Earth Lights

  Earth Lights — balls of light that appear to issue directly from the earth, and often appear repeatedly in specific locations. The term was coined by Paul Devereux in 1982; but prior to that they had been known as spooklights.

• The light is usually seen at night, especially from 10pm into the early hours of the morning. People who have had close encounters with the light describe it as being anywhere between the size of a baseball and a basketball or larger. It can be almost any colour, and may change colours or have multiple elements, but is most frequently described as orange or yellow. Its light is strong enough to illuminate the surface of a road, and is often compared with a lantern or headlight. Indeed it usually looks like a lantern or distant headlight, and many people often take it for such until it exhibits unusual behaviour such as darting across a field and then suddenly extinguishing itself.

SPOOKLIGHTS They appear in the distance with a regularity that seldom disappoints those who come to view them. Glowing in the night with an eerie, soft color, they sometimes pulse, sometimes dance about, usually near the ground or horizon. Their source is a mystery. When the curious try to approach them, they vanish, as if purposely keeping their true nature a secret. They’re called "spooklights" or "ghost lights" and they have baffled observers for centuries. Many theories have been offered to explain their presence, including hallucinations, UFOs, automobile headlights (either direct or reflected), ball lightning, electrical discharges caused by tectonic forces, swamp gas – and even, as the name implies, ghosts.(By Stephen Wagner, About.com Guide)