The Bingham Light

NOTE: I copied and pasted this story from my personal blog. Even though the events first took place a few years prior, the actual story was written back in 2013-2014. However, earlier this year (2015) I made an updated conclusion on my evolved thoughts regarding the nature of this phenomena.

Now we can continue.

I don't know the true story behind this light because there are so many variations. Supposedly in the 1800s in Bingham, South Carolina, a man named John or Bill was killed by a train one night while carrying a lantern. His spirit is walking around in the area and the light that you see swinging is his lantern. Many people around my region have been talking about this light for years, and I've been wanting to go see it for a long time.

The people that see it says that you call out the man's name, then the light will appear after some time and chase you. So one night I finally went to see for myself. Around 7pm on this night, my two friends and I arrived there. The site we went to (there supposed to be about three points in the area where you can see it) is down a 1-mile dirt road called S. Butler Road, then out in front of a huge corn field.

So, first let me tell you about the area. It's DISTURBING. Not to sensationalize anything but it's eerie out there. It was cloudy that particular night and being out in an isolated area surrounded by woods, it was unnaturally dark. Once we reached the last corn field we got out of my friend's truck and scanned the area, then after about three minutes of trying to pull ourselves together I suggested that we do what the legend said and call out his name, "John Bingham" or "Bill Bingham". We did that several times real loud until it echoed out into the woods. A few minutes later we looked out into the field near the edge of the woods and seen a very faint flash. We had to look carefully for several minutes because it wasn't an ordinary light and it was hard to see. We thought that the dark was playing tricks on our eyes.

When we finally realized what it was, we noticed that it was coming toward us from the edge of the woods to out in the middle of the field. Within seconds it was getting closer and closer. When we seen that we ran back to the truck and were about to drive off, but we decided that we should do it again for the thrill. So we got back out and called his name again. This time it took about five minutes or so before the light came out and it did the same thing, except moving a little faster this time around. We ran to the truck again and waited about 10 minutes then we decided to see it a third time. However, we saw a truck coming far up the road so we got out of there because we didn't know who it was.

The light didn't glow like a normal light does. It was just a soft, faint blue-cream ball. It showed itself in flashes like a radio tower light (As a matter of fact, there are actually a few out there in the distance and they will confuse you at first) and moved in an erratic side-to-side motion, which will freak you out in itself. It flashes in random places, but still in a swinging motion. Another point, the light doesn't just float in the air at random heights. I noticed that it floats at a steady five feet or so, so I'm guessing that is how tall the man was.

I mean, I just don't understand the true nature behind this light, but all I know is that it's out there. If you just happened to be walking in that area at night (which I doubt anyone would as creepy as it is) and you see that thing coming, it would freak you out. It's not like some horror film type of thing, but it's real freaky.

That was my first encounter. I went back and saw it a second time. This time around it was just one friend and I. The moon was full and bright on this particular night. My friend and I stayed out in the area for maybe a half-hour calling it. We even went as far as cussing at it, but it did not come out regardless. I told my friend about this path that is supposed to be in the middle of the field and leads back up into the woods near where the man was supposedly killed. So we finally got the guts to walk the path. We called the light all the while thinking that it would come out being as we were closer, but it still didn't appear. We decided to turn around about half-way and walked to the other side of the field. When we got all the way to the other side and about half-way up, we saw the light coming toward us in the middle of the field, but it disappeared and would not come out again. Strange. That was my second encounter.

At this current time of writing this post, I have since been out to there a good 15-16 times between 2010-2014, but only saw it those first two times.

UPDATE: After doing extensive research on the history behind this light over the past few years, I have come to the conclusion that the story behind it may be fabricated. While the light is indeed real (as I have seen it twice) the story behind it is also the same story behind other ghost light phenomena in South Carolina. The locations are all different, but they all have in common the same or similar story about a man walking around with a lantern and was beheaded by an oncoming train one night, so his spirit is now looking for his head and the light is his lantern. It is disappointing to know that this is only a widespread urban legend used by people to describe phenomena they can't explain.

However, the fact remains that the light phenomena does exists, but I have yet to explain what it is. It was once thought to be swamp gas or ball lightning, but due to the location of the sightings (which is mainly out in the middle of the field, although there are other points around that area where folks claim to have seen it) the possibility of swamp gas and ball lightning are ruled out. Now it is important to note that there used to be a railroad that once ran right through that area to take people to a resort back in the 1800s or so, but the resort and the railroad tracks are long gone. It is also important to note that there is indeed a swamp in that area and I've been to it personally, but it is not close to the field where the light is often seen.

Also ruling out the possibility of it being swamp gas or ball lightning is the fact that the light is shown to have intelligence, because it comes out when you call it, although not every time. It also seems to be drawn to fear, at least from my experience. My first time going out there I was almost terrified, and the sheer darkness and remoteness of the area only made it worse. My first night out there I was chased by it twice. The other times going out there I braved up to it and haven't seen it since. All of this considered is the reason why I think it's definitely a spirit.

Another interesting fact to point out is that after doing some research online, I came across this rare book about a guy named Carley Wiggins who was also doing research on the light. He said he came across an elderly lady in the area who heard about a man named Wylam Wynn who was indeed killed by a train that ran through the area back in the day. The particular section can be found via this link on page 116: https://books.google.com/books?id=Cq7sNHDQSGEC&pg=PA109&lpg=PA109&dq=ghost,+the+bingham+light&source=bl&ots=xrOChyeACq&sig=0D9hmmLEZPuYJtvgWk30Twhibg0&hl=en&sa=X&ei=jVb1UrnjF-mIyAG8pIG4DQ#v=onepage&q=ghost%2C%20the%20bingham%20light&f=false

All in all, I think no one will ever know the true nature behind the Bingham Light, but nonetheless it remains a cool thing to go see when you want to get freaked out for a night.