Earthlights refers to mysterious lights, moving above the ground, that seem to occur naturally in some areas, such as along earthquake faults, where the Earth periodically displays seismic activity. The word was first used by Paul Devereux, a British investigator of this phenomenon, who, in the 1980s, argued that the lights were caused by electromagnetic charges created by movements of the Earth’s crust. He further suggested that because these lights seem to move in a purposeful fashion, they might be guided by some form of intelligence. Another investigator of the phenomenon, Michael Persinger, agrees that an electromagnetic charge is responsible for earthlights, but in an indirect way. He theorizes that an electromagnetic charge causes hallucinations in the minds of any people in the vicinity, and these people consequently imagine that they are seeing moving lights. Many scientists, however, dispute the notion that electromagnetic charges are present in areas where earthlights are seen, and they point out that the lights sometimes appear in areas where there has never been any seismic activity. Meanwhile, skeptics argue that the lights seem to be controlled by intelligent beings because they are—the pilots of the airplanes whose flashing lights viewers mistake for paranormal phenomena.

SEE ALSO:

• Mystery Lights

SOURCE:

The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of Paranormal Phenomena – written by Patricia D. Netzley © 2006 Gale, a part of Cengage Learning