Elle Host
- Sep 13, 2023
- 11 min read

Episode 11: Anomalies Out in the Sticks

Sources:

Script:

When we think think of the outback, we think of the dry, red soil, oppressive heat from the sun, and the vast, empty spaces that encompasses the area. Though there is more to it than meets the eye.

There is one particular phenomenon that occurs, and it only ever happens in the dark. It appears to you, disappears, and seemingly has a mind of its own. Legend has it that if you follow its alluring glow, you will never come back to tell the tale.

In this yarn, we’ll be discussing the min min light.

This topic holds a very special place in my heart, because it reminds me of my late father. Even though he’s gone now, I still remember the stories he told me about the few encounters he had with min min lights.

Before I get into the stories though, I’ll briefly describe to you what a min min light is, if you’re not already familiar with it.

As its name suggests, it’s a light, but not as we know it. It only ever appears in remote areas and is described to be a glowing orb, and can be white, yellow, orange, red, green, and at rare times, blue. It’s usually seen hovering above the horizon or bobbing about, but in way that it appears to be sentient. It has approached people, and has also followed them too.

The min min light was named after the Min Min Hotel, a building that was used as a Cobb and Co rest stop and shanty, but it had burned down in the early 20th century, some say in 1918, but other sources state different years, so that tidbit is a little unclear. The building was within the proximities of two large cattle stations that were situated between Boulia and Winton, Queensland. There was also a small graveyard at the back of the hotel, where they buried unlucky guests that died in alcohol fuelled fights, natural causes, or even murder. The place was a dodgy cesspool, to say the least.

Some time after the hotel burned down, a stockman traveled alone one evening on horseback. He was on his way to Boulia and he reported that a strange, ghastly light chased him as he did, only to disappear as he arrived at the edge of town.

However, min min lights were apparently reported to be seen way back in 1838. A publication called Six Months in South Australia had detailed the mysterious lights. Additionally, Aboriginal peoples have also seen the lights prior to European settlement. Some believed that these lights were spirits and that they could lead you away and you would never be seen again. A Kalkadoon artist by the name of Cher’nee (Shen-nay) Sutton described how when her grandmother was child, her own grandma would use the min min lights as a form of boogeyman, telling the child that if she didn’t sleep, the min min lights would come and take her.

I don’t know about you, but the legends that surround these lights sound just about ominous.

For the people of Boulia and surrounding, it’s a usual occurrence. In fact, the council even erected a sign somewhat proudly declaring to the reader that they are now in the territory of the strange lights. Marcia Praxton had an experience of her own that painted the min min light as somewhat benign.

Quote: “You wouldn't believe it, I'm finding it hard to believe myself. We were staying a Boulia Caravan Park on Monday 3rd July 2017. I was woken by a very bad dream and got out of bed as I couldn't sleep. I decided to go outside, I had no idea what the time was but later worked out it would have been approximately 5.30am. It was very still, very dark, a beautiful night, totally clear with thousands of stars out, mesmerising.

I then noticed just above the trees to the North East a very large intense circle like a full moon but a more white light. It wasn't the moon as it was only a 1/2 moon and high in the sky. I quickly ran in and got John out of bed, he wasn't at all happy to be woken at 5.35am. However when he saw the very bright glowing circle we both agreed we had seen something very special.

I didn't even know at that time what a Min Min looked like. After going to the Visitors Centre today I saw other photos of Min Mins and my photo is exactly the same. I feel amazed that both John and I have seen a Min Min. I hope it is lucky and wonder why we were chosen to see it.” Unquote.

Although Boulia is the most famous example of where the min min lights appear, this phenomenon happens in other parts of the country too. And unlike Marcia Paxton’s harmless encounter, some travellers and campers can find the experience quite unnerving.

The following encounter happened in the Northern Territory. The Pracy family were travelling one night, heading back to the Eva Valley from Mataranka, when they noticed an odd light at a distance that was flickering from one side of the car to the other. It definitely didn’t behave like a star or planet, or even a man-made satellite. They thought that it was just really weird and they decided to park behind a tree to see what happens. And surely enough, the strange, glowing light appeared from behind the tree to face the family in the car. It freaked the family out so much that they returned to Mataranka and decided to travel the next day instead, in the comfort of sunlight. When they shared their experience on a local Facebook group, people commented that it was a min min light, while others speculated that it was a weather balloon. However, the bureau of meteorology confirmed that weather balloons were not released in the area. And… since when did weather balloons follow people?

Additionally, Balanggara ranger and Wyndham resident James Birch had an unsettling experience of his own. In the West Kimberley region, the enigmatic lights are believed to be spirits of ancestors that watched over the land. However, James recounted a time that he and his friends encountered one when they were driving back from hunting one evening. As they drove along, a min min light appeared, and James and his passengers were all transfixed by it. But then after a while, they realised that they had completely turned around and were heading back to the bush, following the light. He believes that the min min lights, although considered as somewhat guardian spirits in his culture, can distract and lead people away from where they want to go.

And now, we get to my dad. While I’d rather keep my exact location a secret, I will say that my dad’s experiences happened in Queensland, and also we’ve been living here for a long while.

My dad saw min min lights a total of three times, during the times when his work would take him out in remote areas, and later on as a truck driver.

The first encounter happened when he and his coworkers were out Mount Surprise way. They were waiting for a truck to pick them up from the worksite. They saw a light coming down towards them, and assumed that it was the expected vehicle. However, they knew that something was terribly amiss when the men saw that the light actually passed over a small gorge. It came closer and closer until it stopped several feet in front of them. Dad said that this light was circular, and was reddish-orange in appearance. While it did glow, this light didn’t cast a light down onto the ground or its surroundings. My dad told me that the best way to describe the light he saw was to get a reddish-orange piece of paper, cut into a circle, and then paste it onto a black piece of paper.

Someone tried to approach the light, but the light only moved back, keeping the same distance it originally had from the group. However, when the man walked back to the group, it inched its way back towards them, to its original position. Perplexed, the group unanimously walked towards the light, and again, it backed away. Stopping when they stopped, and moving when they moved, keeping its distance as it did.

Two of the men decided they would try and catch this thing, so they went on each side of the light, but as they attempted to get closer, it floated up, avoiding them. Clearly, this thing did not want them to come any closer to it. When the men walked away, the light lowered itself back to its original place.

At around this point, the men were having a bit of fun playing with the light, but eventually, it just vanished. Not too long after, the truck arrived to pick them up.

My dad reckoned that whatever this was, it appeared to him that the min min light was observing them, but wanting to keep its distance. While this incident weirded dad and his workmates out, the second encounter he had with these mysterious lights genuinely frightened him.

Before I continue on with dad’s stories, I want to explore possibilities as to what the min min light could be.

There are theories that the min min lights could possibly be bioluminescent animals. Apparently, there have been reports of barn owls that glowed in the dark in England and Australia. Either the feathers of the owl attract bioluminescent organisms such as fungi, or the owl has bioluminescent properties itself.

Another explanation could be that the lights are natural gases. Marsh gases such as methane combust when they are mixed with another type of gas called phosphines, thus creating an eerie glow at swamps and other kinds of wet areas. This explains phenomenon such as will-o-the-wisps that happen in American marshes and wetlands.

However, I must reiterate that min min lights happen out in the remote areas and outback Australia; where there’s little to no wet areas. So it’s safe to say we can probably rule this theory out.

The late Professor John Pettigrew theorised that the min min light is a mirage, specifically, a Fata Morgana. I’ve explained what it was in a previous episode… episode 3 about the ufo encounter in PNG, but I’ll briefly refresh your memory. A Fata Morgana is a mirage that happens when light waves move through different temperatures of air layers, reflecting the image above the horizon. This can happen with either hot air or cold air.

In 1992, Pettigrew conducted an experiment to test his hypothesis. He had two-way radio communications with people at a campsite, and the weather that night was cold. He switched on the car, the headlights and started driving; his location was 10 kilometres north of the campsite and was not visible to the campers there. As he drove, the campers confirmed to Pettigrew that they can see a light bobbing around near their campsite. When he switched off the headlights, the campers confirmed that at the same time, the light vanished.

In my opinion, I think that some of the min min light sightings were indeed a mirage from a car light, but I don’t think that explains some encounters in which people had been followed, or interacted with these lights in close proximity. In the stories that I told earlier and in other recollections, the min min light sometimes behaves as if it’s sentient, like for instance, the light keeping its distance from dad and his companions, and the light that seemingly stalked the Pracy family. I’m not entirely sure how a mirage could be capable of doing such a thing.

Next I’ll tell you about the second encounter dad had with the min min lights. Unlike the first story, dad was alone.

At this time, it was early evening, and dad stayed back to do a little extra work. He was operating a bulldozer, because his company was clearing land. Anyway, as he was doing this a light suddenly appeared before him, just out of nowhere. He recognised it to be similar to the light he had seen with his colleagues a while back, and couldn’t help but be spooked out and that this light gave off an ominous aura. He felt as though it was watching him? After staring at it for a while he noticed that in the distance, another light was making its way towards him. It stopped right next to the first light, and they now looked like a pair of headlights in front of him, or menacing eyes.

Next thing, dad heard loud clap of thunder and he was like, “nope, I’m outta here!” and scrambled out of the bulldozer and rushed to his car and drove off, never looking back at the site. As he drove, rain began to pour heavily. The next day, he heard that the work site actually got flooded and they couldn’t continue on the job, at least not for a while. When he told me this story, dad wondered if these lights were a sort of warning or omen.

The last story happened in later years, at the time when my dad was a truck driver. Just a side note, I hear that a lot of truckies have weird, creepy stories up their sleeves. I might actually make an episode about them in the future.

Okay, so my dad picked up a hitchhiker who wanted a lift to a town, I can’t remember which town it was ‘cause he did tell me this a long time ago. So they were driving and having a good old yarn into the night. Then all of a sudden, the hitchhiker said, “hey, I didn’t know there was a railway here” to which my dad replied, “there isn’t”.

However, the hitchhiker then asked my dad what the light travelling alongside them was, so my dad had a look, and got the chills. Again, there was a strange, glowing round light keeping up with the truck’s speed. When they slowed down, so did the light, and it sped up when they sped up. This was the first time the hitchhiker had seen something like this, and he was visibly freaked out. Although this was his third time seeing this phenomenon, dad’s heart was still racing. Every time dad saw a min min light or two, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease.

After a while, the light finally left them alone, both dad and hitchhiker pondered the question: what the hell was that?

When my dad and I had a conversation about the lights, he wasn’t too sure what they were. He didn’t know whether to consider them UFOs or something else, but all he knew was that he did not feel relaxed whenever he saw them. I remember there were times where I’d ask him to tell me the stories again, and he’d be reluctant to, and sometimes would even change the subject.

Phenomena that involves unexplainable lights have been reported all over the world. They are called spook lights and ghost lights. For example, in Saudi Arabia, there is a similar phenomenon called Abu Fanus, in which there is a strange light that could be seen in the desert. Locals believe that the jinn spirits are responsible for these lights.

Japan have a lot of these light phenomena and so do the US. I might cover them in a future bizarre of bazaar episode.

Anyway, that’s all I got for now. Have you ever seen a min min light before? How did you feel? Were you spooked out or not really? Whether you believe that the min min lights is just a mirage or it could be something entirely different, it has captivated the imagination and curiosity of the people that heard about it. Personally, I believe that the mystery of this light hasn’t exactly been solved and will probably remain unexplained for a very long time.

Okay, that’s the end of the yarn for this fortnight. Be a sweetheart and rate and review the podcast if you want to. Additionally, I want to thank you for all the listens and follows too. I appreciate you all. Recommend this pod to your friends, your family, coworkers, and your hairdresser the next time you come in for a trim.

I better leave you to it. Look after yourselves, and ignore the man across the street grinning at you. See you later!

Episode 11: Anomalies Out in the Sticks

Sources:

Script:

Recent Posts

Comments

CONTACT US & LISTEN ELSEWHERE

Proudly hosted by: