My latest book is about the famous Joplin or Tri-State Spook Light. Actually, Hornet Spook Light is probably the most accurate descriptor, since Hornet is the closest community to where the light appears, but it's known by various names, including the Quapaw Spook Light and others. For the purposes of my book, I called it the Ozarks Spook Light, because interest in the light reaches beyond the tri-state area, and even beyond the Ozarks for that matter.
One of the chapters in my book relates some of the many supernatural legends about the Spook Light that have sprung up over the years as supposed explanations for it. One of the oldest legends, perhaps the very first, concerns the Devil's Promenade.
According to this story, superstition held that if the old, wooden bridge across Spring River, about 3 1/2 miles east-southeast of Quapaw, was crossed a certain number of times or too many times, the Devil would appear. Thus, the bridge became known as the Devil's Promenade.
Even though the old bridge has been replaced by a modern one, the current bridge still bears the name Devil's Promenade. The large rock located along the river near the bridge is sometimes also called Devil's Promenade, although it is more commonly known as Lover's Leap (because of another legend surrounding the Spook Light). In fact, the Devil's Promenade has lent its name to the entire Spook Light area. In particular, Spook Light Road, which runs west toward Quapaw from the Missouri-Oklahoma line is often referred to as the Devil's Promenade.
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