THING: A Ghostly Happening

Our spirits were high with the thoughts of a trip to Wrightsville Beach for seafood. At that time it was Fairclothes Seafood, more recent it was The Bridge Tender.

With two older sisters, one being smart enough to be a CIA operative. She knew all the right buttons to push if the opportunity required a favor to be called in. The other was a tom-boy that dared you to knock the chip off her shoulder. And was the mouthpiece to mom if things went sideways. As for me, my older sisters turned me into the guinea pig for “dare” and “double dare”. I still have the scars to prove the “dare’s and “double dare’s” that went wrong. Our trip to Wrightsville Beach was predicated on our behavior leading up to the Sunday trip.

Sunday finally arrived and we knew if dad passed the Clarkton Town Limit sign we were beyond ” the point of no return”. This was also the point and time our subdued good behavior took a back seat to normalcy. ” He’s crowding me, she just pinched me, are we there yet”? It only took one look from my mom’s piercing brown eyes to let you know you were treading on thin ice. The eleventh commandment in our house, ” Do not make your dad stop this car”.

At the break necking speed of thirty-five miles per hour ( dad was not an advocate of NASCAR or the fifty-five mile per hour speed limit ), we finally arrived at Fairclothes. After blessing the food, all you could hear was the consumption of Eastern NC’s finest shrimp, oysters, flounder, and hush puppies. With full stomach’s the return trip home would be less chaotic, or so we thought.

The November night had turned cold, with a steady rain. As we crossed the Cape Fear River Bridge the rain had turned into a fine drizzle. Two of the three siblings became bored and “yes” contrary. This was until we saw the Leland Town Limits sign. One sibling ( not mentioning names) yelled, ” Maco Light”, which was a short distance from Leland.

If you are not from these parts let me explain Joe Baldwin, and the Maco Light. Joe was an employee of Southern Railroad. He rode the tracks from Rockingham NC to Wilmington NC. On a cold rainy night at the Maco crossing Joe’s freight train developed engine trouble. Realizing there was another train bearing down on the tracks, Joe began to wave his distress lantern. The trains collided slamming a steel door across Joe’s neck severing his head. Rumor is Joe’s lantern landed upright, but the search crew never found his head. For years after the mishap, locals spoke of a strange light on the tracks. Joe was looking for his head.

In an effort to appease the restless, dad was bound and determined to expel the myth of Joe Baldwin. Apparently in an act of defiance our dad parked the little 55′ Ford directly on the tracks. Turning off the engine we waited, our eyes glued to the windows looking for the lantern. The steady drizzle clinging to the Spanish moss was straight out of Hollywood.

After fifteen minutes dad said, ” see I told you it was all a myth”. Before he got the last word out of his mouth my mom screamed, ” Wade, start the car the train is coming”. In horror, we looked East toward Wilmington. Coming directly toward us was a light approximately the size of large lantern. The light was moving in a slow arch giving a luminescence to the wet tracks. It was so close there was little to do except scream and fall to the floor board of the car. As we sped off the tracks waiting for the worst, the light disappeared as quickly as it appeared. The only sound was three whimpering children.

For the remainder of our trip home, there was little conversation. Mom returning to a degree of calm simply said, “There was a train coming down the tracks and it seemed closer than we thought”. End of discussion.

Many years have passed since that cold November night. There have been many things in my life that have made lasting impressions. 9/11, JFK’s assassination, UFO’s, That night lying in bed listening to the cold rain beating on the windows it is as vivid today as it was then. I had witnessed the ” Maco Light”.