Brown Mountain Lights

The Brown Mountain Lights are mysterious glowing orbs and streaks reported over Brown Mountain and the Linville Gorge in Burke County for more than a century and, by some accounts, far longer. A Cherokee legend tells of wives searching for husbands lost in battle, and 20th-century government studies suggested explanations such as train and car headlights, but the lights remain a staple of North Carolina folklore and a draw for visitors. They are best seen on clear evenings from overlooks along NC 181 and the Blue Ridge Parkway.