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Will O' The Wisp

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John Luty
I got to see a Will O The Wisp (or something related) some time ago. I was literally at the North Carolina / Virginia state line visiting friends, and decided to take a walk late one night. This is the type of place that is out in the country- so streetlights dont exactly exist out there. It was slightly cloudy, no storms, no swamps, just woods, houses, and a road. Anyways, as I was walking up this road, I noticed something that looked a LOT like a bike headlight...

http://www.forteantimes.com/happened/willothewisp.shtml

Link is dead. See subsequent post below.
 
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willow the wisp

We have something like Will O' the Wisp where I live. It's between the Oklahoma and Missouri state lines. We call it the Spooklight, or the Hornet Spooklight. It's even been photographed. My family has about 40 acres where it plays. The area is known as "Devils Promenade". The best time to see it is October and November, between 10pm-12am.
I have walked out on the porch and looked across the marshy pasture toward the treeline and have seen it dance. It gives off a golden glow like an old lantern bobbing along , then it will streak quickly and go out, just like that. Everyone who lives in the area is use to it....but It'll have to grow on me. I'm supposed to move out there soon.
 
The link in post #1 is long dead. Here's the complete text, salvaged from the Wayback Machine ...

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WILL O' THE WISP

John Luty


I got to see a will O the wisp ( or something related) some time ago. I was literally at the North Carolina / Virginia state line visiting friends, and decided to take a walk late one night. This is the type of place that is out in the country- so streetlights dont exactly exist out there. It was slightly cloudy, no storms, no swamps, just woods, houses, and a road. Anyways, as I was walking up this road, I noticed something that looked a LOT like a bike headlight. I decided to move off the road so the guy wouldnt hit me. the road itself reflected this light, so it wasnt me seeing things.

It was white, yellowish around the outside edge,and had a hard edge. Just like a headlight. There was no sound, which attributed to the bike theory- at least until it did a 90 deg turn, and went directly into the woods, lighting up the trees as it went past! As it did, I was stunned enough to not move at the moment, and managed to take note of the fact it was JUST A LIGHT. No bike.

Not a headlight. While it lit the trees, I had an opportunity to see if there was a source behind it, and of course, there wasn't...and STILL no sound. You'd expect to hear breaking branches, underbrush, ect. Not a thing. It went into the woods at a height of about 5-6.5 feet. And then, it went out. I then proceeded to break every known record for the quarter mile sprint back to the trailer!

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SALVAGED FROM: https://web.archive.org/web/2002120...rteantimes.com:80/happened/willothewisp.shtml
 
I live at the edge of a marshy area which in recent years has dried up significantly.

In the mid-90s my family had just moved here and being enthusiastic for the outdoors I tended to be out walking as often as I could. One slightly cold and misty autumn evening, probably around 8 or 9 in the evening in early to mid October, I was walking back home along a track through the marsh and I saw a pale light appear toward the middle of the marsh. I had heard of the Will O' the Wisp already at that time and stopped and stared at the light. It moved around curiously, moving away slowly before moving nearer again. After a while another light appeared nearer than the other.

To explain the geography a bit, the marsh was formerly much larger but has been encroached on by farms since the time of the enclosures. Most of the fields that have been created from the former marshland are still marshy in appearance and character. I had been walking along a grass track that provides access to those fields and passes between a minor road that essentially borders the remaining "true" marsh (at the time) and a paved track that is the other border of the "true" marsh. So I was about level with the middle of the truly marshy area, which you can see across to the road.

So despite the folklore around Will O' the Wisp I decided to risk wading in to investigate the nearer light. As I approached it moved away so I hastened my approach and as suddenly as it had appeared, it vanished. The first light was still visible. I stood for a while getting uncomfortably wet, water had got in over the top of my boots. I had just about had enough of watching the remaining light and was intending to go back to the path when I realized some more had appeared. Looking over the marsh towards where I had originally been headed (toward home) there were several lights now moving.

I walked back to the grass track watching these lights, which were just above the grasses. Once I drew near these too disappeared, though not all at once, but I could still see the original light in the distance.

I never saw them again and have often wondered what caused the phenomenon. I did see glowworms in the same area another time but they were quite different. If it is a natural phenomenon associated with marshland I doubt I will see it here again as the marsh has dried up significantly since.
 
Great stuff! Their behaviour is particularly odd - almost intelligent. How do they move, I wonder?
 
A few years back me n the wife were out in the car as we rolled up to the main
road from a side road just on the edge of the village we both saw what I took to
be a Will O The Wisp, it passed between two hen sheds on a small farm just across
the road, we both exclaimed "What the F was that" looked like the small tornado
thing that the cartoon corrector Taz turned into seemed to be a luminous mist, it was
a cold damp but still night, dark just after 10 pm, never saw it before or since.
 
Great stuff! Their behaviour is particularly odd - almost intelligent. How do they move, I wonder?

This is something that is notable about a lot of Will O' the Wisp folklore, a sense of intelligent behaviour. Traditional stories cast the phenomenon as a malevolent trickster entity luring travellers off the safe path.

Personally I wondered if it is an electrical phenomenon that interacts with the bodies electrical field, this might explain why it moves away as it could be repulsed by the electrical field. All the folk tales I have read or heard about the Will O' the Wisp have the light(s) appear unexpectedly and move away from the person.

A few years back me n the wife were out in the car as we rolled up to the main
road from a side road just on the edge of the village we both saw what I took to
be a Will O The Wisp, it passed between two hen sheds on a small farm just across
the road, we both exclaimed "What the F was that" looked like the small tornado
thing that the cartoon corrector Taz turned into seemed to be a luminous mist, it was
a cold damp but still night, dark just after 10 pm, never saw it before or since.

Similarities there with my experience, a cold damp and still night.

Edited to add: I notice there's another recently revived IHTM thread about this phenomenon.
 
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I wonder if marshes' environments (damp cool air at ground level) create an inversion layer which is in effect creating mirages of (say) stars or distant lights.
 
I got the impression it was a column of glowing gas of some sort though I only had a few seconds to make my mind up
 
I got the impression it was a column of glowing gas of some sort though I only had a few seconds to make my mind up
Apologies, I didn't mean your sighting specifically, but the phenomenon in general.

While sightings such as yours seem likely to be a product of gas, as you say, the 'winking lights always the same distance away from you' type of sighting, seem more like a mirage to me.
 
Apologies, I didn't mean your sighting specifically, but the phenomenon in general.

While sightings such as yours seem likely to be a product of gas, as you say, the 'winking lights always the same distance away from you' type of sighting, seem more like a mirage to me.
No apologies needed I welcome any discussion with interest.
 
It moved around curiously, moving away slowly before moving nearer again.

do you mean that it moved around oddly, in the manner you describe? or that it moved around as if it was curious?

I've always found the phenomenon very very unsettling, possibly because the first time I met it was in Garner's The Owl Service

:ghunt:
 
do you mean that it moved around oddly, in the manner you describe? or that it moved around as if it was curious?

Apologies, that was unclear phrasing. I meant that I found it odd that it was moving in the manner I described. I personally don't think the lights had any kind of agency but were a natural phenomenon, albeit an uncommon and strange one.

I've always found the phenomenon very very unsettling, possibly because the first time I met it was in Garner's The Owl Service

:ghunt:

I must get around to reading The Owl Service. I have watched the television adaptation, don't recall any wisps in that.

I wonder if marshes' environments (damp cool air at ground level) create an inversion layer which is in effect creating mirages of (say) stars or distant lights.

In the experience that I had there were cars along the adjacent road fairly frequently while I was observing the lights. I doubt any of the drivers would have been able to see me, however, as I was wearing dark clothing and their headlights were not crossing the marsh. From what I can recall the presence or absence of cars had no discernible effect on the lights.

The first light I observed I saw when it first appeared, I was looking in the same general direction and it suddenly appeared. I do recall that there were no cars on the adjacent road for the first few minutes I was observing it. At some point a car did go along the road but this did not seem to affect the light. The second light appeared some time later, again I don't think there was any traffic on the road at that moment. I do recall some cars passing along the road while I was standing in the marsh itself and again I don't think it caused any discernible change.

When I finally had enough of watching I walked away on my original planned route and could still see the first light unchanged in behaviour until I passed a farmhouse that blocked the view.

It was quite dark and getting darker during my experience so I cannot say for sure but my perception of the lights was very much that they were rather pale (whiteish-blueish rather than yellow) but candle-like, I didn't perceive it as particularly gaseous or billowy, though the light sometimes put me in mind of a candle guttering.
 
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