Once upon a time, there was a town called Summerville. Some people said they saw ghostly lights there. These lights were a mystery. They appeared along the railroad tracks. A scientist named Susan Hough studied the Summerville lights. She believed they were not ghosts, but a natural phenomenon. Underneath Summerville, there was a fault line called the Summerville Fault. This fault line could release gases that interacted with metal along the tracks, creating lights. In the past, people thought the lights were from a woman waiting for her husband who died in a train accident. But Susan Hough's research showed that these lights were caused by the earth, not ghosts. In 1886, the great Charleston Earthquake happened. It was a big disaster that destroyed many buildings and caused many deaths. The Summerville Fault was likely responsible for this quake. The earthquake left scars on historic buildings in Charleston that can still be seen today. Ghosts with lanterns near railroad tracks are a common story in many places. They may be linked to fault lines and past disasters. The legend of the Summerville Light may not be so mysterious after all. So, the next time you see a strange light in Summerville, remember it might not be a ghost. It could just be the Earth's way of showing it's alive and moving beneath us.