Will-o’-the-wisp: Eerie Lights Over Swamps And Marshes That Frightened And Led People Astray

A. Sutherland  – AncientPages.com – Little is known about the nature of will-o’-the-wisp. They are known to appear in the form of glowing spots, small lights floating above the surface, dancing at night over swamps, peat bogs, and wetlands.

Old advice says: Don’t follow the light of these fires in the marshlands because they will deceive you.

In myths and legends of many cultures, will-o’-the-wisp has been associated with the realm of the supernatural and the world of spirits (in Latin: ‘ignis fatuus’ ( foolish fire), English: ‘will-o’-the-wisp’; in Swedish: ‘irrbloss’.)

The vicious fire is referred to by poets as “a flame of hate wandering through a swamp, leading nowhere”.

The spooky ‘will-o’-the-wisp’ sometimes looks as a teardrop-shaped orb in blue, white, red or yellow color, but usually resembles a lantern or flickering small torch. Based on various accounts, the size of this phenomenon can be as big as a basketball.

The light is really spooky because it seems to play with humans; it may suddenly disappear and then, appear again all of a sudden. If you walk trying to come closer to it, it moves away from you, just wink out, or it seems to follow you.

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