Brown Mountain Lights
Brown Mountain Lights Captured in Popular Song
Episode Description
In a state known for its wealth of eerie legends, few mysteries are as enduring or as puzzling as the Brown Mountain Lights of western North Carolina where strange glowing orbs have been seen. When the early country music star Scotty Wiseman was growing up in the North Carolina mountains, his uncle told him one version of the legend. The lights were said to come from a lantern carried by the ghost of an enslaved man, searching for his master lost on the mountain. In the 1940s, Scotty wrote his song “Brown Mountain Light.” The song took off when South Carolina singer Tommy Faile performed it on Arthur Smith's “Carolina Calling” show on Charlotte's WBTV.
The Podcast
The “Down the Road on the Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina” podcast highlights bluegrass and old-time music stories, performers, and traditions across the mountain and foothills counties of Western North Carolina. Hosted by Laura Boosinger and produced by Kim Clark of WNCW-FM, the podcast is a joint effort of the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area, the North Carolina Arts Council, and WNCW-FM.
