willow wisp

Are willow wisp real?

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Will o' the wisp


http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/willowisp.html

Firstly it's will o' the wisp and in a sense yes they are real. Will o' the wisps are just "ghostly" lights seen by travelers, it's rather hard to argue whether or not a lone traveler saw a light. Are they actualy ghostly beings though? That's up to your own interpretation really although I personally would estimate that the vast majority of such occurences are caused by reflected light, chemo luminescence, the imagination and a few other possibilities.

it's from old English folklore [Scotland or Ireland area i think] about ghostly lights seen at night in bogs or fogs lighting the way for travelers to lead them somewhere usually dangerous. they are believed to be lanterns or fire held by faeries. another belief is their malevolent spirits [human or non-human] who, again, play tricks and can be rather dangerous as they like to lead people astray. there's many different stories about will o' the wisp throughout the world. the common scientific explanation is swamp gas reflecting light.

I've seen a few in heavily wooded areas (without swamps which is the scientific explaination for them). They do in fact lead away from you. I've always had the common sense not to follow. But yes, they exist. I don't know exactly what type of spirit they are, but they are a real phenomenon.

thank you. i have been wondering.