Scientist solves mystery of 'Summerville Ghost' of South Carolina that's terrorized locals since the 1950s

A scientist believes she has solved the decades-old mystery of a ghost haunting in a South Carolina town. Since the 1950s, people in Summerville, South Carolina have told stories of a ghost haunting abandoned railroad tracks near Old Sheep Island Road, known locally as Old Light Road. Legend has it that a man working or traveling on the railroad was hit by a train and killed, and after her death, his wife began haunting the area - walking with a lantern.

People have claimed to see an eerie glow hovering over the tracks and strange lights seemingly floating in the air that sometimes rush towards them or grow in size. The lights are usually described as small, ball-shaped and blue or green in color, though sometimes red or white balls have been witnessed. Locals also claim to have seen shaking cars, slamming doors and whispered voices being heard without a source near houses and buildings running along the rail line.

While the ghost story has persisted, Dr Susan Hough, a geophysicist at the Earthquake Hazards Program, believes a natural explanation may be the reason for the paranormal activity. In 2023, the scientist and a colleague 'discovered a kink in the tracks of the South Carolina Railroad' that indicated they could have been built along a fault line and the hauntings people claim to see are actually after-effects of minor earthquakes.

Since 1950s, people claim to have seen an eerie glow hovering over an abandoned rail line in the nearby woods near the Old Light Road. While studying the area's seismology, she discovered a book that went into detail about an earthquake of 6.6 to 7.3 magnitude that occurred on September 1, 1886 in nearby Charleston. According to the New York Times, a historical account of the country-wide event explained how a rail line south of Summerville had been moved by about 15 feet - indicating it had been built over an earthquake fault line.

Dr Hough told Science: 'There were newspaper articles about the Summerville Light. And books like Haunted Summerville. I didn’t give it a lot of thought. 'Then last October [2024], a USGS newsletter ran a little feature on spooky science. That got me thinking again about the ghost stories. And some of the details just screamed earthquake phenomena.'. She explained the shaking of the cars could be due to 'earthquakes with a shallow source,' or tremors that occur within 40 miles of the Earth's surface.

Similarly, Dr Hugh believes the glowing orbs people claim to be a lantern carried by a ghost could actually be 'earthquake lights'. Earthquake lights are optical phenomenon that appear in the sky near areas of seismic activity. Natural phenomena such as sheet lightning - a bright flash in the sky during an earthquake - balls of light, streamers and steady glows can be seen in association with earthquakes.

While scientists remain unclear on what causes earthquake lights, Dr Hugh theorizes it is due to gas release from the Earth. She explained that the shaking of the cars could be due to 'earthquakes with a shallow source'. Dr Hugh told Science: 'It turns out they’re all over the place. Lights have been reported in Wilmington and elsewhere in the Carolinas. 'Maybe those "ghosts" are illuminating shallow active faults. They’re impossible to study, because you can’t catch them in the act. But there are plausible theories that might explain them.'.

She theorizes  the shallow earthquakes in the area could have released a water-soluble gas like radon or methane that went on to be ignited by a spark of static electricity or rock movement and turned into earthquake lights. Furthermore, her theory also suggests the lights could be caused by the ignition of flammable gasses as they are exposed to oxygen. 'The association between ghosts and railroad tracks made me think about sparks,' Dr Hough continued. 'But the association could have a different explanation, for example the tendency of railroads to follow corridors that were carved out by faults.'.

Similarly, Dr Hugh believes that the glowing orbs that people claim to be a lantern being carried by a ghost could actually be 'earthquake lights'. 'Historically, when [rail companies] replaced tracks, they did not always haul the old track away. 'So, you’ve got heaps of steel out there. Sparks might be part of the story. 'And maybe the railroads are important for another reason. They may naturally follow fault lines that have carved corridors through the landscape,' she said.

As for the noises heard by locals, those could be credited to high-frequency shaking noises resulting from tremors. 'Sound waves at frequencies of 20–200 Hz are within the audible range,' Hough wrote in the study. A sound at 20-200 Hz is considered low-frequency and falls within the audible range of hearing for humans. 'Studies further suggest that infrasonic noise, that is, at frequencies lower than 20 Hz, may cause noticeable sensations.