In a rural part of Eastern Virginia along the Pamunkey River, there have been sightings of a strange ghost light that appears near the railroad tracks. Over the years, this mysterious and luminous orb has become known as the Cohoke Light or simply “The Light” among locals. Although the light has been seen less and less over the years, there are still many witnesses who are adamant that something strange is happening on the railroad along the Pamunkey River.
Virginia is a hotspot for paranormal phenomena and haunting legends. If you’re heading to Colonial Williamsburg, you can learn all about these tales by booking an in-person tour with our Williamsburg Ghost Tour.
What Is The Legend of Cohoke Light
No one knows for sure when or how the legend of the Cohoke Light came to be, but the story became increasingly popular throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Local teens would camp out and wait for the light to appear, typically running in fear when it finally showed up.
The legend varies depending on who you ask. Some believe the Cohoke Light is the ghost of a train conductor who cannot fully rest. Others maintain that a train of soldiers on their way to West Point was in a lethal accident that created the haunting. Even stranger are claims that aliens are the true source of the Cohoke Light.
While some chalk up the story of the Cohoke Light to being an urban legend, there are still many people who believe in and fear the Cohoke Light.
History of the Cohoke Light
The story of the Cohoke Light began sometime in the late 1950s or early 1960s according to most accounts. People spoke of a ghost light that would glide along the train tracks, increasing in size and speed as it got closer to onlookers.
Some feared they would be hit by a train, but light would simply vanish once it reached them. Other accounts described the orb of lighting bobbing and swaying as if someone were carrying a lantern while meandering down the train tracks.
The Cohoke Light appears in King William County, Virginia along Virginia State Road 632 where Mt. Olive Cohoke Road crosses the Norfolk Southern Railway. As the story of the Cohoke light started to spread, local teens began stakeouts in the area, hoping to catch a glimpse of the light.
A few teens turned into dozens of people, then hundreds. “I’ve seen vehicles there from every state in the United States,” claimed Jim Wolford, a retired sheriff who spent years chasing off teens and tourists who were disturbing the peace while trying to find the Cohoke light. “There were so many people there, they burned the store down (by the tracks) and a house,” Wolford recalled.
Police began fining and arresting people for trespassing on railroad property, but that didn’t keep the crowds away. In extreme cases, people who were frightened of the Cohoke Light would shoot at it when it appeared. Oddly enough, the gunshots would stop the phantom light from moving.
The Light Remains a Mystery
While police claim they’ve never seen anything “spooky” on Virginia State Road 632, the Indigenous people of Eastern Virginia aren’t so quick to dismiss the claims. On the Pamunkey Indian Reservation, tribal members advise against seeking out the Cohoke Light, believing that it could be something malevolent.
Skeptics assert that the Cohoke Light is merely swamp gas rising off the Pamunkey River or light reflecting off some sort of surface. However, these theories don’t align with witness accounts.
As sightings of the Cohoke Light become more infrequent, the mystery around it only grows more complex. Why did so many people see it consistently for decades, only to have it show up every once in a while? The answer may never be truly known.
Haunting of the Cohoke Light
So, how did this famous ghost light come to be? Since the first sightings in the 1960s, there have been multiple versions of the legend behind the Cohoke Light, with three standing out as the most often told.
The Headless Conductor
Sometime in the 1800s, a train conductor was inspecting his train during a routine stop. Lantern in hand, the conductor discovered the chains connecting two of the cars had become tangled, posing a potential safety risk.
For whatever reason, the train jerked and the conductor was decapitated after falling between the two cars. As a result, many believe that the bobbing light seen near the tracks is the headless conductor eternally searching for his lost head.
Confederate Train Massacre
During the Civil War, a train carrying Confederate soldiers from Richmond to West Point derailed near what is now Virginia State Road 632. Dozens of lives were lost, and the result of the catastrophe was the haunting ghost light that speeds like a train towards its doom.
It’s worth noting that this version of the story is the easiest to debunk. There’s no record of a train crash with Confederate soldiers, and they would have had no reason to retreat to West Point since it was controlled by the Union.
Aliens
Finally, there are those who are certain that the Cohoke Light isn’t a haunting at all but aliens. Eyewitnesses have reported seeing two to three rows of blinking lights that come closer and closer to the tracks. One witness stated that Cohoke Light is a massive ring of lights that takes up the size of two football fields, furthering the alien theory.
In the 2021 documentary The Cohoke Light, a number of theories are explored about the haunting, including witness accounts of aliens.
Haunted Williamsburg
In eerie East Virginia, the Cohoke Light of King William County remains among the area’s most persistent urban legends. While there is no shortage of skeptics, you can never convince someone who has seen the Cohoke Light that it isn’t real.
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Sources:
- https://hauntedva.blogspot.com/2010/05/light-at-cohoke-crossing-king-william.html
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEvDTHd0kc4
- https://www.wtvr.com/2014/10/25/holmberg-the-legend-of-the-ghost-light-of-cohoke-west-point