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The Lure of Will-o'-the-Wisps
Author: Alexis Thomas
Instructor: Zachary Dilbeck
Class: English 2367
Imagine this: a young man is walking down a dimly lit path with a muddy swamp surrounding
him on both sides. There is a thick fog in the air and no signs of civilization around
for miles. After walking for what feels like an eternity, he is about to give up and
admit that he is lost, but suddenly out of nowhere a ball of light appears in the
distance. A chill instantly runs down his spine. The light seems to be moving, almost
beckoning him to come towards it. Should he follow it or run away in the opposite
direction?
This scenario has been played out by many different people from all over the world
with outcomes ranging from salvation to tragedy. Both haunting and inspiring, the
mysterious ball of light has been given many different names by numerous cultures
throughout the centuries, like the Old-English "Ignis Fatuus", the Welsh "Corpse Candles",
the Missouri "Spook Lights", Australian "Min-Min Lights", or Dutch "Treasure Lights"
that mark the spot of buried treasures. However, they are most commonly referred to
as Will-o'-the-Wisps. When they're not leading weary travelers to doom or glory, wisps
have been boggling the mind of scientists, as well as the everyday person, since the
first historical record of Ignis Fatuus in the mid-1500s. With a strong foundation
in Scottish folklore, they remain one part myth and one part paranormal phenomenon.
From scientific and academic journals to major Hollywood films, Will-o'-the Wisps
continue to appear on both page and screen as the same questions continue to be asked:
What exactly are wisps? Where did they come from? Are they helpful or are they hurtful?
Although scientific explanations seem to disprove Will-o'-the-Wisps altogether, the
mystery and legend that surround them continues to captivate modern society today.
Like many of the greatest paranormal mysteries, Will-o'-the-Wisps get their start
from legendary myth and folklore. Among many different variations, the most common
and well-known origin story is "The Tale of Willy the Wisp", a traditional Scottish
story recounting the misadventures of a poor Scottish blacksmith named Willem O'Hare.
Willem had fallen on hard times. After losing his wife and child, as well as his crops,
he cursed God and wished to make a deal with the devil for three wishes, receiving
three things that he never could get from his prayers to God. In John Anderson's version
of the tale, "He sealed his curse with a spit and stomped his foot on the ground."
To Willem's surprise, the devil appeared ready to trade three wishes for Willem's
eternal soul. However, Willem was tricky and was able to get his three wishes without
having to give the devil his soul. He lived a full life of riches and greed, but after
his death, he found that God would not let him into heaven because he had cursed him
those many years before. Willem then decided he'd have better luck in hell, but the
Devil would not let him in either because of how he had tricked him. Complaining that
limbo was too dark and cold, the devil gave Willem a single burning ember to light
his path through purgatory. It is said that Willem, now named Willy the Wisp, walks
around the moors at night holding his ember, always wandering to find a place for
his eternal soul to rest. However, the tale of Willy the Wisp is not the only legend
surrounding Will-o'-the-Wisps.
In nearby Ireland, the origins of Will-o'-the-Wisps take on a somewhat darker tone
than the story of Willem O'Hare. While Dianne Meredith explains that, "Some claim
the will-o'-the-wisps are benevolent fairy lights that appear in order to help people
who are lost or in danger" in
her article "Hazards in the Bog – Real and Imagined", she instead focuses on the more
common belief that wisps are malevolent and try to cause people as much grief as possible.
Especially in Irish myth, wisps have a strong connection to fairies and other dark
forces, including the devil and evil elves. Through a long line of fairy genealogy
chronicled by Meredith, the lights are said to be carried by the Water Sheerie or
Bog Sprite, which is a relative of a solitary fairy ghost called the Sowlth that also
wanders about bogs like the wisps. In an even stranger twist, it is said that some
Irish citizens suspect that the evil spirits behind the wisps are an alien species
of fairy imported from Scotland that only go away if they are hit by a specific type
of Irish seaweed. Regardless of how it is believed the wisps appeared in Ireland,
one fact always remains the same. The wisp will lead his traveling victim into a sinking
bog where, as Meredith elegantly puts it, "the water rises and cuts off all hope of
escape" (329). But for as long as people have been telling the tales surrounding will-o'-the-wisps,
there have been others trying to disprove wisps through scientific explanations as
well.
As our understanding of the natural world around us has evolved with new scientific
advancements and discoveries, so have the scientific theories concerning how Will-o'-the-Wisps
evolved over time. In 1830, Richard Chambers read his essay "Observation on the Phenomenon
Termed Ignis Fattus" in front of the Linnean Society. Later published in 1837, he
describes many of the early theories surrounding the mystery of the glowing orbs of
light. Chambers states:
It has been the opinion of many naturalists, that the luminous appearance known by
the names of Ignis Fatuus, Will-with-the-wisp, and Jack-o'-lantern, is not a meteor,
as generally supposed, but a luminous insect; and, in confirmation of this hypothesis,
I have collected, not merely the opinions, but the experience, of many persons who
have had repeated opportunities of observing this singular phenomenon. (Chambers)
Arguing that wisps are not caused by meteors or the glimmering of minerals on the
floors of swamps and bogs as was previously believed, Chambers was certain that wisps
come from a undiscovered species of bioluminescent insects, much like a combination
of male glowworms and mole-crickets. While this theory is still somewhat popular today,
newer theories regarding Will-o'-the-Wisps have benefitted from more advanced scientific
theories, while still occupying a wide range of explanation. Mark Moravec discusses
these more modern theories in his article "Strange Illuminations: 'Min Min Lights'--Australian
'Ghost Light' Stories." Like Chambers, Moravec also uses the collective experiences
of others with wisps to explain each theory. The most widely accepted scientific theory
explaining Will-o'-the-Wisps is the "marsh gas lights" theory created in 1937. Scientists
determined that in swamps, bogs, and cemeteries, there is an emission of phosphorus
and methane gas due to the decomposition of organic matter. Sometimes the gases can
ignite spontaneously, which creates a candle-like flame that can last up to ninety
seconds and move in a circumference of two to three feet vertically and horizontally
(11). However, this does not explain the appearance of Will-o'-the-Wisps in non-marsh
areas that have been reported in places like Australia, Japan, and many different
parts of Africa.
For theories outside of the bog, Moravec explains three other widely accepted and
tested theories. Gaining support from the highly popular Spook Lights phenomenon out
of Joplin, Missouri in 1967, the "refraction hypothesis" theorizes that Will-o'-the-Wisps
are just light refraction effects that can be seen at certain angles aided by specific
air currents and densities. In the case of the Missouri Spook Lights, the light was
refracted from streetlights over eighteen miles away (12). Another theory, termed
the "lightning ball theory", suggests that wisp lights are naturally occurring balls
of lighting that often appear very close to the ground. As if from out of nowhere,
the ball of lightning glows and remains relatively stable, but then either explodes
or fades away dramatically. Their erratic behavior can mimic the dance of the wisps,
as they are attracted to metal and even have been reported entering buildings, where
witnesses are occasionally burned. The final theory has become most popular in Japan
and surrounding Asian countries, where wisps are fabled to appear. Called "earthquake
lights", the theory takes on a geographic approach "in areas prone to tectonic stress
and strain release" where "highly localised, intense and transient 'electric field
columns' could be formed, resulting in transient ionisation of the air." (13). Even
though these theories all have significant amounts of evidence supporting them, it
doesn't stop people all over the world from believing in paranormal explanations or
even conspiracy theories.
The greatest paranormal theory behind Will-o'-the-Wisps is that the mysterious lights
are the souls or spirits of the dead. Mimicking the legend of Willy the Wisp, the
dead are thought to walk around with either a candle or lantern, often trying to find
their way to the afterlife. The light from the candle is the light seen from the Will-o'-the-Wisp
and is also the inspiration behind the name "Corpse Candles" (Moravec 14). However,
the most controversial theory is that Will-o'-the-Wisps are extraterrestrial in nature.
Specifically, the lights are believed to come from unidentified flying objects (UFOs)
or are said to be remote-controlled probes manipulated by aliens on faraway planets
(Moravec 15). Whether believed to be scientific, paranormal, or even extraterrestrial,
Will-o'-the-Wisps theories continue to be just a varied as their portrayal in popular
culture.
Among the multitude of appearances and references of Will-o'-the-Wisps in popular
culture, two modern examples capture the legends, theories, and behaviors of wisps
almost perfectly. On one end of the spectrum, wisps appear as friendly, helpful sprites
in Disney's Brave. In a movie enveloped in Scottish tradition and folklore, it is
only appropriate that wisps are shown as having a blue, ethereal fairy-like appearance
as they lead the main character Merida out of danger and to important destinations
that shape Merida's destiny. Near the end of the film, as a curse is lifted and the
soul of a once trapped prince becomes free, his spirit turns into a wisp that is seen
waving to the camera before it disappears as the credits begin to roll. In another
major motion picture, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, protagonists Frodo and
Sam are led into a swampy area known as the Dead Marshes, were the spirits of the
dead linger beneath the murky waters. Led by the treacherous Gollum, he warns the
hobbits not to follow the lights or else they will "go down to join the dead ones
and light little candles of their own." Instead of being portrayed as helpful spirits,
Will-o'-the-Wisps, or in this case Corpse Candles, are shown as being the souls of
the dead that will gladly take another's soul. There are radically different modern
sources from both Brave and Lord of the Rings that show a completely different side
to Will-o'-the-Wisps altogether.
Will-o'-the-Wisps have been able to encompass a wide variety of genres and topics
that have kept them relevant throughout the centuries through their use as a metaphor.
Often describing something mysterious, elusive, or highly debated and controversial,
wisps are perfect examples of consilience. Looking at William A. Gallagher's "A Will-O'-The-Wisp
in the Indirect Foreign Tax Credit: The Term 'Accumulated Profits'", he suggests that
"Regrettably there appear to be as many interpretations for the term 'accumulated
profits' as there are people who discuss it", which mimics the many interpretations
of Will-o'-the-Wisps (22). Gallagher also states that this term was changed from total
taxable income, and that changing the code's meaning left a confusing loophole in
the foreign tax credit system, much like the complexity and confusion behind will-o'-the-wisps.
Gallagher's article is just one of the hundreds of examples of wisps becoming mainstream
metaphors.
Examining the folklore, explanations, and representations of Will-o'-the-Wisps in both older and modern sources shows just how intriguing and complex these little balls of light have become. The mystery that has captivated historians, scientists, and everyday people alike for the last five hundred years continues to lure the modern generation into the grasps of Will-o'-the-Wisps. From all around the world, wisps continue to be seen and talked about either from eye-witness accounts or on the screens of movies, pages of a book, and the tales told by their grandparents. Whether they are evil spirits, helpful fairies, or natural balls of light, Will-o'-the-Wisps will always have a place in modern society.
Works Cited
Anderson, John. "The Tale of Willy the Wisp." Web log post. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Feb.
2015.
Brave. Dir. Mark Andrews. Perf. Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly. Disney, 2012. DVD.
Chambers, Richard. "Observations on the Phenomenon Termed Ignis Fattus." Will-o'-the-Wisp.
N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Feb. 2015.
Gallagher, A. William. "A Will-O'-The-Wisp in the Indirect Foreign Tax Credit: The
Term
'Accumulated Profits.'" International Executive 2.4 (1960): 22-23. Business Source
Complete. Web. 17 Feb. 2015.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Dir. Peter Jackson. Perf. Elijah Wood, Ian
McKellen.
New Line Cinema, 2002. DVD.
Meredith, Dianne. "Hazards in the Bog - Real and Imagined." Geographical Review 92.3
(2002): 319. Academic Search Complete. Web. 12 Feb. 2015.
Moravec, Mark. "Strange Illuminations: 'Min Min Lights'--Australian 'Ghost Light'
Stories."
Fabula 44.1/2 (2003): 2-24. Academic Search Complete. Web. 12 Feb. 2015.