H.H.P.S.
Hermit's Hollow Paranormal Society
The Lights of Red Valley
No one knows how long they've been there. Even less know what they are. But almost everyone has heard of the Lights of Red Valley.
First documented in 1945 by land surveyors, the Lights of Red Valley are a series of mysterious ghost lights that have been seen roaming above Red Valley's skies. Depite being investigated by the government and private research groups, no one has come to a definite conclusion on what the lights truly are. They're not stars, they're not satellites, and they're not planes -- so what are the Red Valley Lights?
THEORY 1: GHOSTS
Legend tells of a group of hikers who became stranded in the valley due to a heavy snowstorm. Though civilization was only half a day's walk away, the severe weather prevented anyone from calling out for help. All the hikers could do was light the lanterns for warmth, hoping someone would see them and help. For five days and five nights, the storm raged on. On each day, the townsfolk reported seeing the lights slowly flicker out one by one, until only one lantern remained. When the storm finally died down, a rescue team was sent to help the hikers, but when they arrived, they found nothing. No bodies, no foot prints, no signs of life -- only a single lantern flickering in the snow.
Many claim that the lights are the spirits of the hikers, still searching for signs of rescue with their eternally flickering lanterns.
...
Now, normally, I LOVE a good ghost story. But even I have to admit that this one's kinda flimsy. For starters, this version of the story seems to be a more modern one, as I could only find records of it dating back to the 80's. There's another version, this one with a group of land surveyors, but there's no official record to support that claim. And, yes, I know the old fire would've made looking for any record nearly impossible, but you'd think SOMETHING would've been left behind, right? So, no. I personally don't believe this theory, though the stories around it are interesting.
THEORY 2: ALIENS
Before you start laughing, hear me out -- it makes sense. People who have seen the lights have reported feeling light-headed and dizzy in the following days. One person claims to have experienced intense paranoia, as if something were watching them. I mean, sure, I didn't experience any of this when I documented the lights, but maybe the lights acknowledge that I'm just that powerful. Doing some digging, I discovered a police report in 1978 of a man who claimed to have been taking a midnight drive when, BAM. A sudden flash of light! The man fell unconcious, and when he finally came to an hour later, he was apparently 30 meters away from his car. There was no sign of a crash, and he wasn't flung through the window, everything was fine. But SOMETHING had dragged him out.
The lights also follow a set pattern as well. They're usually spotted more frequently during full moons, like the lunar cycle is making them...excited? I guess. Honestly, I'm not sure why the lights seem to show up during full moons, but it lines up with the theory that aliens caused the Lunar Express crash of 1932. That being said, this is a far more likely explanation than the ghost hikers.
THEORY 3: WEATHER OR SOMETHING
Now despite aliens being the OBVIOUS answer to something as unexplainable as this, I still have to acknowledge the more "reasonable" explanations. Ball lightning, of course, is a popular theory, despite ball lightning being a rare weather event. Several people have also brought up Will-o'-Wisps, which, sure. Fine. Sounds cooler in name, but it's still just swamp gas. Nevermind the fact that we don't live in a swamp, and this is a phenomenon that happens in the sky, people, look at the sky! There's also astrological events, such as meteor showers, solar storms, auroras -- but those are sporadic. Unpredictable. I've seen the lights. I saw them as a kid, and I saw them as an adult, and each time it felt like those lights were...I dunno, sentient? Like there was a reasoning behind their movement, like I was witnessing a creature or a school of fish, like each blink was deliberate. There is nothing random about those lights, nor do they act out of some cold apathetic nature. I think those lights are alive. I think they're trying to tell us something. And for several hundred years, we have not been able to or choose not to listen.
But someone has to.