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Will-o'-the-wisp
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Will-o'-the-wisp
In folklore, a will-o'-the-wisp, will-o'-wisp, or ignis fatuus (Latin for 'foolish flame'; pl. ignes fatui), is an atmospheric ghost light seen by travellers at night, especially over bogs, swamps or marshes.
The phenomenon is known in the United Kingdom by a variety of names, including jack-o'-lantern, friar's lantern, and hinkypunk, and is said to mislead and/or guide travellers by resembling a flickering lamp or lantern. Equivalents of the will-o'-the-wisps appear in European folklore by various names, e.g., ignis fatuus in Latin, feu follet in French, Irrlicht or Irrwisch in Germany and fuoco fatuo in Italy. Equivalents occur in traditions of cultures worldwide (cf. § Global terms); e.g., the Naga fireballs on the Mekong in Thailand. In North America the phenomenon is known as the Paulding Light in Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the Spooklight in Southwestern Missouri and Northeastern Oklahoma, and St. Louis Light in Saskatchewan. In Arab folklore it is known as Abu Fanous.
In folklore, will-o'-the-wisps are typically attributed as ghosts, fairies or elemental spirits meant to reveal (or conceal) a path or direction. These wisps are portrayed as dancing or flowing in a static form, until noticed or followed, in which case they visually fade or disappear. Modern science explains the light aspect as natural phenomena such as bioluminescence or chemiluminescence, caused by the oxidation of phosphine (PH
3), diphosphane (P
2H
4) and methane (CH
4), produced by organic decay.
The term will-o'-the-wisp comes from wisp, a bundle of sticks or paper sometimes used as a torch and the name 'Will', thus meaning 'Will of the torch'. The term jack-o'-lantern ('Jack of the lantern') originally referred to a will-o'-the-wisp. In the United States, they are often called spook-lights, ghost-lights, or orbs by folklorists.
The Latin name ignis fatuus is composed of ignis, meaning 'fire' and fatuus, an adjective meaning 'foolish', 'silly' or 'simple'; it can thus be literally translated into English as 'foolish fire' or more idiomatically as 'giddy flame'. Despite its Latin origins, the term ignis fatuus is not attested in antiquity, and the name for the will-o'-the-wisp used by the ancient Romans is uncertain. The term is not attested in the Middle Ages either. Instead, the Latin ignis fatuus is documented no earlier than the 16th century in Germany, where it was coined by a German humanist, and appears to be a free translation of the long-existing German name Irrlicht ('wandering light' or 'deceiving light') conceived of in German folklore as a mischievous spirit of nature; the Latin translation was made to lend the German name intellectual credibility.
Beside Irrlicht, the will-o'-the-wisp has also been called in German Irrwisch (where Wisch translates to 'wisp'), as found in e.g. Martin Luther's writings of the same 16th century.
The names will-o'-the-wisp and jack-o'-lantern are used in etiological folk-tales, recorded in many variant forms in Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, Appalachia, and Newfoundland.
Folk belief attributes the phenomenon explicitly in the term hob lantern or hobby lantern (var. 'Hob and his Lantern', 'hob-and-lanthorns"). In her book A Dictionary of Fairies, K. M. Briggs provides an extensive list of other names for the same phenomenon, though the place where they are observed (graveyard, bogs, etc.) influences the naming considerably. When observed in graveyards, it is known as a ghost candle or corpse candle.
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Will-o'-the-wisp
In folklore, a will-o'-the-wisp, will-o'-wisp, or ignis fatuus (Latin for 'foolish flame'; pl. ignes fatui), is an atmospheric ghost light seen by travellers at night, especially over bogs, swamps or marshes.
The phenomenon is known in the United Kingdom by a variety of names, including jack-o'-lantern, friar's lantern, and hinkypunk, and is said to mislead and/or guide travellers by resembling a flickering lamp or lantern. Equivalents of the will-o'-the-wisps appear in European folklore by various names, e.g., ignis fatuus in Latin, feu follet in French, Irrlicht or Irrwisch in Germany and fuoco fatuo in Italy. Equivalents occur in traditions of cultures worldwide (cf. § Global terms); e.g., the Naga fireballs on the Mekong in Thailand. In North America the phenomenon is known as the Paulding Light in Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the Spooklight in Southwestern Missouri and Northeastern Oklahoma, and St. Louis Light in Saskatchewan. In Arab folklore it is known as Abu Fanous.
In folklore, will-o'-the-wisps are typically attributed as ghosts, fairies or elemental spirits meant to reveal (or conceal) a path or direction. These wisps are portrayed as dancing or flowing in a static form, until noticed or followed, in which case they visually fade or disappear. Modern science explains the light aspect as natural phenomena such as bioluminescence or chemiluminescence, caused by the oxidation of phosphine (PH
3), diphosphane (P
2H
4) and methane (CH
4), produced by organic decay.
The term will-o'-the-wisp comes from wisp, a bundle of sticks or paper sometimes used as a torch and the name 'Will', thus meaning 'Will of the torch'. The term jack-o'-lantern ('Jack of the lantern') originally referred to a will-o'-the-wisp. In the United States, they are often called spook-lights, ghost-lights, or orbs by folklorists.
The Latin name ignis fatuus is composed of ignis, meaning 'fire' and fatuus, an adjective meaning 'foolish', 'silly' or 'simple'; it can thus be literally translated into English as 'foolish fire' or more idiomatically as 'giddy flame'. Despite its Latin origins, the term ignis fatuus is not attested in antiquity, and the name for the will-o'-the-wisp used by the ancient Romans is uncertain. The term is not attested in the Middle Ages either. Instead, the Latin ignis fatuus is documented no earlier than the 16th century in Germany, where it was coined by a German humanist, and appears to be a free translation of the long-existing German name Irrlicht ('wandering light' or 'deceiving light') conceived of in German folklore as a mischievous spirit of nature; the Latin translation was made to lend the German name intellectual credibility.
Beside Irrlicht, the will-o'-the-wisp has also been called in German Irrwisch (where Wisch translates to 'wisp'), as found in e.g. Martin Luther's writings of the same 16th century.
The names will-o'-the-wisp and jack-o'-lantern are used in etiological folk-tales, recorded in many variant forms in Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, Appalachia, and Newfoundland.
Folk belief attributes the phenomenon explicitly in the term hob lantern or hobby lantern (var. 'Hob and his Lantern', 'hob-and-lanthorns"). In her book A Dictionary of Fairies, K. M. Briggs provides an extensive list of other names for the same phenomenon, though the place where they are observed (graveyard, bogs, etc.) influences the naming considerably. When observed in graveyards, it is known as a ghost candle or corpse candle.
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