of the 2011 EF5 Joplin tornado reported seeing during the storm rescuing/helping, especially children. There's a book written about the phenomenon. ❤ Just Google 'butterfly people Joplin' and you'll find a lot. ❤ Thank you for this great video!
Great video, the spook light is very cool. What is strange is that numerous locations seem to have the same type of phenomenon. TH-cam has some excellent videos from Brown Mountain in North Carolina with floating balls of light coming out of the trees. I gotta check this out next time I am in northeast Oklahoma.
I grew up in Joplin. I've been to see the spook light when it was a gravel road and Spooky's Museum was there. That's Incredible, the old TV show, did a piece on the Spook Light, in the 70's. Scientists have studied it. Nobody knows what it is to this day. As you saw, it's just a light that bobs and flickers. It doesn't split in two or burn holes in cars as some have reported, or in my experiences anyway. It does however disappear when you approach it in a car or on foot.
I've heard of that light many times but I know of another light in northern Ste Genevieve County and it moves. I'd stand on the front porch of my home East northeast and it moved until it was over our grain shed even though it was 20 miles away and when it stopped the light grew brighter and hover there 5 to 10 minutes then either drop below the horizon or continue to the left and disappear
Excellent video my Friend. You definitely were close, both to the shop & house.... I had a 1st grade teacher who lived in Hornet, and it is a beautiful area. I spent a little bit of time "chasing" spooklight on that road, the more eerie thing though was a little farther down that road, & was the former site of what was known as Hoffman's mansion, it's no longer there as it burned down in the early 2000's. As always though, we enjoyed this video and invite you back to explore it more. Stay Safe and Be Blessed Brother.
Yep you are famous Mr. Wise. There is a road in Oklahoma that I believe is in Ardmore area that looks like its sloped uphill. If you put your car in neutral on it, it will roll uphill. They say it is haunted. I actually experienced it and it was like we rolled uphill.
My parents had friends in Joplin, they took us to see the spooklight when I was a kid. Back then, there were no other lights in the area, not even the tower was there yet. This would have been about 1960. It looked like a shimmering ball far off in the distance. About like it looked in this video. There were quite a few people there to see it.
My mom got out of her car one night out there. It was super close to her. She reached out to try & touch it. Every step she took towards it, it would back up the same distance. My mom said she felt an electrical charge from it. She said the hair on her arms was standing up. My grandmother was with my mom & she was screaming at my mom not to touch it. My mom said the light was extremely bright & very big up close. They say the best time to see it is right at it gets dusk. The best i have seen it was right as it started to get dark.
I lived 15 miles from Joplin when the tornado hit it 2011. I do believe those children we being helped by angels that they described as butterfly people! The beautiful butterflies all over town are a great remembrance of that!
spook light is reflecting your headlights when you are at a certain distance. You get closer, the angle of the headlights change and you lose the reflection.
My mother was there in 1940 and saw the spook light. So we took her back to see it about 10 years ago. She said stop here so we did. She got out and said its here. So we all got out. It came at us like a freight train and stopped on a dime 10 feet from us about 8 feet in the air. Size of a basketball. Took off into the woods then came back onto the road. Did it again . Into the woods then back on the road. Then it took off down the road and went over the hill. It is very real but I have no idea what it is. It had an orange glow, At close range pulsated and just sat there for several seconds just hovering there before it went into the woods.
Got in a Tiff once, caused me a lot of Missouri. It was an affair of the Hart. She Seneca her brother around. He came after me like a Hornet. Farming being my calling, I wanted to Tuckhoe and Joplin on down the road. Alas I had to take an Airport Drive to hide out in Galesburg, but she had gone to Nashville. To see her beau, Hannon. Knew if I didn’t hide out it would be Moundville for me. What Ellis is fella to do. And you didn’t expect me to work in Bronaugh now did ya?
@TravelwithaWiseguy my mom's side of the family is from the Missouri Ozarks mountains. My mom or aunt will not discuss it, but I've heard stories from my cousins. I'm glad you go thru Missouri quite a bit. I'm thinking about moving to Missouri after retirement, which is soon. I've never fit in on the West Coast, politics, but I won't go there. In a way, you're preparing me for what's ahead.
That’s not the real thing. The real spook light is ball lighting or something else, that is large and appears right on top of the road in front of you.
I used to see the spook light all the time. It changes colors , splits in two sometimes 3 . Comes closer to the road and backs away. This was before they put them God Awful red light towers out there and ruined the view. The road used to also be a dirt road with no real traffic. Now it's paved and you can get hit parking on the side and shutting lights off. I stopped going when the sheriff started running you off. Disappointed in those towers for real.
Anything that invokes an idea or feeling of a long lost way of life or significant occurances of the past is interesting to me. I had to devise this definition for people like my friends who do not understand people like us and how old small towns are indeed very interesting. If you need to take something home with you to say you were there, you are probably in some boring tourist spot that I have no interest in whatsoever. Choose real places and the real people who lived there is what makes me fascinated. Going to rich tourist destinations is my least favorite thing to do after working for millionaires in these places for years. That's not real people stuff, no not at all. Someone else can visit Yellowstone, Cape Cod or Hawaii, its just not my thing anymore.
As a teen growing up in southwest Missouri during the 50's and 60's, I looked for, but never found, the spook light. There was no internet, so directions to the light were purely word of mouth. Sadly, I was forced by Uncle Sam to leave that area in 1970. Thank you for the very respectful look at that part of the country. I really enjoyed the video.
Thank you! Always an interesting part of MO to visit!
I grew up in Carthage and have been to the Hornet Spook Light three times - and have seen it all three times. I watched it move back and forth across the road, split in two, change color, and go back into one light. Crazy thing! Also, next time you're in Joplin, check out the house that Bonnie and Clyde had their shootout in. It's also where Bonnie's poem Suicide Sal was found. Neat place.
Oh wow that would’ve been cool to see! I’ve seen that house - interesting history!
Have seen the Bonnie and Clyde House!!! Also have been to a few places where they had shoot outs in the KCMO area and in the Dexter, IA, area. Also been to their ambush site in Louisiana as well.
I drove truck for many years and when I needed to park for the night I aways tried to find a place in these small towns. They were quiet and it was easy to visit with people. I'm retired now and swore off trucks, but I do miss the small towns and their residents. Alot of good times. No, I'm not tired of your videos and I don't care about anticlimactic. Just glad you take us along.
Nice comment! Thanks for sharing 😊
I live right outside of Joplin. I wish I had known you were around, there are some other lovely spots you could have documented, although they were not on highway 43. I have seen the spook light many times. It is very spooky when it comes up to your car or when it separates and is on both sides of the road. It has been years since I have been out there but it has never disappointed every time I went. There used to be an old place at the head of the road you turn on that had the history of the place. I am not sure its still there. SW Missouri is a very beautiful place to live. Its so close to Oklahoma, Kansas and Arkansas that it takes no time to get anywhere! Anyway, keep doing what you do, John!! I love all your travels and especially the behind the scenes!!! Drive safely!! God bless and happy Easter!!
Thank you! That would’ve been crazy to see the light do that! I drove all around the area and didn’t see a sign but it was very dark too. I filmed more on the KS side of the area for future videos 😊
I've heard about the spook light but never saw it. Thanks for explaining it and trying to show the light - fascinating!
I wasn't sure what I was looking for haha!
Awesome roadtrip! I love short day road trips. The spook light was very interesting. I can imagine high school kids have had fun with that! Thanks for sharing.
Yeah I’ve heard it was a common gathering place for high school kids!
Coach, you are famous to us and that's good enough for me...be safe on the road!
Awww thanks Sandie :)
@@TravelwithaWiseguy Almost 22000 subscribers at this time isn't anything to sneeze out.
Thanks for showing this area of Mo! Beautiful state❤
Any time! 😊
I love Missouri, spent some time in the Ozarks last summer, beautiful state.
As always loved the journey ❤❤!
Thanks for taking me 😊
Glad you enjoyed!
I'm glad to see that some of the towns have actually increased in population. I always enjoy the ghost towns. Love the tiny abandoned post office. Thanks for the trip.
Thanks so much! Yeah that post office might have been my favorite thing 😊
Ohh spook light!! Thanks for sharing John.
Thanks! Interesting phenomenon!
Local lore is so fun and fascinating! And the spooky ones are even more fun. It was fun to go along down the quiet country road on a quest.
Hopefully there wasn't a hook in the rear door handle when you arrived back in town!
I find it encouraging that not all of those smaller towns were experiencing a rapid decrease in population, I bet they're lovely places to live. Both of the POs were awesome - the old abandoned wooden one, and the brick one that used to be a bank (❤ the old tile floor). Thank you for chronicling these places that don't sit on major interstates - even ghost towns will never be truly gone because of content like yours.
Oh wow thank you so much for your generosity! And I totally agree - nice to see the towns were doing well comparably to other places. It was a pretty busy road so obviously it’s needed and helps the towns. That old PO was maybe my favorite part of the day 😊
Love your videos! That's where I grew up.
Glad you like them! Thanks so much!
Mo is beautiful when it's green. Happy Easter!
Thank you! You too!!
The greenery of spring and summer really do put the finishing touches on an area. But even without the green, we have such a wonderful area here in our country's middle area.
The winding and hilly start of the journey is such a wonderful type of land to travel. And the rural two lane roads are just a wonderful way to enjoy your travel. Love it from start to finish.
I used to live in Cave Springs, Arkansas and went tubeing on the Elk River. Very impressive video. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you! I’m sure that was fun!!
Happy Easter. You could probably have seen the spook light better if there hadn't been those red flashing tower lights. Happy trails to you and God bless.
Thanks and you too! I agree!
That was fun! Some lights can be quite the mystery! That was one of them.😮
For sure!
Thanks!
Thank you so much for your generosity!!
Thanks for all of the really enjoyable videos. Happy Easter, John.
Thank you very much!!
You are braver than I am! Won’t find me, alone, driving down an unfamiliar road at night looking for “Spook Lights”.
😂😂 👻
Saw the Spook Light a few times in the late 60s.
THIS SPOOK LIGHT LEGEND WAS GOING AROUND IN MY HIGH SCHOOL DAYS! (1955/60), AND I DID CHECK IT OUT ONE NIGHT!!
LOL, APPARENTLY THEY FORGOT TO PAY THE ELECTRIC BILL, LOL!!
Haha!
From 1966-1973 we had a farm a mile north of Hart on the east side of Hwy 43. Thanks for the memories today.
Very cool!
Thanks Wiseguy! Fun road-trip, Happy Easter! 🙏❤️😎👍
Thanks and same to you!!
For a few years growing up I lived about a mile down from spook light road and never did see it. I finally saw it for the first time a few years ago. I also have driven 43 a few times and love the beautiful country through there. I love Southwest Missouri and Northeast Oklahoma and cant imagine living anywhere else. It would be awesome to meet you when you're in the area sometime but I do know you're a busy guy. Thanks for the video and I always look forward to new ones.
Definitely an interesting place to live I’m sure! Thanks so much for the support!
my encounter with the spook light is one of my favorite stories. You should drive up to the Jim the Wonder Dog museum.
I love you exploring these towns in Missouri ! Wish you could spend a little bit more time on each town !
Thank you - I do a lot more in depth videos as well. This was more of a short road trip vlog.
I was a sophomore at Neosho high school in 1966 & we use to go see the spook light on weekends. I saw it several times including when it bounced down the road and split in two. When we saw the light it wasn't static, like what you saw, it looked like a weird ball of light that went all over the place & sometimes disappeared. Thanks for the memories!
Would’ve been a sight to see! Thanks!
lived out there (near spook light) as a kid-heard so many stories about what it was, granny always said it was a little farm boy who went out to milk the cows and never came home. Welcome to our neck of the woods! South of Joplin is beautiful.
I have seen the spooklight! It was fun to go out there as teenagers! Always up for a good scream!
I have several memories from childhood of the Spooklight .
It mostly disappeared after the highway was paved
When we were kids, our parents took us to Noel, Missouri to camp on the Eagle River and once we went to the Spook Light. Down a long, long road you could see the light and it never got closer. And just when you thought you'd get close to it, it went out. We turned around and it lit up again while looking out the rear of the Ford station wagon.
Hey Coach. I can't form an opinion on the Spook Light based on what I did see. I like the vibe the roadside scenery gives off especially around the 11;00 mark. Good drone over the river .Happy Motoring.
Thank you! I probably should’ve shot some more drone footage for this one, but overall it was an enjoyable day!
Thanks for journeying through a part of the state that I have spent a little bit of time in several years ago.
Glad you enjoyed it!
My grandparents lived in Cartage for years , definitely a cool area down there
My family lived in Nevada so taking 43 south from Nevada to Joplin is a road I'm quite familiar with.
😊 the dunking booth was interesting! Amazing what we find on the road! Great work on the vids as always!
Thanks! It was a fun little road trip!
If you could fly your drone at night. I wonder how close you could get to the light(s)? That would be interesting. I kno you probably thought of it, lol😅. Safe traveling annnd Happy Easter!👍
Same to you! I definitely thought about flying the drone but it was so dark out there I was worried about flying it into something. I feel like I still probably should have tried haha
I loved this video! I lived in Baxter Springs Ks for about 45 years, so I'm familiar with all these areas.
I have in-laws buried in the Hornet Cemetery, but haven't personally seen the spook light. So many in my family in that area have, though.
Great video John!
Thank you! I’ll have some more from that area this weekend 😊
Been to the spook light many times as a youngster, then a couple times as a teen. was better then as no tower lights. This time in my life was back in the 50's back then some one had a telescope set up $00.25 to view the light, looked like a gas flame. Was better to view with the naked eye. The story was that was a women with a lantern looking for her lost family, and many more! The source looked for an not found. Will have to go back down there before long been bout 60 years or so time to go again. Gunny Joe
Fun interesting video! Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks!
THE SPOOK LIGHT....We have a similar thing here in Australia called The Min Min Lights, in far outback Queensland, lots of fun stories, although its just a Superior Mirage...
Nice! Interesting things to see!
Always love the small towns videos. Quiet, unassuming places that keep marching on. I believe you saw the spook light, thanks for taking the effort to find it . 👍 HAPPY EASTER! Stay safe and GOD bless
Thank you and Happy Easter to you as well!
Great video……Seneca, my home town………..I remember a time in the early 80s going to the Spook Light and that night it was very active. The ball of the light would come toward the pickup and move back and forth to the right and left and up and down. Then it would retreat back down the road and then do it again. We were there several hours and it continued that all-night. Of course, with a pickup loaded with Aunts, Uncles and cousins ranging in age from 6 to 60 made it even more fun. This was the first time seeing the Spook Light for some and some provided stories of previous sightings. Fun Night
That’s wild!!
I went there after moving from Wichita to SEK. '80 or '81. We did see a light in the distance that appeared to be a dirt bike going over a track. It was up and down with no noise. It was over 100 yards away, creepy but interesting!
Yup. Been going to see the spook light since I was a kid. I got to meet Spooky when I was little at the little store he ran at the corner of State line rd and spook light road. One watched it zoom in and out. Been at the bottom of a hill and would see it at the top of the hill. One night we were frustrated that the car in front of us would not turn off their dome light in their car. They would turn it on and keep it on for a bit then turn it off. So my dad put the car in drive so we could be in front of the car, but there was no car to be found.
My parents said they saw it go up and over and behind their car before when they were saying in the 60’s. It is a weird phenomenon.
When I was in high school at MCdonald county in late 60's we made several late night trips to the spook light and would always stop at Spookys store. I remember him telling us that sometimes he would awake early morning and the spook light would be in his front yard. We seen it several times. Great memories.
I went thru Boggy Depot out in the wilds of eastern Oklahoma once on a trip from Arizona to Arkansas back about 1983.
I grew up in Joplin but I never saw the spook light. We did look for it a few times. Grand Falls on Shoal Creek is not far off Rt. 43. Also Prairie State Park north of Joplin. Indian Creek, Big Sugar Creek, Elk River and Shoal Creek are great paddling streams. It's bad that so many historic buildings there are in trouble such as The Union Depot. I think that the city was recently unable to raise the $ to rehabilitate Memorial Hall.
Dear diary: Coach is messin with UFOs now and he might not be the same man...he could have been replaced with an alien. I am going to ask him our secret code word and if he gets it wrong, it will confirm he has been replaced. 👽
Bahahaha - I'm just hoping AI gets me before the aliens do :)
I went to northeastern A&M 70-72. I have been to some of the places you went to on this trip, especially the spook light. A group of intoxicated friends on a cold night went to see the spook and we did. It is caused by a gas ball that hovers above ground and glows.
Trick on seeing the spook light is turn your lights out and no moon. It needed to be pitch dark.
Hey John , really enjoyed this video of western Missouri route 43. My home state, never been to that part of Mo. thanks for sharing an interesting trip.
👏👍
Drive safe and God Bless
You bet! Thank you!!
Pecos Hank on his channel solved the mystery of the Marfa lights out in west Texas. He pulled up alongside the road in the dark and turned on his high beams and dozens of light reflections of longhorn cattle eyes lit up and many were moving. Good job.
Thank you 😊
The spooklight is really bizarre. Guess I'm stuck using this old name for a while. Nice video, seriously. Be good, be safe !!
Thanks, you too! Happy Easter!
Sorry, I honestly forgot, I really did. Too much trimming.grass cutting etc. See ya.@@TravelwithaWiseguy
Wife and I were at the three corners just the other day!
I have been following you. I live in Nebraska loved the videos you did here but I'm from southwest Missouri.
Thanks for following!
Yeah your search for the spook light was about as productive as mine. A family friend lived in Joplin and when we would visit we’d go hunting. This all back in the early 60’s when the hype was probably at it’s height. No spook light and countless nights wasted.
Great video!!Have driven that route a few times myself and it is a nice drive. Have tried seeing the Hornet Spook Light myself at least 6 times, but never noticed anything. Been to the area in daylight to scout out the area just to see what the terrain was like, then visited at night at various times. Have driven that road as well at night at various times of year and nothing. Never seen anything that was not explainable. At that intersection that you turned on, that road was called Spook Light Road at one time. Also, there used to be an OBSERVATION stand to your left once upon a time. Can remember on my 1st visit there that the observation stand was still in place, though greatly rotted out/unserviceable (that was late 1990s-early 2000s). Think there used to be a rotted-out billboard there as well advertising the Spook Light. Last time I was down that way was around 2013 or so and the Billboard and observation stand were no longer there.
Also, locals that read this gibberish of mine may correct me but have read that the actual Devil's Promenade is supposed to be a BRIDGE along that road. Also have read that IF you stop at that bridge and walk in a circle a certain direction/number of times and say some type of words, then the Devil himself is supposed to appear and grant you 3 WISHES. However, IF you did something wrong during that procedure then the Devil will appear and take you away!!
Also, you were not very far from Commerce, OK, boyhood home of Mickey Mantle - baseball great. There should have been a memorial to him in town by a baseball field, if I remember correctly. Also, the Tr-State Marker for OK/KS/MO is not too far from that spot. Have visited the Tri-State Marker for OK/AR/MO where you started this journey, just interesting to me to be at a spot like that.
Yep - I like/enjoy quirky nonsense like you have been showing on your videos, at least I can say I have been to places that not very many people would even think about/consider.
Awesome thank you so much. Great comment!
Very interesting, I've traveled between Joplin and hiway 54 quite a bit back in my youth. Searched for the Spook light too,back in the 70s, never did see it. 😢 Thanks for the tour. 😊 Watch out for the BOOGER MAN !😮
Haha thank you! Fortunately I didn’t find him that night 😂
I lived in the Joplin area (Saginaw and Neosho) for 32 years. Went out to find the Spooklight back in the early 90s when I was in college with college friends. We saw it floating in a field. It seemed to follow us along the road. Definitely creepy! Highway 43 area holds many great memories for me. Another great drive is Joplin South main through Redings Mill and NN Highway. So much history through there. The butterflies you see at Joplin entrances represent the "butterfly people" that many survivors of the 2011 EF5 Joplin tornado reported seeing during the storm rescuing/helping, especially children. There's a book written about the phenomenon. ❤ Just Google 'butterfly people Joplin' and you'll find a lot. ❤ Thank you for this great video!
Awesome info - thanks so much!
Great video, the spook light is very cool. What is strange is that numerous locations seem to have the same type of phenomenon. TH-cam has some excellent videos from Brown Mountain in North Carolina with floating balls of light coming out of the trees. I gotta check this out next time I am in northeast Oklahoma.
Very interesting 🤔
Great video John, I see paranormal investigation videos in your future! 👻
😂😂
Some relative, somewhere has an old photograph of my dad and a buddy of his holding up the Nashville post office - firearms and all.
So sad seeing the town buildings falling down going back to nature.
I grew up in Joplin. I've been to see the spook light when it was a gravel road and Spooky's Museum was there. That's Incredible, the old TV show, did a piece on the Spook Light, in the 70's. Scientists have studied it. Nobody knows what it is to this day. As you saw, it's just a light that bobs and flickers. It doesn't split in two or burn holes in cars as some have reported, or in my experiences anyway. It does however disappear when you approach it in a car or on foot.
Spook light are not a mystery scientists figured it out in 1946 people just love to remain ignorant.
That was spooky enuff
I've heard of that light many times but I know of another light in northern Ste Genevieve County and it moves. I'd stand on the front porch of my home East northeast and it moved until it was over our grain shed even though it was 20 miles away and when it stopped the light grew brighter and hover there 5 to 10 minutes then either drop below the horizon or continue to the left and disappear
Excellent video my Friend.
You definitely were close, both to the shop & house....
I had a 1st grade teacher who lived in Hornet, and it is a beautiful area.
I spent a little bit of time "chasing" spooklight on that road, the more eerie thing though was a little farther down that road, & was the former site of what was known as Hoffman's mansion, it's no longer there as it burned down in the early 2000's.
As always though, we enjoyed this video and invite you back to explore it more.
Stay Safe and Be Blessed Brother.
Thank you! Nice to make a video close to someone’s home!
You should do a video on highway 5 from the Arkansas line to the Iowa line.
I agree!!
Yep you are famous Mr. Wise. There is a road in Oklahoma that I believe is in Ardmore area that looks like its sloped uphill. If you put your car in neutral on it, it will roll uphill. They say it is haunted. I actually experienced it and it was like we rolled uphill.
I went to one of those hills in Indiana and put it on a video. It’s a very strange experience!
My parents had friends in Joplin, they took us to see the spooklight when I was a kid. Back then, there were no other lights in the area, not even the tower was there yet. This would have been about 1960. It looked like a shimmering ball far off in the distance. About like it looked in this video. There were quite a few people there to see it.
My mom got out of her car one night out there. It was super close to her. She reached out to try & touch it. Every step she took towards it, it would back up the same distance. My mom said she felt an electrical charge from it. She said the hair on her arms was standing up. My grandmother was with my mom & she was screaming at my mom not to touch it. My mom said the light was extremely bright & very big up close. They say the best time to see it is right at it gets dusk. The best i have seen it was right as it started to get dark.
Wow!
Whenever I hear about Joplin I always think of "The Butterfly People."
😊
What are "The Butterfly People"?
I lived 15 miles from Joplin when the tornado hit it 2011. I do believe those children we being helped by angels that they described as butterfly people!
The beautiful butterflies all over town are a great remembrance of that!
Dude if you want to see some crazy lights go down to Marfa TX to see the famous Marfa lights, they are awesome!
Would love to!
Interesting!
My spook meter is going off, so I'm glad you turned back. 😂 You are officially famous! Don't let it go to your head. 😂
Hahaha thanks for keeping me in check!
spook light is reflecting your headlights when you are at a certain distance. You get closer, the angle of the headlights change and you lose the reflection.
Interesting
Set up a range finder to get the distance a couple of hours before sunrise. Go to the location.
65mph on the road at the end of R43 is a crazy speed limit on a narrow, curved road 😬
Haha I know right?!?!
My mother was there in 1940 and saw the spook light. So we took her back to see it about 10 years ago. She said stop here so we did. She got out and said its here. So we all got out. It came at us like a freight train and stopped on a dime 10 feet from us about 8 feet in the air. Size of a basketball. Took off into the woods then came back onto the road. Did it again . Into the woods then back on the road. Then it took off down the road and went over the hill. It is very real but I have no idea what it is. It had an orange glow, At close range pulsated and just sat there for several seconds just hovering there before it went into the woods.
I thought the spook light was near Warrensburg, Missouri, where CMSU is.
Maybe there’s another one 🤷🏼♂️
You wouldn't recognize the Jewel cemetery, I have mowed & have been maintaining it this year.
How could you resist turning off to Neck City. There’s gotta be a story there.
Neck City had its start as a rough mining settlement called Hell's Neck.
I DO BELIEVE IN SPOOKS 👻
😊😜👀
Route 43, looks high tech.
Got in a Tiff once, caused me a lot of Missouri. It was an affair of the Hart. She Seneca her brother around. He came after me like a Hornet. Farming being my calling, I wanted to Tuckhoe and Joplin on down the road. Alas I had to take an Airport Drive to hide out in Galesburg, but she had gone to Nashville. To see her beau, Hannon. Knew if I didn’t hide out it would be Moundville for me. What Ellis is fella to do. And you didn’t expect me to work in Bronaugh now did ya?
Oh my this might be your best effort to date! Haha thanks for the laughs!
They did make movie bout spook light it tells lot about the history of what the light actually is
"It's a dunking booth!.... I wonder when the last time that was used?" Probably in the summer of 1948..
😂😂
Lol, The Bald and Bankrupt we have at home...
😂😂
The whole forest looks creepy.
It was!
@TravelwithaWiseguy my mom's side of the family is from the Missouri Ozarks mountains. My mom or aunt will not discuss it, but I've heard stories from my cousins. I'm glad you go thru Missouri quite a bit. I'm thinking about moving to Missouri after retirement, which is soon. I've never fit in on the West Coast, politics, but I won't go there. In a way, you're preparing me for what's ahead.
That’s not the real thing. The real spook light is ball lighting or something else, that is large and appears right on top of the road in front of you.
I live not to far from there
I used to see the spook light all the time. It changes colors , splits in two sometimes 3 . Comes closer to the road and backs away. This was before they put them God Awful red light towers out there and ruined the view. The road used to also be a dirt road with no real traffic. Now it's paved and you can get hit parking on the side and shutting lights off. I stopped going when the sheriff started running you off. Disappointed in those towers for real.
Fascinating stuff! I bet that was a unique experience seeing it back then!
Only visible at night? Only from a certain distance? Sounds like a sign reflecting your headlights.
Anything that invokes an idea or feeling of a long lost way of life or significant occurances of the past is interesting to me. I had to devise this definition for people like my friends who do not understand people like us and how old small towns are indeed very interesting. If you need to take something home with you to say you were there, you are probably in some boring tourist spot that I have no interest in whatsoever. Choose real places and the real people who lived there is what makes me fascinated. Going to rich tourist destinations is my least favorite thing to do after working for millionaires in these places for years. That's not real people stuff, no not at all. Someone else can visit Yellowstone, Cape Cod or Hawaii, its just not my thing anymore.
Well said!
KEEP YOUR add ons and "WE WE " TO YOURSELF
I always keep my WE WE to myself 🤣
Maybe the man mistook you for Benjamin from youtube.com/@baldandbankrupt?si=V_3lyMzKPzAQbBAw 😂
😂😂😂
Thanks!
Oh my thank you so much for your generosity!