I have never seen them, but I know a man who claims to have had an almost supernatural experience with them, circling around him and enveloping him. I agree that old NC 105 is a rough road, but if you come in from the Linville Falls side it is not so bad (go up 221 from Marion or cut across from 181 after you get through the vast metropolis of Jonas Ridge NC) and Wiseman's View is definitely worth the drive.
I do want to take this opportunity to relate a slightly different experience with a magnificent view from the NC mountains. Many years ago, on Christmas Eve, I was at my grandfather's house in Mitchell County. Someone suggested that we go up to the overlook on Roan Mountain (the one that you have to take a trail to get to, that falls off into a sharp cliff) and in those days it was not gated off. We went up there and it was a crisp, clear night. When we got to the overlook you could look out and see the lights of Elizabethton and Johnson City spread out on the ground and the Milky Way stretched out above you. That was probably 40 years ago, and the sight has stayed with me all these years.