The people of Mapleton have had an incident that smacks a little of the sensational, but as the facts are vouched for by three reputable citizens, we publish the story, and leave our readers to judge of its authenticity by a personal inspection of the premises referred to, or by inquiry of the gentlemen named:
For about twenty-five years, it is said, a peculiar light had been seen near the top of Rocky Ridge, at Bridgeport, a short distance west of Mapleton, which made its appearance more noticeably in the month of January of each year. Those who had seen the light thought nothing of it except that it was a strange place for a light to appear, but never thought it worth while to investigate the cause.
It was left for a party of three gentlemen — A. K. Skipper, Joseph Grove, and Thomas M. Logan, all good and trustworthy citizens of Mapleton — to fit out an expedition in the latter part of the previous month to visit the spot where the light made its appearance, and inquire into the cause.
The three adventurous explorers left Mapleton in the evening, and when nearing the spot they were astonished to see three lights, which had the appearance of rockets. Each one would pop up from the ground and remain for a few minutes about three feet above the surface, and then disappear in succession. These lights were on a line and seemed to point to a larger, brighter light like that from a lantern, which swayed to and fro over a crevice in the rock.
The party were satisfied that it meant something, they knew not what, and as the place where the light was could be better reached in the daytime and when there would be no snow and ice on the rocks, they concluded to visit the spot again, which they did a few days afterwards.
Supposing that there might be something buried beneath the surface where the mysterious light made its appearance, they provided themselves with picks and shovels, and began to dig. After digging into the ground to the depth of six feet they came upon a pile of loose stones, which covered two large flat stones that formed a lid.
Upon lifting it, they discovered what seemed to be the remains of a human body in a hole about three feet long. The remains were decomposed to a blackened powder, and the bones, when exposed to the air, crumbled into dust.
The explorers made a thorough examination, and are of the opinion that some one had been murdered near that place many years ago, and the body had been secreted in this secluded spot — the only thing to mark it being the singular lights, which have disappeared since the discovery was made.
Worth being precise about: Rocky Ridge and Bridgeport are just west of Mapleton, a short way up the Juniata Valley from Mount Union — not literally within Mount Union itself. The setting connects the account directly with the Mapleton area covered by this project.
The sources reviewed for this page do not identify the reported remains. The 1889 account says the lights had disappeared after the discovery; that statement does not establish that no one ever reported a light there again.
Albert M. Rung reprinted the story in The Daily News on April 8, 1944, as an additional piece of regional history following his article about the 1744 murder of trader Jack Armstrong. Rung said the account had appeared in the Semi-Weekly News early in February 1889. His version closely follows the surviving February 27 Altoona Times text, preserving the names A. K. Skipper, Joseph Grove, and Thomas M. Logan and the same unanswered question about the cause of the lights.
The 1944 appearance does not independently prove the events described, but it does show that the Rocky Ridge story remained part of Huntingdon County's remembered history more than half a century later.
A later interpretation connects the reported discovery with the 1744 killings of trader Jack Armstrong and his companions, attributed in historical accounts to Musemeelin. The placement of the Strange Light account after Rung’s Armstrong article helps explain why readers might connect the two stories. A modern retelling also advances that possibility.
The connection remains speculation. The 1889 report describes what the explorers thought was one human body; it does not identify Armstrong or his companions, date the burial, or name a killer. Rung’s later retelling does not supply that missing identification. The murder explanation in the original article was the explorers’ opinion, not a documented finding.
Source: PA Oddities (2020), a later interpretation of the legend.