The Crossett Light: A Ghost Story of Love, Loss, and the Railroad That Never Lets Go
The Legend That Has Haunted and United Lovers for Over a Century
In the deep pine forests of Ashley County, Arkansas, where the railroad once cut through the wilderness to bring life to a sawmill town, a ghostly light still flickers in the darkness. For over a hundred years, the Crossett Light has been seen moving along the abandoned tracks east of town, a spectral glow that appears, disappears, and at times, follows those who dare to look for it.
Unlike most ghost stories, which tell of curses, revenge, or restless spirits, this one carries a romantic twist—they say if you see the Crossett Light while locked in a kiss, love will follow you for the rest of your life.
Is it a haunting? A blessing? Or something in between?
The Railroad Romance of Rose Marie and David
The legend traces its roots to the early 1900s, when Crossett was still a rough-hewn tent town in the making, surrounded by towering pines and the howl of distant wolves. This was a time of railroad expansion, sawmill labor, and small wooden cabins nestled in the wilderness.
Rose Marie and David were young, deeply in love, and had built a life together in a tiny home along the newly laid Missouri Pacific tracks. Each evening, they sat beside the railroad, listening for the distant whistle of the train making its way from Hamburg. In the mornings, Rose Marie would walk with David to the tracks, watching as his train carried him away to work as a brakeman.
But on one bitterly cold night, tragedy struck.
David, as he had done countless times before, prepared to jump from the caboose near their home. But this time, something went wrong. A misstep. A stumble. A collision with the moving train. In a split second, he was thrown beneath the wheels.
When townsfolk arrived, they found Rose Marie cradling his headless body on the tracks, screaming for her husband’s head.
They buried him in Unity Cemetery, but his head was never found. Some say it was caught in the undercarriage of the locomotive, carried miles away to the Delta. Others whisper that wolves carried it into the woods, leaving Rose Marie to wander the tracks, searching endlessly for something she would never find.
The very night after his funeral, she returned to the tracks with a lantern, swinging it up and down, scanning the darkness, calling for David. Night after night, she walked, waiting for a glimpse of the man she loved. And then, one night—her lantern appeared without her.
The Light That Won’t Die
Since then, people have reported seeing the Crossett Light, an eerie, floating glow that moves along the railroad. It flickers. It sways. Sometimes it hovers low to the ground, as if searching. Other times it races forward, closing the distance between it and those watching.
Locals say that Rose Marie still walks the tracks, searching. And those who dare to come near the railroad at night might find themselves face to face with her l
