Strange things happen in the 700 miles of mostly wet wilderness that comprise the Okefenokee Swamp. Locals here cheerfully trade stories of being pursued by odd glowing orbs of green light, alien abductions and encounters with the Pig Man, a Southern version of Bigfoot. These mysterious meetings purportedly occur both deep within the swamp and along the dark and lonely roads that border it."Your technology can't be counted on in the swamp," said guide Milford Simpson. "Signals get scrambled, electronics go screwy. Mother Nature kicks technology's butt in here." It's true that most high-tech gadgets are less reliable than usual in the Okefenokee. Simpson's cell phone worked in a few areas of the swamp but cut out in others. A GPS mapping device was pretty accurate, but since much of the swamp can't be navigated by humans, it wouldn't have been all that helpful had we become lost Our computers hated the muggy heat and responded more fitfully than usual to user commands. But all of that is easily explained and not at all mysterious, unlike Simpson's stories of being chased by blobs of pulsating light that seem to have minds of their own. "I've only seen them a few times in my life, but that's enough," said 67-year-old Simpson. "Even though you rationally know there's a natural explanation for them, it just doesn't seem natural when a glowing glob is following you down the road." Most of the predatory light stories are attributed to sightings of swamp gas, a totally non-paranormal event also known as "foxfire" and "wetland flatulence," according to Steve Knight, owner of Okefenokee Pastimes. Knight also guides people through the swamp. Swamp gas is formed by decaying organic matter that has been naturally transformed into a luminescent gaseous form, Knight explained. No one knows why the gas globs sometimes appear to track and pursue humans. Some assume it's an optical illusion caused when headlights or flashlights illuminate the gas, but others aren't so sure. "I want to say foxfire is beautiful, but honestly it's just plain creepy," said Kim Donell, a Waycross resident.
View: Full Article | Source: Wired News