This month, our Cape Fear Pride series takes us to Brunswick County.
Tonight, we take a look at the town of Northwest, and the spirit some residents say still haunts the town.
When night falls in Maco, one part of town, many wonder if they will see a faint light in the distance.
It's called the Maco Light, story that has been the talk of the town since the 1800s.
The tale of the Maco Light begins with Joe Baldwin, a train conductor who used to travel to and from Wilmington on the Old Atlantic Coast Railroad.
Legend has it, Baldwin was involved in a horrific accident. The caboose detached from his train leaving Baldwin in the path of an on-coming locomotive.
As a warning, Baldwin began waving his lantern frantically. The train never stopped slamming into the stranded caboose. Baldwin's body was found headless, and that's why some residents believe Joe Baldwin's light has never dimmed.
Now, just a few yards from where the infamous train tracks once laid, the Maco Depot is themed after Joe's legend.
Maco Depot employee Stephanie Ganey said, "We are wearing the conductor hats to honor his memory and maybe put him at rest. Maybe he can go on with his life."
Employees say they've had their own encounters with the spirit of Joe.
Though sightings of Joe's Light have faded, you can still find plenty of believers.
The Brown's also live close by where the train once traveled. Their opinion of Baldwin's legend lies on both sides of the track.
Temaly Brown said, "I've never actually seen but I've always heard stories about people coming to see the light, but I ain't going back there."
Aaron brown has told the story many times to people who stop by hoping to catch a glimpse of the legendary Maco Light. “People from Wilmington have come out here, I've taken them all through there. People from Raleigh, I've taken back all through there at night."
Aaron is much braver than Temaly. She said living so close to where the Maco Light legend originated is already a test of faith. Hoping to spot the light is something she can pass on. “I don't like the dark too much anyway, so I ain't going back there to find out."
MACHO LIGHT
I REALLY BELEIVE IN THE LIGHT! MY MOTHER AND FATHER, TOLD ME ABOUT THEM GOING THERE IN THE EARLY SEVENTY'S. THEY STOPPED THE CAR AND SET THERE A GOOD 30 MINUTUES,AND A BIG BRIGHT LIGHT CAME OVER THE CAR! MY MOM ENDED UP HIDDING IN THE FLOOR BOARD OF THEIR 69 CHEVELLE, AND MY DAD ROLLED DOWN THE WINDOW AND THE LIGHT WENT AWAY!!WELL NEEDLESS FOR ME TO BELIEVE IN THE LATE 80'S, I WENT WITH MY FRIENDS FROM HIGH SCHOOL AND WE SEEN THE LIGHT!!!IT IS THERE,I HAVE PIC'S.WITH A 110 CAMERA!!!!!OF THE BRIGHT LIGHT OF COURSE!!! BUT I BELIEVE IN THIS STORY,AND SO DO MY AUNTS, UNCLES,AND MY DAD,AND MOM WHOM HAVE PASSED AWAY!!! THERE STORY GAVE ME THE CREEPS.LIKE A TEENAGER I HAD TO SEE MYSELF.GO FOR YOURSELF. LIGHTS OFF ON CAR AND VERY, VERY,QUITE FOR ATLEAST 30 MINUTES,IF NOT THAT LONG!!!HAVE FUN!!BUT DON'T PANIC!!
ENJOY, CHRISTY
NOW FROM CALASH, N.C.
ORINGINALY,ROBERSON COUNTY
Maco light and Meat Packing House
Those were the good old days when we would look for the light and go to the Meat Packing House. The northern end of Brunswick County used to have great fun with out spendin a lot of money too. Now for the kids there is no where to go unless you have money to spend. If you sit in a parking lot just to talk you can get arrested, if you drive down the streets you are wasting gas. No right way to win. But the Maco light and the Packing House were lots of fun back then
Not only was there a Joe Baldwin killed
But they never found his head. A skull was discovered near the area in the early 1900's, but there was no technology at the time to definitely say if it was Bladwin's or not.
The story as it was taught to me is that Joe is walking the tracks with his light, trying to find his head. When I was a child in the late Forties, there was an old man named Luther Baldwin who lived West of the Maco Loop, and he told us that he was Joe's brother. He said that every now and then he would walk the tracks and meet up with Joe, where they would chat about family and the railroad. Luther used to tell Joe that he could rest in peace, because the spirit he saw was intact, with a head.
But Joe still wanders the track to this day, still looking for his head.
Joe is still wandering...
and waiting for Elvis to arrive.
The light they see is the
The light they see is the planet Venus.
The planet Venus was born some time in the 1800's.
No train wreck
That was researched years ago and there was no record of a train wreck anywhere near that location. It's just local folklore. A few months back, I was told that one of the property owners turned his dogs loose on some wannabe ghost hunters that were trespassing there. LOL
Sure About That?
That's not what the Wilmington Railroad Museum thinks:
http://www.wilmingtonrailroadmuseum.org/content/joebaldwin.php
It's almost a right of passage...
If you are a "true local" then I'm sure you, along with 10 of your favorite pals have driven across the bridge to see Joe's light. On a good night we would go try and find Joe AND go to the Meat Packing Plant...
maco light
I remember the days of the Maco light and the meat packing plant, those were the days,lOl
Maco Light?
The fact that no one named Joe Baldwin was ever killed in a train wreck in this area doesn't seem to matter. The locals just like to tell the story just to laugh at the so-called 'ghost hunters' when they claim to have seen the light.
Joe Baldwin
were did you get your info that Joe Baldwin never died on the tracks. I am a local and it has always been told and retold. Just wondering were you got your info.