Will O The Wisp

Will-O’-The-Wisp, or Ignis Fatuus in Medieval Latin, means”foolish fire”. It is a ghostly light commonly seen by travelers at night, especially in bogs, swamps or marshes. It resembles a flickering lamp. They lure travelers off the road and into the woods or marshes where they either perish, drown or lose their way and wander until they starve. The lights are said to mark the locations of buried treasure or corpses.

Often they can be seen around October and November.

They appear in folklore across the globe.  They have been recorded in many variant forms in Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, Appalachia, and Newfoundland Canada.

They go by lots of names:

• Jack-o’-Lantern
• Foolish Fire
• Ghost Candles - This term is used when they are seen in grave yards.
• Orbs
• Spook Lights
• Fox Fire
• Dead Man’s Candle
• Meg of the Lantern
• Hinky Punk
• Spunkie
• Faeu Boulanger rolling fire.

Sometimes the phenomenon is classified by the observer as a ghost, fairy, or elemental beginning. In the movie Brave by Pixar Will O' The Wisps plays a prominent role. In the movie it breaks from the usual characterization, these Will o'  The Wisps appear benevolent or at least neutral in nature. They are hinted to be spirits of the dead, who aid the living by leading them towards their destinies.

One of the stories was recounted by K. M. Briggs in her book A Dictionary of Fairies, refers to Will the Smith. Will is a wicked blacksmith who is given a second chance by Saint Peter at the gates of heaven. But lives such a bad life that he ends up being doomed to wander the Earth. The Devil provides him with a single burning coal with which to warm himself, which he then uses to lure foolish travelers into the marshes.

Folklore

In Sweden the Will o’ The Wisps represents the spirits of unbaptized person trying to lead a travelers to the water in hopes of being baptized.

Danes, Finns, Swedes, Estonians, Irish people and Latvians amongst some other groups believed that Will o’ The Wisps mark the location of treasure deep in the ground or in water. Which could also be taken when fire was there. Some magic tricks and even a dead man’s hand were required too.  In Finland and other northern countries it was believed that early autumn was the best time to search for will-o’-the-wisps and treasures below them. It was believed that when someone hid treasure, in the ground, he made the treasure available only at the Saint John’s Day, and set will-o’-the-wisp to mark the exact place and time so that he could come to take the treasure back.

In Britain Will o the Wisps can be found in a number of folk tales around the UK. They also are often the malicious character in the stories. In Welsh folklore the lights are called “Fairy Fire”. It is held in the hand of Puca or Pwca. Puca or Pwca is a small goblin like fairy that mischievously leads lone travelers off the beaten path at night. As travelers follow the Puca through the marsh or bog, the fire is extinguished itself, and it leaves the travelers lost. In Wales the Will o the Wisps predicts a funeral that will take place soon in the locality.  The Will o the wisp are not always to be considered as dangerous. There are some tales about them being guardians of treasure. They can be treated like the Irish leprechaun leading those brave enough to follow them to sure riches. In other stories travelers getting lost in the woodland and coming upon a will-o'-the-wisp, and depending on how they treated the will-o'-the-wisp, the spirit would either get them lost further in the woods or guide them out.

In Guernsey, the will o the wisp is also known as Faeu Boulanger. Which means rolling fire. It is believed that the will o the wisp is a lost soul.

In Asia the will o the wisps have many names. Such as: Aleya or marsh ghost-light, Chir batti, Hitodama (literally "Human Soul" as a ball of energy), Hi no Tama (Ball of Flame), Aburagae, Koemonbi, Ushionibi.  Aleya is the name given to the unexplainable strange light that is over the marshes in Bengali, especially fishermen. The marshes light are attributed to some kind of unexplained marsh gas that confuses fishermen. It makes them lose their bearings, and may even lead to drowning if the fisherman decided to follow them moving over the marshes. Locals believe that the strange light that hovers over the mash is ghost lights representing the ghosts of fisherman who died fishing.  Sometimes they confuse fishermen, sometimes they help them.  

In South America, Brazil Will O the Wisps are called: Boitatá, Baitatá, Batatá, Bitatá, Batatão, Biatatá, M'boiguaçu, Mboitatá and Mbaê-Tata. In Argentina the will o’ the wisp phenomenon is known as Luz Mala or Fuego Fatuo. It is one of the most important myths in Argentine and Uruguayan folklore. This phenomenon is quite feared. And it can be seen in rural areas.

In North America, Mexico folklore explains the Will O the Wisps are witches who have transformed.  In the swampy area out in Massachusetts known as the Bridgewater Triangle has folklore of ghostly orbs of light, and there have been modern observations of these ghost-lights in this area as well.

Credit: Will O the Wisp Wiki.

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