The Tinonee ghost is a phantom light that raced and dashed about the paddocks on both the Taree and Mondrook sides of Tinonee in New South Wales, Australia.
Description
The light that appears is said to resemble a football hovering half a metre off the ground.
Most observations occur in mid-winter in the channel country at the end of the day where the flat terrain, filled with small hollows where cold air can collect, is particularly suitable for the Min Min phenomenon.
Theories
Explanations for the Tinonee ghost are as numerous and varied as the sightings themselves.
Other than the more haunting description of a spirit returned from the dead, the Tinonee ghost is most commonly linked to two scientific explanations.
Min lights
Some believe that the Tinonee ghost is actually the Min Min light as described by Aborigines in central Queensland.
Min Min lights or mirages are said to occur as cold heavier air is trapped next to the ground under a layer of warmer air. A cool evening following a hot day with little wind is said to be perfect for causing the effect.
Abrupt temperature variations above the earth cause sharp changes in the density of air so that light can be bent and projected in unusual ways similar to a light through a crystal. It is believed that this light created near the ground is refracted in such a way that it travels in a curved path around the globe so that the light is visible beyond the horizon.
Of course this theory requires an existing light to create the end effect but as the theory goes the original light can be distorted by temperature variations at the end of a hot day so that it is projected beyond the horizon and around the globe.
Atyphella Lychnus
Another common explanation for the Tinonee ghost is that it could be a species of insects known as Atyphella Lychnus found from northern Queensland to the Blue Mountains.
They are usually found in damp forests also along rivers and creeks on dark and still nights. The male flies very strongly in an erratic manner and on a dark cloudless night gives enough light to illuminate entire trees.
Other explanations for ghost lights like the Tinonee ghost include 'earthquake lights' caused by geological stress underground that may lead to luminescent displays, phosphorescent plants or fungus, ball lightning or other electrical discharge.
See also
At least three places in New South Wales are noted for mysterious phantom lights -- Tinonee, on the Manning River; Tree Plain, near Hay; and Yarradool, near Pilliga.
In Queensland, the sightings of min lights are so common in fact that the town of Boulia has even attempted to build a tourist industry on the Min Min lights.