Not that I want the Hornet Spooklight explained. It's better to have that capricious glow remain everyone's mystery, promising delight, amusement and a few chills to generations to come. Suzanne Wilson lives near Joplin and has a long acquaintance with the Hornet Spooklight. Spellbinding Spooklore Mysterious lights have appeared around the world throughout history. Some lights appear to interact with people, approaching them, retreating when approached, reappearing behind observers as if playing a game.
Legends are similar too, often based on the theme of lantern-carrying ghosts.
Another tale tells of a Quapaw Indian couple, forbidden to marry and pursued by warriors. When they leaped from a cliff into Spring River, their spirits merged in a wandering light. Missouri has been host to other strange lights. During the New Madrid earthquake of 1811, bright flashes burst from the earth. Dr. Harley D. Rutledge, then a physics professor at Southeast Missouri State University, wrote about his study of the phenomenon in Project Identification.