The Jacksonboro Light

I have heard many renditions of this story of the Jacksonboro Light on Parkers Ferry Road in Jacksonboro, South Carolina. All seemed a little far fetched and I was always skeptical about this and any other ghost story. I have even heard rumors about this story being on the TV show "Unsolved Mysteries". I have been told many different reasons of why a ghost haunts this road, but this is the one that correlates with my experience.

It is said that in the late 19th century, a man went out looking for his daughter who had ran away from home. It was at night and the man was said to have carried a lantern. While the man was out looking for his daughter, he was somehow hit by a train that ran through this area. It said that the light that you see is this man looking for his daughter.

I was told that to see this ghost, you turn on Parkers Ferry road and drive approximately 2 miles until you see a church on the left side of the road. Turn around and drive back in the same direction that you came (probably about 1/4 mile) until you can see about 1 mile of road in front of you. Stop, turn off your car, and flash your lights five times. Sit quietly and listen for the faint sound of a train. After you hear the train, the light is supposed appear somewhere on road in front of you. I was told that the light would come towards you and if it touches your car, it will not crank.

So, after being told this, three of my friends and I decided to check it out. I thought it was a big waste of time considering it was a 2 hour drive to Jacksonboro, but my friends were very anxious to see a ghost. When I made it to Parkers Ferry Road, I did as I was instructed. I parked my car in the middle of the road with the 1 mile stretch in front of me. I shut off my car, flashed my lights 5 times, and waited. I must admit that this is a fairly creepy place. With the car lights off it is pitch black, and there is nothing around but woods. After about 2 minutes, I heard a faint roar off in the distance soon accompanied by a soft train whistle which blew several times. I looked at my 3 friends to see if they were hearing the same and I could tell they were by the looks on their faces. No more than 30 seconds after hearing the train, a light appeared a fair distance up the road. It was a small light with a faint glow moving back and forth across the highway. I saw what seemed to be the shape of a lantern around the light. As the light moved back and forth, I could sometimes see the figure of a man holding the lantern. This went on for about 2 minutes and the light disappeared. My friends and I sat and talked about what we had saw for the next few minutes and the light appeared again. This time it was no more than 20 feet in front of my car. It was now very easy to make out the lantern outline around the light. The light did not move for about 15 or 20 seconds and then disappeared again. Everyone was freaked out and ready to leave at this point. Then one of my friends noticed a glow coming in the rear glass. The light had now appeared about the same distance from the rear of my car. It was motionless for a second and then started moving towards the car. Now everyone is ducking in the floor of the car and screaming for me to drive off. I was fairly scared too so I started my car and drove off as fast I could to the end of Parkers Ferry Road. The light followed my car for a short distance after I started driving off and then disappeared.

One my of friends that was in the car that night has made 2 trips to the light with others since this encounter. He said that in the first of his 2 additional trips, the light appeared immediately after he heard the train. He said that this time the light appeared on the hood of the car. He said his friend tried to start the car several times and on the ninth or tenth try the car finally started and the light disappeared. On the last trip he made, he said the light only appeared in the distance.

I have never believed in the supernatural, but after this experience I don't know what to believe. I am planning on making another trip to Jacksonboro to try and take some pictures. If you are ever in the area, this would be something you definitely want to experience.