| |
The
Bodan Creek ran through my mother’s family land on its way southwest to the Neches
River. As a child during the 1930’s and 40’s my parents took me to visit this
140+ acres about every other weekend of each year. The Bodan crossed the road
I later named Edwards Loop, about 200 yards from the house. I played in the creek
bed when it was dry and tried to dam it up when it had water.
My Uncle
Jack had a battery-powered radio that could pick up The Grande Ole Opry on Saturday
night. He would listen usually while he sat in his rocking chair on the front
porch smoking his pipe of Prince Albert tobacco. Jack spent his life plowing and
I often ran behind, listening to him talk to the mule. One Saturday night Jack
recalled seeing a glow, in the direction of the Bodan.
Electrical service
for this area was still 10 years in the future so this light must have come from
a lantern or some unknown source. Suspecting the latter, Jack loaded his shotgun
and followed a cow trail he knew would approach the mysterious glow. |
 |
Finally
reaching a nearby view point, he crouched as the glow moved from behind a high
creek bank that hid the light. Perhaps twenty feet before him he saw what looked
like a dim lamp, maybe one foot in diameter. It was in the middle of the creek
bed unsupported in mid-air about three feet above water level. Silently the mysterious
glow moved slowly down stream until it disappeared. Jack remained motionless,
frozen in his crouched position and puzzled.
He returned to the porch
where he tried to understand what he had just seen. The night was dark and heavy
with humidity, he recalled, but he never understood what he saw. Over the years
before his death, he told me the story several times but the ending never changed.
Now 70 years later the Bodan still feeds into the Neches
River that flows southeast into Tyler County. From Woodville
south to Saratoga, in the Big
Thicket, strange lights have been seen in the past on a regular basis. When electricity
began coming to these remote areas in 1947, mystery light reports reduced. Now
when darkness falls, electric lights come on. This causes naturally occurring
fluorescent objects and unknown glowing phenomena to go unnoticed.
– Ken
Rudine
Forum:
Subject: Bodan Ghost Light
I
have recently read a story you wrote about the Bodan Ghost Light. I live in Pollok
on Choppin Rd. as my family has live here for the past one hundred years. I have
seen the ghost light and all I can say is that I thought I was crazy until I read
your story. I saw the light further down Bodan than the area you described (closer
to the Neches) and it appeared higher for I saw it through the branches of the
trees along the creek bank. At first I thought it may have been a helicopter with
a spotlight hovering over that area; however, there was no sound nor was there
any movement with the light plus the light really needed to be brighter to be
a spotlight. I thought it may be the moon; conversely, I found the moon seconds
later and it was only a sliver in a different area of the sky. I thought about
this for months trying to find an explanation that would make me feel better (frankly,
I was concerned I was seeing things). Finally, I just decided to let it go and
not worry about it any further. Until I found a story about the ghost light. The
light I saw was not in the same area and it was a little higher, but I believe
it is the same light on the Bodan. Thank you. - Jennifer Aldredge, 28 May 2012
| |
| Book Hotel Here
- Expedia
Affiliate Network | |
