Creepy 'ghost lanterns' in South Carolina are not what they seem,

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

(Image credit: David Wall/Getty Images )

Summerville, South Carolina, has actually been haunted by mystical “ghost lanterns” for years. Now, a researcher believes she’s lastly exercised what the drifting orbs are: Turns out, they might be connected to small earthquakes.

Regional legends recommend the strange balls of light, which are typically spotted near old train tracks, are lanterns brought by the ghost of a female who lost her partner in a train mishap.

It is unclear precisely when the drifting orbs were initially seen in the location, however referrals mainly go back to the mid-20th century. The lights are referred to as little, radiant spheres, typically in blue or green, seen drifting above a narrow stretch of Sheep Island Road, where an old train line utilized to run. Witnesses likewise reported automobiles shaking strongly, odd whispering and, periodically, “ghostly” phantoms.

In the surrounding location, residents have actually explained knocking doors, the noise of steps, disrupted animals and birds, and items moving as if of their own accord.

Now, Susan Hougha seismologist for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), has actually thoroughly studied these reports and concluded that the mystical orbs might be described by an unusual geological phenomenon referred to as earthquake lights.

Related: Scientists discover concealed system that might describe how earthquakes ‘spark’

According to USGSearthquake lights are radiant spheres, stimulates and streamers believed to happen in a location in the past, throughout or right away after earthquakes.

Get the world’s most interesting discoveries provided directly to your inbox.

“They have never been studied or confirmed systematically because virtually all of the data/observations are anecdotal, but lights during earthquakes have been reported for many years,” Hough informed Live Science in an e-mail.

Among the most commonly accepted descriptions for this phenomenon is the ignition of underground gases, such as methane and radon, as they leak out of the ground throughout increased seismic activity. All that’s required is a stimulate, produced by fixed electrical energy or moving rocks.

Hough stated that this description was especially suitable for the Summerville ghost. Her findings were released Jan. 22 in the journal Seismological Research Letters

Could Summerville’s ghost lanterns be brought on by earthquakes?

In August 1959, a magnitude 4.4 earthquake was taped 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) from the stretch of roadway where most of the Summerville sightings were reported. By the end of 1960, 2 smaller sized earthquakes had actually likewise been reported in the exact same location, Hough composed.

It is possible that even smaller sized earthquakes have actually taken place considering that however were not acknowledged.

Seismic activity would likewise discuss much of the other “paranormal” activities reported in the location, Hough composes. Shaking cars and trucks, swinging doors and moving things can all be associated to little earthquakes. Birds and animals might likewise get scared by the motion, no matter how little.

When it comes to the ignition trigger, Hough stated that steel rails and scrap stacks are frequently discovered at the websites of old trains, which when shaken might produce a trigger. Hough noted this would discuss why comparable ghost lights are frequently seen near obsolete train lines.

While this hypothesis stays speculative, Hough stated that it might be evaluated by determining gas emissions from the ground in locations where the “ghosts” are seen. Sensing units might likewise search for active faults in the area.

If validated, these sightings might assist seismologists find out more about America’s geology. “Understanding earthquakes in central and eastern North America has been challenging because we have so little data to investigate earthquakes and active faults,” Hough stated. “This might be the most interesting implication of my little study, that friendly ghosts are illuminating shallow faults along which gases are released.”

Pandora is the trending news editor at Live Science. She is likewise a science speaker and formerly worked as Senior Science and Health Reporter at Newsweek. Pandora holds a Biological Sciences degree from the University of Oxford, where she specialised in biochemistry and molecular biology.