St. Louis Light
Encyclopedia
The St. Louis Light, St. Louis Ghost Light, or St. Louis Ghost Train is a supposedly paranormal phenomenon seen near St. Louis, Saskatchewan
, Canada
.
The phenomenon has been featured on the television series Unsolved Mysteries
and entails a strange light moving up and down along an old abandoned rail line at night, changing colours and varying in brightness. The line, located south of Prince Albert
and north of St. Louis
, has had its tracks removed, however the phenomenon still occurs on a regular basis.
Several stories attempt to explain the lights, including that it is a ghost train, or the ghost
of a drunk brakeman
who lost his head to a passing train and now wanders up and down the tracks with a lantern attempting to find it.
Two twelfth grade
students from La Ronge
, Northern Saskatchewan, won science fair gold medals for investigating and eventually duplicating the phenomenon, which they determined to be caused by the diffraction
of distant vehicle lights.
St. Louis, Saskatchewan
St. Louis is a Canadian village in the province of Saskatchewan, south of Prince Albert and northeast of Batoche. It was founded by Métis settlers in the late 19th century, and is the northernmost Southbranch Settlement, a series of communities which range from Fish Creek in the south along the...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
The phenomenon has been featured on the television series Unsolved Mysteries
Unsolved Mysteries
Unsolved Mysteries is an American television program, hosted by Robert Stack, from 1987 until 2002, and later by Dennis Farina, starting in 2008...
and entails a strange light moving up and down along an old abandoned rail line at night, changing colours and varying in brightness. The line, located south of Prince Albert
Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
Prince Albert is the third-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. It is situated in the centre of the province on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River. The city is known as the "Gateway to the North" because it is the last major centre along the route to the resources of northern Saskatchewan...
and north of St. Louis
St. Louis, Saskatchewan
St. Louis is a Canadian village in the province of Saskatchewan, south of Prince Albert and northeast of Batoche. It was founded by Métis settlers in the late 19th century, and is the northernmost Southbranch Settlement, a series of communities which range from Fish Creek in the south along the...
, has had its tracks removed, however the phenomenon still occurs on a regular basis.
Several stories attempt to explain the lights, including that it is a ghost train, or the ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
of a drunk brakeman
Brakeman
A brakeman is a rail transport worker whose original job it was to assist the braking of a train by applying brakes on individual wagons. The advent of through brakes on trains made this role redundant, although the name lives on in the United States where brakemen carry out a variety of functions...
who lost his head to a passing train and now wanders up and down the tracks with a lantern attempting to find it.
Two twelfth grade
Twelfth grade
Twelfth grade or Senior year, or Grade Twelve, are the North American names for the final year of secondary school. In most countries students then graduate at age 17 or 18. In some countries, there is a thirteenth grade, while other countries do not have a 12th grade/year at all...
students from La Ronge
La Ronge, Saskatchewan
La Ronge is a community of about 2,700 people in Northern Saskatchewan, Canada, 250 km north of Prince Albert. There are an additional 2,000 people living in the Lac La Ronge First Nation bordering the town, and another 1,000 people living in the neighbouring community of Air Ronge...
, Northern Saskatchewan, won science fair gold medals for investigating and eventually duplicating the phenomenon, which they determined to be caused by the diffraction
Diffraction
Diffraction refers to various phenomena which occur when a wave encounters an obstacle. Italian scientist Francesco Maria Grimaldi coined the word "diffraction" and was the first to record accurate observations of the phenomenon in 1665...
of distant vehicle lights.