The Summerville Light

South Carolina · United States · Road

A railwayman's wife brought his supper to the tracks at midnight every night. After he was killed she kept coming, and the lantern is still reported.

The story behind the Summerville Light in South Carolina is one of the most complete railway legends in the American South. A woman's husband worked nights as a conductor for the railway company. Every night at midnight she walked out to the tracks with his lunch and a lantern and waited for him to stop and eat.

One night he did not come. She was told there had been a derailment, that he had been beheaded, and that he was dead. His remains were buried. She never accepted it. She went back to the tracks at midnight with her lantern and walked the line, up and down, waiting. The town decided she had lost her mind. She kept it up until her own death.

What people report on that stretch now is a single light, low and moving along the tracks, sometimes approaching and sometimes holding still. It behaves like a lantern carried at walking pace. The site has drawn enough traffic over the years that access has been restricted at times, which is a rare thing for a light on an empty railway line.

FAQ

Where is The Summerville Light located?

The Summerville Light is in South Carolina, United States.

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Accounts are drawn from local folklore and visitor reports.