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North of the peaceful town of Cloverdale, Alabama there is something strange in the air.  This quiet suburb between Florence and Muscle Shoals is home to several thousand people and a frequent ghost light phenomenon that is different than any other in the South. The Cloverdale spooklights are a unique occurrence that consistently defies explanation.

The lights about Cloverdale first attracted mass attention during the heyday of tabloid UFO enthusiasm during the early 1970′s.  At that time alien hysteria caused people to label every luminous object in the nighttime sky as an extraterrestrial visitor, whether it was a weather balloon, a strange cloud formation, or the planet Venus.  Residents of the area soon noticed their own nocturnal visitations in the pastures and hills just South of the Tennessee state line.  Unlike most UFO flaps, the North Alabama sightings continued with almost predictable frequency.  While other sightings fell to easy explanations, the phenomena centered around Cloverdale persisted.  Like other unidentified flying objects, the Cloverdale phenomena was eventually identified–

As a spooklight.

The Cloverdale lights were first reported in the East Lauderdale News as UFOs that frequented the Lexington, Alabama landfill in February, 1973.   For the next few months this and other local papers chronicled what appeared to be a full-blown alien invasion.  According to one article aptly titled “Garbage Dump – UFO!,” hundreds of people reported sightings across northern Alabama during the first weeks of February.  One writer even speculated that there might be a UFO airport in the area.

The reported sightings continued with startling frequency until October 17, 1973.  That night a law enforcement officer reported what became known as the Falkville Spaceman fleeing the scene of a reported sighting.  In what became a hotly debated case as to whether it was hysteria or hoax, a local sheriff reported a being in what appeared to be a silver-colored spacesuit.  The suspect eluded capture, but hung around long enough for a photograph that still circulates in the literature of conspiracy theorists and ET advocates.

The publicity associated with what locals dubbed “The Tinfoil Man” was too much for even local editors.  Whether suffering embarrassment or alien fatigue, they allowed coverage of UFO sightings to dwindle soon after the encounter near Falkville.  Even without newspaper attention the nocturnal lights continued and eventually warranted occasional mention in the local press.  The UFO fad fell out of fashion and viewers realized that the lights above their fields were a totally terrestrial, yet still fascinating occurrence.  In 2007 Wyatt Cox, a Cloverdale native and spooklight enthusiast , published Spooklights: The Amazing Cloverdale Spooklight Mystery.  This book remains the definitive study of the North Alabama phenomenon.

The Cloverdale spooklights haunt the pastures and wooded hills between Florence, Alabama, the Tennessee state line, and eastward to the community of St. Florian.  According to Cox, an average of two lights are seen on any given night, but are scarce during the hot dry months of summer.  The most common lights seen are a bright yellow-orange orbs approximately eight feet in diameter.  However, on very rare occasions smaller white or dull blue lights appear that are estimated of two to three foot size.  The lights flicker and pulsate as they remain visible from a few seconds to several minutes and are subject to suddenly appear and vanish.  Sometimes they reappear just as suddenly as they travel the same general path at an estimated 20-30 mph.  It is not uncommon for a light to stop, hovering until it vanishes or resumes its travel.  The Cloverdale lights travel at varying altitudes from an estimated 2000 feet to just a few feet off the ground and are unaffected by wind speed or direction.  Sometimes a small piece of an orb will break away from the main mass and travel independently for a short time before it dissipates.

The Cloverdale lights are unique among ghost light phenomena in that no investigators have come forward in an attempt to “debunk” the phenomena.  Perhaps that is because it is difficult to dismiss the performance of these flying orbs as mirages or mere headlights.  To date the most elaborate study of the Cloverdale Phenomenon is the observations detailed by Cox in his book.  Cox and a friend first saw the lights in 1973.  Together they cataloged and sometimes photographed more that 180 separate light occurrences since their first sighting.  Cox plotted sightings on a maps to identify a corridor or window of light occurrences that stretches from northern Alabama into south-central Tennessee.  In addition, the American Association of Meta-Science investigated the lights, but never offered an explanation for the Cloverdale Phenomenon.

In his book, Cox details several suggested Cloverdale spooklight viewing areas:

1. On Alabama Highway 17 a half mile from the Tennessee state line.  The lights usually travel above the fields to the south.

2. Turn east off Highway 17 onto Alabama Highway 24.  Travel about a mile past the railroad tracks.

3.  Drive north of Cloverdale on Alabama Highway 157 to the intersection of county road 272.  The lights cross above the highway in this area.  By taking county road 272 to higher ground, observers may get a better view.

4.   Take Highway 17 north from Florence to the intersection of Mt. Zion Road. (CR 224) Take Mt. Zion Road to the right, cross the railroad tracks, and turn left on a road that ends at the entrance area of a long abandoned prison camp.  Cox also suggests that prospective observers park at the railroad and walk 1/4 mile north along the tracks.  This is described as an excellent viewing area.

The Cloverdale spooklights are most often seen in the first few hours after sunset.  Rarely do they occur after midnight and are most active from October to April.  Remember, all property is owned by someone, so respect their property rights.  The Cloverdale spooklights are a unique phenomenon in the ghost light realm.  If you are in the area, they are well worth investigation.