# Hall 2006: The Truth Is Out There > Michael Hall, 2006. 20 records on Mysteries Department cite it. Texas Monthly, June 2006: traces the history behind the legend, finding the 1883 Ellison… Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DCKDEXQ20GZ/the-truth-is-out-there Publisher: Mysteries Department Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page) --- [Sources](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources)[Marfa lights](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marfa-lights)Hall 2006 **0** # The Truth Is Out There Michael Hall, 2006. _Texas Monthly, June 2006_. A long magazine investigation of the legend. Hall finds that Robert Ellison's 1937 memoir has no clear reference to the lights, that the plaque's claim that O. W. Williams wrote about them in the 1880s is doubted by his grandson, and that the earliest known story is a San Angelo Times piece of February 1945. It collects ranchers' and visitors' accounts, dates the first roadside viewing area and festival to 1986, and ends with the author mistaking Venus for a Marfa light. **Marfa lightsSecondary source** ArticleChecked against the original0 ## What it's used for here Texas Monthly, June 2006: traces the history behind the legend, finding the 1883 Ellison story absent from his 1937 memoir and the earliest known newspaper report in 1945. ## Cited by on this site 20 records [An electrical plasma with a geological source](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marfa-lights/answers/ANS0DCKMXRQCM1R/an-electrical-plasma-with-a-geological-source) Answer ANS [No; nothing is written down before 1945](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marfa-lights/answers/ANS0DCKMQPNX9HT/no-nothing-is-written-down-before-1945) Answer ANS [Some are close, low over Mitchell Flat](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marfa-lights/answers/ANS0DCKMG364183/some-are-close-low-over-mitchell-flat) Answer ANS [Coronet wrote in 1957 that settlers had reported the light more than 70 years earlier, when the brightest light in the…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marfa-lights/evidence/EVD0DCKNT8AT0FE/coronet-wrote-in-1957-that-settlers-had-reported-the-light) Evidence EVD [Ellison's 1937 memoir of the 1883 drive has no clear reference to the lights; the story reaches print only through his…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marfa-lights/evidence/EVD0DCKPNN6KCPS/ellisons-1937-memoir-of-the-1883-drive-has-no-clear) Evidence EVD [Ellison's granddaughter recalled that he told the family of lights near Paisano Pass that they could not explain and…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marfa-lights/evidence/EVD0DCKPKMEW0MT/ellisons-granddaughter-recalled-that-he-told-the-family-of) Evidence EVD [Ellison's own 1937 memoir describes the 1883 drive across the Marfa plain but makes no clear reference to mysterious…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marfa-lights/evidence/EVD0DCKPME474BS/ellisons-own-1937-memoir-describes-the-1883-drive-across-the) Evidence EVD [The earliest known written report of the lights is a San Angelo Times story of February 1945, "Ghost Light Appears in…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marfa-lights/evidence/EVD0DCKPNA220JE/the-earliest-known-written-report-of-the-lights-is-a-san) Evidence EVD [The viewing-centre plaque says O. W. Williams wrote of the lights in the 1880s, but his grandson thinks he probably…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marfa-lights/evidence/EVD0DCKPP0NCTXX/the-viewing-centre-plaque-says-o-w-williams-wrote-of-the) Evidence EVD [Two geologists in 1973 reported two cantaloupe-sized lights coming towards them at about 200 mph, one of which hovered…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marfa-lights/evidence/EVD0DCKQD9T4KQS/two-geologists-in-1973-reported-two-cantaloupe-sized-lights) Evidence EVD [Geologists Pat Kenney and Elwood Wright report two lights coming towards them](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marfa-lights/events/EVT0DCKHHBFRD0Y/geologists-pat-kenney-and-elwood-wright-report-two-lights) EVT [Robert Reed Ellison is said to have seen lights while driving cattle through Paisano Pass](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marfa-lights/events/EVT0DCKHFQWYW5Q/robert-reed-ellison-is-said-to-have-seen-lights-while) EVT [The earliest known newspaper story, "Ghost Light Appears in Marfa Area", runs in the San Angelo Times](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marfa-lights/events/EVT0DCKHGJT3SBE/the-earliest-known-newspaper-story-ghost-light-appears-in) EVT [The first roadside viewing area is built and the first Marfa Lights Festival is held](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marfa-lights/events/EVT0DCKHK0CFQ3A/the-first-roadside-viewing-area-is-built-and-the-first-marfa) EVT [Robert Reed Ellison](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marfa-lights/people/FIG0DCKGMMV2QRZ/robert-reed-ellison) FIG [The Marfa lights](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marfa-lights) The mystery article MYS [Is there any record of the lights from before motor traffic reached the Marfa plain?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marfa-lights/questions/QST0DCKKQ0VS3WG/is-there-any-record-of-the-lights-from-before-motor-traffic) Question QST [Where are the lights, and how far are they from the viewing area?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marfa-lights/questions/QST0DCKKKVT63PG/where-are-the-lights-and-how-far-are-they-from-the-viewing) Question QST [Pat Kenney and Elwood Wright: Two cantaloupe-sized lights came towards them at about 200 mph…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marfa-lights/accounts/WIT0DCKJ99JHMKG/pat-kenney-and-elwood-wright-two-cantaloupe-sized-lights) WIT [Robert Reed Ellison, as recalled by his granddaughter: Told his family of lights near Paisano Pass that…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marfa-lights/accounts/WIT0DCKJ8CAWYCN/robert-reed-ellison-as-recalled-by-his-granddaughter-told) WIT ## Cite it ``` Hall, M. (2006). The Truth Is Out There. Texas Monthly, June 2006. https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/the-truth-is-out-there/ ``` [Read it free at texasmonthly.com](https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/the-truth-is-out-there/) Key **SRC** 0DCKDEXQ20GZ Kind Journal article Rights The publisher's Kept 29 Oct 2026, for editors Checked Against the published article Added by [apollo](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo) The record Bibliographic records are CC0. Take this one as CSL-JSON, BibTeX or RIS. [CSL-JSON](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DCKDEXQ20GZ/the-truth-is-out-there/csl.json)