The Marfa Lights: Texas’ Greatest Unsolved Mystery

Deep in the West Texas desert, strange lights flicker on the horizon. No one knows exactly what they are—or why they’re there. But for over 100 years, the Marfa Lights have captivated scientists, skeptics, and curious travelers alike.

In this Classic Texas Country Reporter, we travel to the edge of Mitchell Flat near Marfa, Texas, to talk with locals, veterans, and eyewitnesses who’ve seen these mysterious orbs dance across the night sky. Are they car lights? UFOs? Spirits of Apache warriors? Or something science just can’t explain?

We even capture something unexpected: flashes of light that can’t be seen with the naked eye—only caught by our camera. Whether you’re a believer or a skeptic, one thing is certain: something is out there.

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Marfa, Tx

Texas Country Reporter
#154
10-7-1990

[phillaird]

I've always loved your show over the years. Your wife Meg was my jr high teacher in the early 70s. She told us how sometimes she would ride with you during production. Thanks for the great work!

[rdcoastclassics]

Grandparents both born and raised in Marfa. Been going since a kid and recently took my kids to see the lights.

[thattowtruckguy]

its 2021. And nobody sent a drone out to see if they can get closer? Maybe trail cams?

[JackSquat]

I went out there atleast 10 times... I always saw something... and one time in particular there were many phenomena involving them moving, changing color, changing size, going onto the desert floor and going up into the sky... the experience was shared with several people.

[kellycoleman]

This must be 25 or more years old. That’s about how long my wife and I have been making the drive down from Midland to see them. They are much more enjoyable to watch since the Clayton and Modesta Williams viewing pavilion was built. With restrooms! Some nights are duds. Our first time to see them years ago was probably the best. They put on a spectacular show for hours. Whites, ambers, reds, greens and even blues were seen. They danced, streaked across the ground, split into twos and threes and converted back to a single light and even shot up into the air like bottle rockets. They seem to have an intelligence at times. You quickly begin to distinguish the genuine Marfa lights from the stream of distant headlights on Hwy. 67 once you’ve seen both. Viewed through strong binoculars they have a plasma appearance. My feeling is that they are caused by some sort of piezoelectric chemical reaction in the soil. As the night air gradually cools the ground, the lights seem to diminish most nights, but not all.
They are truly mystery lights!

[donculver]

I’ve always wanted to see the Marfa lights. Worth a trip out there to see the lights and the James Dean connection to Marfa. Thanks Bob.

[itsame]

These are also common in the deserts of Arabia. Bedouins there call it “Abu Fanous”. It’s a common belief there that the source of these lights is some kind of mischievous Djinn (aka demons) to lure people lost in the desert into quicksand or get them even more lost.

[courtneesdad]

My grandmother use to tell me stories about lights floating and flickering behind their horse and wagons before street lights. She said they were green and red. She said it was a common occurrence.

[sandyheart]

I also find it interesting how ppl from different cultures relates the phenomenon to their shared knowledge interpreting it differently.

[alfredrodriguez]

We just saw the Marfa lights last night. There were the orange and red lights in the distance hovering above the ground and flashing really slowly until they appeared somewhere else. I was thinking it could be an optical illusion of sorts and the lights were coming from the cars. I was showing my dad how to look through these binoculars to look at them, and all of a sudden this bright green light appeared much higher up in the sky and shot straight down and disappeared. Everyone awed around us and I was like: “what the heck was that?”

[anotherguy]

What amazes me is how many people buy into the car light theory LOL. The Marfia lights have been reported for over 135 years.Well before highways, cars or electricity on the ranches existed.seen them a few times, definitely unexplainable.

[allenhuffman]

I got excited when YouTube showed me this - I hadn’t thought about Texas Country Reporter since I moved away in the 90s. “Wow, they are still going?” Then I see the clip is from 1990. And realize I probably watched it back then sometime. Flashback!

[tipsygypsy]

Ive been there and seen them multiple times - its unexplainable but definately real. Its never the same. Put it on your bucket list!

[randye]

I've been there twice. If they were seen in the late 1880's, it certainly wasn't a car. It's a really cool place that is simply unexplainable. My guess? Too many to list. But it's a wild natural sight for sure.

[bosse]

Miss the 80s so much. It is all garbage now compared to back then. Wish I could travel back in time.

[MWhoSks]

Here after watching a king of the hill episode that mentioned this, and man this is one heck of a story that I think more people should know about

[jt.s.]

Why not use satellite or drones to view them up close?

[mind.haven]

Arabs called it ( jin Abu fanus), nobody tried to follow the light because you either will be lost or it will leads to dangrous road. But i tried to follow it, when i came closer it just disappeared and started to shine in defferent dirction then i knew that i will never be able to reach it.

[workablob]

What is shown on this video is exactly what I witnessed.

[Mysweetangelroom]

Whats the song that plays along the video??