Driving along a deserted road in the dark can be unsettling, especially when mysterious lights suddenly appear with no apparent source.
If you find yourself on Snow Hill Road, north of Chuluota and Taintsville in Seminole County, Florida, you should brace yourself for exactly this phenomenon.
At first, it might be easy to brush off as a late-night jogger with a headlamp or an unexpected vehicle taking a hidden turn. However, locals have been witnessing these enigmatic lights for decades.
According to local historian Jason Byrne, who shared insights with ClickOrlando, the first accounts of the ‘Oviedo Lights’ date back to the 1960s. Witnesses often report spotting these lights around midnight, moving southward toward the bridge over the Econlockhatchee River.
Sightings are said to increase during the winter months, yet the lights always vanish without a trace.
Byrne detailed the experience: “From a distance, it resembles an oncoming car, but as it approaches, witnesses say its light is as bright as a freight train and never separates into two lights, as would car lights. Its tint takes on a discernably bluish hue as it starts to wobble slightly and then disappears promptly as it crosses the bridge, never making a sound.”
Naturally, these reports have intrigued local residents over the years, leading many to venture to the area in hopes of glimpsing the lights themselves.
Byrne further explained: “You drive out there and sit in the middle of the night — drink beer or whatever teenagers do — and look for these legendary light. So there’s literally generations of people who remember going out there, taking a date or taking some friends in search of these ghost lights.”
A variety of eerie stories have circulated about the lights, though many remain unverified. These tales include that of a Cub Scout who lost his troop while carrying a lantern, a teenager struck by a vehicle while crossing the road, and a woman who discovered her boyfriend clawed to death after he left the car when they ran out of gas.
One story Byrne has confirmed involves a 17-year-old named Norbet Hyman, who went to the bridge in 1963 with friends to set off fireworks.
“After they were done shooting out the fireworks, one friend ran to get the car. The other friends walked ahead back toward the main road,” Byrne recounted.
Tragically, the driver did not turn on the car lights, leading to Hyman being hit and killed.
“Whether you believe it’s the root of the actual ghost story — and this kid is ‘haunting,’ if that’s your way of believing — or whether you just think that it’s the root ghost story that kicked off all these other stories, that’s, I guess, up to the reader,” Byrne stated.
However, a more earthly explanation could account for the lights: swamp gas.
In the wetlands near the Econlockhatchee bridge, decomposing vegetation may produce combustible methane, which could ignite and create flickering blue flames in the air, resembling the lights people have reported seeing.
Yet, when choosing between swamp gas and ghosts, the ghostly explanation certainly holds more allure.