Street Light Interference is a relatively young field of paranormal research. How and why it occurs is still not completely known and most of the evidence is weak at best. Yet it has been noted that something strange may just be going on. Often times those involved are refered to as SLIders.
It gets it's name from the fact that certain people, when passing directly under a street lamp somehow turn it off. Then (usually) once they pass all the way under it, it comes back on. People who experience this do so on a constant basis, at different times and different lights. They also have a tendency to break electrical items, such as lamps, light bulbs, computer, radio etc. Some also drain batteries quickly. My own experience has been the opposite - batteries have lasted unusual long periods of time.
There are some things to remember and to take into account when assessing if this happens to you:
- Cities will turn off the street lights for short durations during the night. Usually a couple of minutes or longer. I've heard two reasons, to save power and to rest the bulb.
- A good sign that you're a SLIder is a more frequent experience of turning a series of street lights off. So each time your drive under a light on a street it turns itself off. Lights turn themselves off randomly during the night as programed by the city, but it is supposed to be one light per street, or block area. If unsure, go ask them. There may be a rational explaination.
- Other incidents outside of the street lights are also good indicators of what's going on. Some SLIders can disrupt traffic light- either by accident or by intention on always having a green. Others have difficulty turning on lamps because the bulbs pop - either internally or externally. Difficulties with other electrical equipment. It doesn't have to be all the time. Researchers, such as the ones at Princeton (PEAR Home Page), think that emotions play a big role, just like in poltergist activity.
A street light or two going out around you once a year (or less for that matter) is not anything. Several times a week/month and not being able to turn on the lamp is.
If you are a SLIder and are having difficulty coping the best advice is to take a deep breath and find that inner calm. The more stressed, scared, angry etc you are the more likely something is going to have a problem.
Outside Links:
SLI Effect Must have Adobe Acrobat in order to see this page. A 55 page research paper.
SLI Info and Forum
CNN Story
Wikipedia article Unfortunately it is very short.
From SWIFT Archives
Reprint of Washington Post Article