Paulding is an unincorporated community in Ontonagon County, Michigan, United States. Paulding is located in Haight Township along U.S. Route 45, 13.5 miles (21.7 km) southeast of Ontonagon.
Paulding Light
The light appears in a valley outside of Paulding, Michigan, in the Upper Peninsula, near Watersmeet off US Highway 45 (US 45) on Robins Pond Road/Old US 55.
The viewing location for the Paulding Light is located at approximately 46°21′08″N 89°10′43.5″W / 46.35222°N 89.17875°W / 46.35222; -89.17875.
Local folklore
The first recorded sighting of the Paulding Light came in 1966 when a group of teenagers reported the light to a local sheriff. Since then, a number of other individuals have reported seeing the mysterious light that is said to appear nearly every night at the site.
Although stories of the light vary, the most popular legend involves the death of a railroad brakeman. The legend states that the valley once contained railroad tracks and the light is the lantern of the brakeman who was killed while attempting to stop an oncoming train from colliding with railway cars stopped on the tracks. Another story claims the light is the ghost of a slain mail courier, while another says that it is the ghost of an Indian dancing on the power lines that run through the valley.
Scientific investigation
While popular folklore attributes paranormal or supernatural explanations for the light, it may be more parsimoniously explained as car headlights on the north/south stretch of US 45, approximately five miles north of the observation area.
In 2010, students from the Michigan Tech chapter of the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) used a telescope to examine the light, and were able to clearly see vehicles on a highway, including a specific Adopt a Highway sign. They were allegedly able to recreate the Paulding Light by driving a car through a specific location on US 45 as well as other observations related to the light, such as multicolored patterns (police flashers) and variations in intensity (high and low beams). They theorized that the stability of an inversion layer allowed the lights to be visible from the stretch of highway 4.5 miles away.
Media coverage
In 2010, the Paulding Light was featured on the SyFy television show Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files. The investigators were depicted trying several experiments in an unsuccessful attempt to recreate the light, including using car headlights from a nearby road and a flyover by an airplane with a spotlight. Other sequences depicted them conducting an EVP session in the area and testing for methane gas and abnormal electromagnetic fields – all of which were inconclusive.