The Paulding Light is a mysterious, hovering, often multicolored light phenomenon reported in the dark of night near Robbins Pond Road in Watersmeet, Michigan. Folklore attributes it to the ghost of a murdered railroad worker or another lost soul. However, research by Michigan Technological University researchers and others suggests the light is the optical illusion of car headlights and tail lights distorted by atmospheric conditions like mirages and temperature inversions. Observers describe the light as multicolored or a single, shimmering orb that appears at dusk, hovering and moving erratically in the distant valley. A popular explanation is that the light is the lantern of a railroad brakeman who was killed trying to stop a train and continues to warn others. Other stories suggest the light belongs to a ghost of a Native American, a lost grandparent, or a murdered mail carrier. Researchers from Michigan Technological University concluded the light is car headlights and tail lights from vehicles on State Highway M-45, which is out of sight beyond the horizon.