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The term "will-o'-the-wisp" comes from "wisp", a bundle of sticks or paper sometimes used as a torch and the name "[[Will (given 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.<ref>{{cite web|last=Harper|first=Douglas|title=Jack-o'-lantern (n.)|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/Jack-o'-lantern|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019235119/https://www.etymonline.com/word/Jack-o'-lantern|archive-date=2017-10-19|access-date=9 May 2013|work=Online Etymology Dictionary}}</ref> In the United States, they are often called "spook-lights", "ghost-lights", or "orbs" by folklorists and [[paranormal]] enthusiasts.<ref name="Wagner">{{cite web|title=Spooklights: Where to Find Them|first=Stephen|last=Wagner|url=http://paranormal.about.com/library/weekly/aa080601a.htm|work=About.com|access-date=2007-12-08|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071022153333/http://paranormal.about.com/library/weekly/aa080601a.htm|archive-date=2007-10-22}}</ref><ref name="Floyd">{{cite web|title=Historical Mysteries: Ghostly lights as common as dew in Dixie|first=Randall|last=Floyd|url=http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/060897/fea_floyd.html|work=[[The Augusta Chronicle]]|year=1997|access-date=December 8, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.moonslipper.com/ghostlightsandorbs.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311080723/http://www.moonslipper.com/ghostlightsandorbs.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 11, 2007|title=Ghost Lights and Orbs|publisher=Moonslipper.com|access-date=November 18, 2011}}</ref>
The term "will-o'-the-wisp" comes from "wisp", a bundle of sticks or paper sometimes used as a torch and the name "[[Will (given 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.<ref>{{cite web|last=Harper|first=Douglas|title=Jack-o'-lantern (n.)|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/Jack-o'-lantern|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019235119/https://www.etymonline.com/word/Jack-o'-lantern|archive-date=2017-10-19|access-date=9 May 2013|work=Online Etymology Dictionary}}</ref> In the United States, they are often called "spook-lights", "ghost-lights", or "orbs" by folklorists and [[paranormal]] enthusiasts.<ref name="Wagner">{{cite web|title=Spooklights: Where to Find Them|first=Stephen|last=Wagner|url=http://paranormal.about.com/library/weekly/aa080601a.htm|work=About.com|access-date=2007-12-08|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071022153333/http://paranormal.about.com/library/weekly/aa080601a.htm|archive-date=2007-10-22}}</ref><ref name="Floyd">{{cite web|title=Historical Mysteries: Ghostly lights as common as dew in Dixie|first=Randall|last=Floyd|url=http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/060897/fea_floyd.html|work=[[The Augusta Chronicle]]|year=1997|access-date=December 8, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.moonslipper.com/ghostlightsandorbs.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311080723/http://www.moonslipper.com/ghostlightsandorbs.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 11, 2007|title=Ghost Lights and Orbs|publisher=Moonslipper.com|access-date=November 18, 2011}}</ref>


The Latin name ''{{lang|la|ignis fatuus}}'' is composed of ''{{lang|la|[[wikt:ignis#Latin|ignis]]}}'', meaning "fire" and ''{{lang|la|[[wikt:fatuus|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".<ref name=Bergovia /> Despite its [[Latin]] origins, the term ''ignis fatuus'' is not attested in antiquity, and what the [[Ancient Rome|ancient Romans]] called the will-o'-wisp may be unknown.<ref name=Bergovia /> The term is not attested in the Middle Ages either. Instead, the Latin ''{{lang|la|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 ''{{lang|de|[[wikt:Irrlicht|Irrlicht]]}}'' ("wandering light") conceived of in [[German folklore]] as a mischievous spirit of nature; the Latin translation was made to lend the German name intellectual credibility.<ref>{{citation | last  = Brown | first = Jane K. | title = Irrlichtelieren | journal = Goethe Yearbook | volume = 27 | year = 2020 | pages = 337–344 | doi = 10.1353/gyr.2020.0017 | url = https://muse.jhu.edu/article/762257/summary}}</ref><ref name=hdab4785>{{citation | title = {{lang|de|Handwörterbuch des deutschen Aberglaubens}} | volume = 4 | year = 1931–1932 | publisher = [[De Gruyter]] | place = Berlin | page = 785}}</ref> Beside ''{{lang|de|Irrlicht}}'', the will-o'-the-wisp has also been called in German ''{{lang|de|Irrwisch}}'' (where ''{{lang|de|[[wikt:Wisch|Wisch]]}}'' translates to "wisp"), as found in e.g. [[Martin Luther]]'s writings of the same 16th century.<ref name=hdab4785 />
The Latin name ''{{lang|la|ignis fatuus}}'' is composed of ''{{lang|la|[[wikt:ignis#Latin|ignis]]}}'', meaning "fire" and ''{{lang|la|[[wikt:fatuus|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".<ref name=Bergovia /> Despite its [[Latin]] origins, the term ''ignis fatuus'' is not attested in antiquity, and what the [[Ancient Rome|ancient Romans]] called the will-o'-wisp may be unknown.<ref name=Bergovia /> The term is not attested in the Middle Ages either. Instead, the Latin ''{{lang|la|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 ''{{lang|de|[[wikt:Irrlicht|Irrlicht]]}}'' ("wandering light") conceived of in [[German folklore]] as a mischievous spirit of nature; the Latin translation was made to lend the German name intellectual credibility.<ref>{{citation | last  = Brown | first = Jane K. | title = Irrlichtelieren | journal = Goethe Yearbook | volume = 27 | year = 2020 | pages = 337–344 | doi = 10.1353/gyr.2020.0017 | s2cid = 240765012 | url = https://muse.jhu.edu/article/762257/summary}}</ref><ref name=hdab4785>{{citation | title = {{lang|de|Handwörterbuch des deutschen Aberglaubens}} | volume = 4 | year = 1931–1932 | publisher = [[De Gruyter]] | place = Berlin | page = 785}}</ref> Beside ''{{lang|de|Irrlicht}}'', the will-o'-the-wisp has also been called in German ''{{lang|de|Irrwisch}}'' (where ''{{lang|de|[[wikt:Wisch|Wisch]]}}'' translates to "wisp"), as found in e.g. [[Martin Luther]]'s writings of the same 16th century.<ref name=hdab4785 />


==Folklore==
==Folklore==
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'''Chir batti''' (ghost-light), also spelled '''chhir batti''' or '''cheer batti''', is a strange dancing light phenomenon occurring on dark nights reported from the [[Banni grasslands]], its seasonal marshy wetlands<ref name="Ghost lights that dance on Banni grasslands when it's very dark; August 28, 2007; The Indian Express Newspaper">{{cite news|url=http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=253114|title=Ghost lights that dance on Banni grasslands when it's very dark|author=D V Maheshwari|date=August 28, 2007|work=[[The Indian Express]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114034106/http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=253114|archive-date=January 14, 2009}}</ref> and the adjoining [[desert]] of the marshy [[Salt pan (geology)|salt flats]] of the [[Rann of Kutch]]<ref>"I read somewhere that on dark nights there are strange lights that dance on the Rann. The locals call them cheer batti or ghost lights. It's a phenomenon widely documented but not explained." SOURCE: [http://www.intoday.in/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&issueid=&id=313&Itemid=&sectionid=8&secid=48&completeview=1 Stark beauty (Rann of Kutch)]; Bharati Motwani; September 23, 2008; [[India Today]] Magazine, Cached: Page 2 of 3 page article with these search terms highlighted: cheer batti ghost lights rann kutch [http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:lwfhB0pbTwYJ:www.intoday.in/index.php%3Foption%3Dcom_content%26task%3Dview%26id%3D313%26Itemid%3D1%26issueid%3D%26sectionid%3D8%26secid%3D48%26limit%3D1%26limitstart%3D1+cheer+batti,+ghost+lights,+Rann+of+Kutch&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca&client=firefox-a], Cached: Complete View - 3 page article seen as a single page [https://archive.today/20120803102541/http://www.intoday.in/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&issueid=&id=313&Itemid=&sectionid=8&secid=48&completeview=1]</ref> near Indo-Pakistani border in [[Kutch district]], [[Gujarat State]], India. Local villagers have been seeing these sometimes hovering, sometimes flying balls of lights since time immemorial and call it Chir Batti in their [[Kutchi language|Kutchhi]]&ndash;[[Sindhi language]], with Chir meaning ghost and Batti meaning light.<ref name="Ghost lights that dance on Banni grasslands when it's very dark; August 28, 2007; The Indian Express Newspaper"/>
'''Chir batti''' (ghost-light), also spelled '''chhir batti''' or '''cheer batti''', is a strange dancing light phenomenon occurring on dark nights reported from the [[Banni grasslands]], its seasonal marshy wetlands<ref name="Ghost lights that dance on Banni grasslands when it's very dark; August 28, 2007; The Indian Express Newspaper">{{cite news|url=http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=253114|title=Ghost lights that dance on Banni grasslands when it's very dark|author=D V Maheshwari|date=August 28, 2007|work=[[The Indian Express]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114034106/http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=253114|archive-date=January 14, 2009}}</ref> and the adjoining [[desert]] of the marshy [[Salt pan (geology)|salt flats]] of the [[Rann of Kutch]]<ref>"I read somewhere that on dark nights there are strange lights that dance on the Rann. The locals call them cheer batti or ghost lights. It's a phenomenon widely documented but not explained." SOURCE: [http://www.intoday.in/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&issueid=&id=313&Itemid=&sectionid=8&secid=48&completeview=1 Stark beauty (Rann of Kutch)]; Bharati Motwani; September 23, 2008; [[India Today]] Magazine, Cached: Page 2 of 3 page article with these search terms highlighted: cheer batti ghost lights rann kutch [http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:lwfhB0pbTwYJ:www.intoday.in/index.php%3Foption%3Dcom_content%26task%3Dview%26id%3D313%26Itemid%3D1%26issueid%3D%26sectionid%3D8%26secid%3D48%26limit%3D1%26limitstart%3D1+cheer+batti,+ghost+lights,+Rann+of+Kutch&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca&client=firefox-a], Cached: Complete View - 3 page article seen as a single page [https://archive.today/20120803102541/http://www.intoday.in/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&issueid=&id=313&Itemid=&sectionid=8&secid=48&completeview=1]</ref> near Indo-Pakistani border in [[Kutch district]], [[Gujarat State]], India. Local villagers have been seeing these sometimes hovering, sometimes flying balls of lights since time immemorial and call it Chir Batti in their [[Kutchi language|Kutchhi]]&ndash;[[Sindhi language]], with Chir meaning ghost and Batti meaning light.<ref name="Ghost lights that dance on Banni grasslands when it's very dark; August 28, 2007; The Indian Express Newspaper"/>


Other varieties (and sources) of ghost-lights appear in folklore across of India, including the '''Kollivay Pey''' of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, the '''Kuliyande Choote''' of Kerala, and many variants from different tribes in Northeast India.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bhairav|first=J. Furcifer|title=Ghosts, Monsters, and Demons|last2=Khanna|first2=Rakesh|publisher=Blaft Publications Pvt. Ltd.|year=2020|isbn=9789380636474|location=India|pages=11-13}}</ref>
Other varieties (and sources) of ghost-lights appear in folklore across of India, including the '''Kollivay Pey''' of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, the '''Kuliyande Choote''' of Kerala, and many variants from different tribes in Northeast India.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Bhairav|first1=J. Furcifer|title=Ghosts, Monsters, and Demons|last2=Khanna|first2=Rakesh|publisher=Blaft Publications Pvt. Ltd.|year=2020|isbn=9789380636474|location=India|pages=11–13}}</ref>


Similar phenomena are described in Japanese folklore, including '''[[Hitodama]]''' (literally "Human Soul" as a ball of energy), Hi no Tama (Ball of Flame), Aburagae, Koemonbi, Ushionibi, etc. All these phenomena are described as balls of flame or light, at times associated with graveyards, but occurring across Japan as a whole in a wide variety of situations and locations. [[Kitsune]], mythical [[yokai]] demons, are also associated with will 'o the wisp, with the marriage of two kitsune producing kitsune-bi (狐火), literally meaning 'fox-fire'.<ref>Lombardi, Linda. "Kitsune: The Fantastic Japanese Fox". tofugu.com</ref> These phenomena are described in [[Shigeru Mizuki]]'s 1985 book ''Graphic World of Japanese Phantoms'' (妖怪伝 in Japanese).<ref name="Shigeru">Mizuki, Shigeru. "Graphic World of Japanese Phantoms". 講談社, 1985. {{ISBN|978-4-06-202381-8}} (4-06-202381-4).</ref>
Similar phenomena are described in Japanese folklore, including '''[[Hitodama]]''' (literally "Human Soul" as a ball of energy), Hi no Tama (Ball of Flame), Aburagae, Koemonbi, Ushionibi, etc. All these phenomena are described as balls of flame or light, at times associated with graveyards, but occurring across Japan as a whole in a wide variety of situations and locations. [[Kitsune]], mythical [[yokai]] demons, are also associated with will 'o the wisp, with the marriage of two kitsune producing kitsune-bi (狐火), literally meaning 'fox-fire'.<ref>Lombardi, Linda. "Kitsune: The Fantastic Japanese Fox". tofugu.com</ref> These phenomena are described in [[Shigeru Mizuki]]'s 1985 book ''Graphic World of Japanese Phantoms'' (妖怪伝 in Japanese).<ref name="Shigeru">Mizuki, Shigeru. "Graphic World of Japanese Phantoms". 講談社, 1985. {{ISBN|978-4-06-202381-8}} (4-06-202381-4).</ref>
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Blesson also observed differences in the colour and heat of the flames in different marshes. The ignis fatuus in Malapane, [[Upper Silesia]] (now [[Ozimek]], [[Poland]]) could be ignited and extinguished, but were unable to burn pieces of paper or wood shavings. Similarly, the ignis fatuus in another forest in Poland coated pieces of paper and wood shavings with an oily viscous fluid instead of burning them. Blesson also accidentally created ignis fatuus in the marshes of [[Porta Westfalica]], Germany, while launching [[fireworks]].<ref name=tomlinson/><ref name=blesson/>
Blesson also observed differences in the colour and heat of the flames in different marshes. The ignis fatuus in Malapane, [[Upper Silesia]] (now [[Ozimek]], [[Poland]]) could be ignited and extinguished, but were unable to burn pieces of paper or wood shavings. Similarly, the ignis fatuus in another forest in Poland coated pieces of paper and wood shavings with an oily viscous fluid instead of burning them. Blesson also accidentally created ignis fatuus in the marshes of [[Porta Westfalica]], Germany, while launching [[fireworks]].<ref name=tomlinson/><ref name=blesson/>


One attempt to replicate ignis fatuus under laboratory conditions was in 1980 by British geologist Alan A. Mills of [[Leicester University]]. Though he did succeed in creating a cool glowing cloud by mixing crude phosphine and natural gas, the color of the light was green and it produced copious amounts of acrid smoke. This was contrary to most eyewitness accounts of ignis fatuus.<ref name="mills">{{cite journal|author=A. A. Mills|year=2000|title=Will-o'-the-wisp revisited|journal=Weather|volume=55|issue=7|pages=20&ndash;26|doi=10.1002/j.1477-8696.2000.tb04067.x}}</ref><ref name=paleo/> As an alternative, Mills proposed in 2000 that ignis fatuus may instead be [[Cool flame|cold flame]]s.<ref name=mills/><ref name=garl/> These are luminescent pre-combustion halos that occur when various compounds are heated to just below [[ignition point]]. Cold flames are indeed typically bluish in color and as their name suggests, they generate very little heat. Cold flames occur in a wide variety of compounds, including [[hydrocarbons]] (including methane), [[alcohols]], [[aldehydes]], [[oils]], [[acids]], and even [[waxes]]. However it is unknown if cold flames occur naturally, though a lot of compounds which exhibit cold flames are the natural byproducts of organic decay.<ref name="mills"/><ref name=nasa>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BwKdl5NHALUC&pg=PA142|title=Cool Flames and Autoignition: Thermal-Ingnition Theory of Combustion Experimentally Validated in Microgravity|last=Pearlman|first=Howard|author2=Chapek, Richard M.|year=1999|publisher=[[NASA]]|page=142|isbn=978-1-4289-1823-8}}, [http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/RT/RT1999/6000/6711wu.html Web version at NASA] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100501223626/http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/RT/RT1999/6000/6711wu.html |date=2010-05-01 }}</ref>
One attempt to replicate ignis fatuus under laboratory conditions was in 1980 by British geologist Alan A. Mills of [[Leicester University]]. Though he did succeed in creating a cool glowing cloud by mixing crude phosphine and natural gas, the color of the light was green and it produced copious amounts of acrid smoke. This was contrary to most eyewitness accounts of ignis fatuus.<ref name="mills">{{cite journal|author=A. A. Mills|year=2000|title=Will-o'-the-wisp revisited|journal=Weather|volume=55|issue=7|pages=20&ndash;26|doi=10.1002/j.1477-8696.2000.tb04067.x|bibcode=2000Wthr...55..239M |s2cid=121340285 }}</ref><ref name=paleo/> As an alternative, Mills proposed in 2000 that ignis fatuus may instead be [[Cool flame|cold flame]]s.<ref name=mills/><ref name=garl/> These are luminescent pre-combustion halos that occur when various compounds are heated to just below [[ignition point]]. Cold flames are indeed typically bluish in color and as their name suggests, they generate very little heat. Cold flames occur in a wide variety of compounds, including [[hydrocarbons]] (including methane), [[alcohols]], [[aldehydes]], [[oils]], [[acids]], and even [[waxes]]. However it is unknown if cold flames occur naturally, though a lot of compounds which exhibit cold flames are the natural byproducts of organic decay.<ref name="mills"/><ref name=nasa>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BwKdl5NHALUC&pg=PA142|title=Cool Flames and Autoignition: Thermal-Ingnition Theory of Combustion Experimentally Validated in Microgravity|last=Pearlman|first=Howard|author2=Chapek, Richard M.|year=1999|publisher=[[NASA]]|page=142|isbn=978-1-4289-1823-8}}, [http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/RT/RT1999/6000/6711wu.html Web version at NASA] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100501223626/http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/RT/RT1999/6000/6711wu.html |date=2010-05-01 }}</ref>


A related hypothesis involves the natural [[chemiluminescence]] of phosphine. In 2008, the Italian chemists Luigi Garlaschelli and Paolo Boschetti attempted to recreate Mills' experiments. They successfully created a faint cool light by mixing phosphine with air and nitrogen. Though the glow was still greenish in colour, Garlaschelli and Boschetti noted that under low-light conditions, the human eye cannot easily distinguish between colours. Furthermore, by adjusting the concentrations of the gases and the environmental conditions (temperature, humidity, etc.), it was possible to eliminate the smoke and smell, or at least render it to undetectable levels. Garlaschelli and Boschetti also agreed with Mills that cold flames may also be a plausible explanation for other instances of ignis fatuus.<ref name="garl">{{cite book|author=Luigi Garlaschelli & Paolo Boschetti|title=On the track of the will-o'-the-wisp|publisher=Dipartimento di Chimica Organica, Università di Pavia|url=https://44cc653b-a-62cb3a1a-s-sites.googlegroups.com/site/luigigarlaschelli/WILLOWISexperiments.pdf?attachauth=ANoY7cpHRffGlOiCwYxPlrtxd2lTvwsEAMQGgBpRGfI7Y-FSRb5um5lKbRMP0MRniEcJQNazW1rv21_sSUv0z7rcprszClTsadRbFE9Xxy71H_KwKf664KGyQh4qSTmVURo7yIbcG-UcqktElznNxbFHiFZam7ecLQ5N84AxbnmVOkSFpPCDVt4dGztZ6nrMoge0hmnLMmTcRKu7R2IjvyKV2bpVc41_YKLiXIUHE12qr2wabmq33J8%3D&attredirects=0}}</ref>
A related hypothesis involves the natural [[chemiluminescence]] of phosphine. In 2008, the Italian chemists Luigi Garlaschelli and Paolo Boschetti attempted to recreate Mills' experiments. They successfully created a faint cool light by mixing phosphine with air and nitrogen. Though the glow was still greenish in colour, Garlaschelli and Boschetti noted that under low-light conditions, the human eye cannot easily distinguish between colours. Furthermore, by adjusting the concentrations of the gases and the environmental conditions (temperature, humidity, etc.), it was possible to eliminate the smoke and smell, or at least render it to undetectable levels. Garlaschelli and Boschetti also agreed with Mills that cold flames may also be a plausible explanation for other instances of ignis fatuus.<ref name="garl">{{cite book|author=Luigi Garlaschelli & Paolo Boschetti|title=On the track of the will-o'-the-wisp|publisher=Dipartimento di Chimica Organica, Università di Pavia|url=https://44cc653b-a-62cb3a1a-s-sites.googlegroups.com/site/luigigarlaschelli/WILLOWISexperiments.pdf?attachauth=ANoY7cpHRffGlOiCwYxPlrtxd2lTvwsEAMQGgBpRGfI7Y-FSRb5um5lKbRMP0MRniEcJQNazW1rv21_sSUv0z7rcprszClTsadRbFE9Xxy71H_KwKf664KGyQh4qSTmVURo7yIbcG-UcqktElznNxbFHiFZam7ecLQ5N84AxbnmVOkSFpPCDVt4dGztZ6nrMoge0hmnLMmTcRKu7R2IjvyKV2bpVc41_YKLiXIUHE12qr2wabmq33J8%3D&attredirects=0}}</ref>
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It is seen in Charlotte Brontë's ''[[Jane Eyre]]'' when Jane Eyre is unsure if it is a candle or a Will-o-the-wisp.
It is seen in Charlotte Brontë's ''[[Jane Eyre]]'' when Jane Eyre is unsure if it is a candle or a Will-o-the-wisp.


"Mother Carey" wrote a popular 19th-century poem titled "Will-O'-The-Wisp".<ref>.https://archive.org/details/ourlittleoneswt00unkngoog/page/n41/mode/1up</ref>
"Mother Carey" wrote a popular 19th-century poem titled "Will-O'-The-Wisp".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/ourlittleoneswt00unkngoog/page/n41/mode/1up | title=Our little ones. W.T. Adams, ed | year=1883 }}</ref>


The Will o' the wisp makes an appearance in the first chapter of [[Bram Stoker]]'s ''[[Dracula]]'', as the Count, masquerading as his own coach driver, takes [[Jonathan Harker]] to his castle in the night. The following night, when Harker asks Dracula about the lights, the Count makes reference to a common folk belief about the phenomenon by saying that they mark where treasure is buried.<ref>{{cite web|title=Dracula|author=Bram Stoker|work=The Free Library|url=http://stoker.thefreelibrary.com/Dracula/1-2|access-date=2007-11-09}}</ref>
The Will o' the wisp makes an appearance in the first chapter of [[Bram Stoker]]'s ''[[Dracula]]'', as the Count, masquerading as his own coach driver, takes [[Jonathan Harker]] to his castle in the night. The following night, when Harker asks Dracula about the lights, the Count makes reference to a common folk belief about the phenomenon by saying that they mark where treasure is buried.<ref>{{cite web|title=Dracula|author=Bram Stoker|work=The Free Library|url=http://stoker.thefreelibrary.com/Dracula/1-2|access-date=2007-11-09}}</ref>
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*[[Ferbane]], [[County Offaly]], Ireland
*[[Ferbane]], [[County Offaly]], Ireland
*[[Romney Marsh]] in England
*[[Romney Marsh]] in England
*[[Bewdley, Worcestershire]] in the United Kingdom
*[[Bewdley, Worcestershire]] in England
* Dwaallichtjes in the Netherlands and Belgium
* Dwaallichtjes in the Netherlands and Belgium
* Sheeries, Ireland
* Sheeries, Ireland
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*[[Hessdalen Lights]]
*[[Hessdalen Lights]]
*[[Kitsunebi]]
*[[Kitsunebi]]
*[[Lantern man]]
*[[Lidérc]]
*[[Lidérc]]
*[[Naga fireball]]
*[[Naga fireball]]