Mystery of the Gurdon Light | Encore Episode

Southern Gothic

Southern Gothic Media LLC

Society & Culture, History, Documentary, True Crime

4.7 • 980 Ratings

🗓️ 22 July 2026

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | Apple Podcasts | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This encore episode originally aired on May 6, 2022! Travel about 85 miles south of Little Rock, Arkansas along Interstate 30 and you come to the town of Gurdon. In a remote area, several miles outside Gurdon sit railroad tracks for the Missouri Pacific Railroad. It is along a four-mile stretch of track that sightings of a floating, glowing orb have been reported for the last ninety years, now known as the Gurdon Light. While there are of course scientific theories that attempt to explain the origin of the Gurdon Light, many instead believe the phenomenon is linked to a single event in history, the murder of a railroad foreman in 1931. Perhaps not everything seen along the railroad tracks is scientifically explainable, and if not, how long has the area been that way? Is the light something that only dates to the 1930s, or is it something that has been there much longer? Perhaps the Gurdon Light has always been there, it just took people to give it a name… This episode is made possible through the support of our sponsor: Elevate your summer bedding with Quince. Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠quince.com/sogo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too. Want to Listen to Southern Gothic Ad-Free? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon: Ad-Free Episodes, Premium Releases, Bonus Content & More⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Southern Gothic Premium on Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Southern Gothic Premium on Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Into History: History Without Interruption⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Connect with Southern Gothic Media: Website:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ SouthernGothicMedia.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Merch Store:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.southerngothicmedia.com/merch⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Pinterest:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ @SouthernGothicMedia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ @SouthernGothicMedia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ @SouthernGothicMedia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ X:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ @SoGoPodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Advertise on this podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠press@southerngothicmedia.com⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Did you know this August is the 71st anniversary of the Kelly Hopkinsville Goblin Incident?
0:07.4	One of the most infamous alien encounters in the United States.
0:12.1	And guess what?
0:13.8	To celebrate, I'm inviting all of you out to Kentucky for a very special annual festival that commemorates that crazy historic event.
0:25.2	The GoblinCon, UFO, and Paranormal Expo.
0:29.9	That's right, GoblinCon.
0:32.6	It's a two-day festival of all things weird,
0:36.9	featuring over 50 vendors and interactive exhibits, engaging two-day festival of all things weird, featuring over 50 vendors and interactive exhibits,
0:41.0	engaging talks from renowned speakers, educational workshops, and captivating panels covering
0:47.8	paranormal topics from aliens to ghosts to Bigfoot. So y'all, come on down to the Bruce Convention Center in
0:56.6	Hopkinsville, Kentucky on August 22nd to 23rd for this year's GoblinCon. General admission
1:04.5	is $10, children 12 and under are free, and there's even VIP packages available for the truly adventurous.
1:14.3	Tickets are on sale now at goblinconkY.com. That's goblinconkY.com. Southern Gothic is a podcast that explores the history behind some of the American
1:37.9	South's darkest days, greatest mysteries, and most chilling ghost stories.
1:43.3	The greatest mysteries, and most chilling ghost stories. The About 85 miles south of Little Rock, Arkansas, just off Interstate 30 is the small city of Gurdon.
2:15.6	The area was first settled in 1819, but after the Cairo and Fulton Railroad
2:20.8	was constructed in 1874, an influx of people arrived and a town centered around the timber
2:28.0	industry was born. By 1880, Gerdin was officially incorporated in Clark County, and over the following decades,
2:41.2	the town grew.
2:42.2	But after years of profitability, the onset of the Great Depression and the decline of railroad
2:48.1	travel, the Arkansas community seemed doomed to end up nothing more
2:52.6	than an old forgotten timber town.
	...

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