[Holiday]

Will-o'-the-Wisp is the term for a faery light. They're these supernatural creatures that are generally seen as bad luck, an omen of death, or that make travelers lose their way.

I like them. I think they're neat.

[Bright One]

Swamp gas, I've heard. Ignited by electrical activity in the air or something.

They're referred to by a number of different names - one is "Corpse Candle".

[Rhuen]

the swamp gas thing is an hypothesis, but has never been proven.

the phenomonon is known to science, but argued what it is, ball lightning, earth lights, St. Elmos Fire, ect...

[misan]

When I was little we were visiting my stepdad's family in Kentucky. I was told by his mom not to follow the floating lights because they would lead me into the woods and cause me to be lost. I didn't see them but I kind of wish I had. :)

[Bright One]

Rhuen, on Aug 7 2009, 03:06 AM, said:

the swamp gas thing is an hypothesis, but has never been proven.

the phenomonon is known to science, but argued what it is, ball lightning, earth lights, St. Elmos Fire, ect...

That article says they retreat when approached. I've also read they approach people and strike them down.

I've heard of ball lightening and St. Elmo's Fire - earth lights are new to me.

*looks it up*

I foud this.

Earth lights are a rare anomalous light phenomenon, mistaken throughout history as dragons, UFOs, and ball lightning before being recognised as a separate category. One leading theory is that they are produced by tectonic strain in minor fault lines, so that they are literally generated by the earth.

In America they've been called "spooklights" or "ghost lights" since at least the 1950s, but Persinger and Lafrenière were the first scientists to recognise the phenomenon, in the late 1970s. The lights were renamed and brought to wider public attention by Paul Devereux in 1982 with his publication "Earth Lights".

They appear in many colours, shapes, and sizes, though the basketball-sized globular orange variety seems most common. Most sightings occur at night, when some lights can be seen from miles around. They're reported to be able to move against the wind and reach extraordinary speeds. Their terrestrial nature means that though many sightings are sporadic, there are some locations where they appear relatively often. It's through studying these hotspots, such as Hessdalen in Norway and the Engligh Pennines, that their characteristics become evident.

This post has been edited by Bright One: 07 August 2009 - 07:34 AM

[Gautr]

The physical explanation may be swamp gas, but that doesn't mean it can't be faery light.

No matter wha - it's beautiful to watch.

[Fluid of life]

misan, on Aug 7 2009, 05:43 AM, said:

When I was little we were visiting my stepdad's family in Kentucky. I was told by his mom not to follow the floating lights because they would lead me into the woods and cause me to be lost. I didn't see them but I kind of wish I had. :)

Any child wandering off in the woods might never be seen again. So it is true. Follow Thumper the evil bunny into the woods and the weasels may sup on your innards with no magic involved so the legend serves a purpose.

[Kaddam]

wow, I thought you were talking about Soul Calibur 3 when I read the topic, but this is...ah...just as interesting....maybe.

[Kelly]

I grew up in the Dismal Swamp area in Chesapeake, Virginia. We had some woods and a pond on our property and our house also was on a creek (Deep Creek it's called). So, it wasn't unusual to see some fog. We'd found arrowheads on the property and there was a lot of talk about the ghosts of Indians. Indeed, I did see different kinds of lights. There was an approximate 6-foot light that hovered next to a wild cherry tree all year long. I always felt compelled to try and communicate with the light, thinking it was a ghost. Maybe it was. One evening after dark, I was sitting with a boy (Jeff) on the steps to my house. All of a sudden, he said, "Crap, Georgie is spying on us!" He'd seen Georgie's white t-shirt looming just around the corner of some weeds at the entrance of the woods. Georgie and his family lived next door and were the town's mentally retarded. I looked up and saw the white t-shirt, except I could tell it wasn't entirely opaque. "Oh, that's the ghost that stays next to a cherry tree near the pond!" I was so excited. My friend was so frightened. "Let's go look!" He wouldn't go but I did. The light stayed at the edge of the weeds until I got there, then it drifted off to the cherry tree. Odd thing about that light - not only was I compelled to communicate with it, but I felt like it was always beckoning me when I saw it.

The second light I saw looked like the lighted end of a cigarette. It was small, glowing and orange. I was in the same woods after dark and on my way home. I felt like someone was behind me and turned around to see. I saw the orange light and thought someone was chasing me and smoking at the same time! I began running and turned around to see the light bobbing up and down, getting closer and closer to me. No, it was not a firefly! Last look as I entered my yard and the light was gone. I'd never heard of will-o-the-wisps but now I wonder if that's what it was.

I have started doing fairy art and maybe I should do something with will-o-the-wisps. Bad fairies!

[Holiday]

Kelly, on Aug 11 2009, 10:51 AM, said:

I have started doing fairy art and maybe I should do something with will-o-the-wisps. Bad fairies!

I don't know if they're bad necessarily... it's an adventure to get lost. Maybe they lead us away into the faerie realm!

In the words of Kurt Vonnegut "Peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God!"

[Bright One]

If you get lost you might never be found again.

If you got lost in a marsh (marshes as they were before they were mostly drained) you'd probably drown. That's why outsiders would get locals, who knew their way around, to guide them through the marshes.