Four and a half miles south of Paulding, Michigan a mysterious light appears deep within the woods of the Ottawa National Forest after sunset. Down a dark gravel road the tree line fades into obscurity. Nights are filled with a blinding darkness. In the distance…a barely visible speck. A tiny red ember piercing the night sky entices your curiosity. It swirls and bounces, sways and pulsates. And then it happens. A sudden intense light overtakes the taunting red light. A bright white glow draws you into its hypnotic power. What is it? Is it coming close? Where does it come from? All of a sudden….it disappears.

The Paulding Light…a mysterious light that appears each night from the ghostly lantern of a railroad brakeman who met his untimely death working on the Chicago Northwestern railway that ran deep through the Ottawa National Forest so many years ago. Each night, clear sky, rain, snow, warmth, cold…the brakeman is out amongst the forest dutifully warning all who pass and guiding each soul and ensuring all are returned to safety.