But Jack tricks him again by making him climb a tree and then carving a cross underneath, preventing him from climbing down. When the term expires, the Devil comes to collect his due. In exchange for his freedom, the Devil grants Jack ten more years of life. When the Devil obliges, Jack places him in his pocket next to a crucifix, preventing him from returning to his original form. The Devil provides him with a single burning coal with which to warm himself, which he then uses to lure foolish travellers into the marshes.Īn Irish version of the tale has a ne'er-do-well named Drunk Jack or Stingy Jack who, when the Devil comes to collect his soul, tricks him into turning into a coin, so he can pay for his one last drink. Will is a wicked blacksmith who is given a second chance by Saint Peter at the gates of heaven, but leads such a bad life that he ends up being doomed to wander the earth. One version from Shropshire is recounted by Briggs in A Dictionary of Fairies and refers to Will Smith. In these tales, protagonists named either Will or Jack are doomed to haunt the marshes with a light for some misdeed. The names will-o'-the-wisp and jack-o'-lantern are used in etiological folk-tales, recorded in many variant forms in Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, Appalachia, and Newfoundland. When observed in graveyards, they are known as "ghost candles", also a term from the Denham Tracts. Briggs provides an extensive list of other names for the same phenomenon, though the place where they are observed (graveyard, bogs, etc.) influences the naming considerably. The Will o' the Wisp and the Snake by Hermann Hendrich (1854–1931)įolk belief attributes the phenomenon to fairies or elemental spirits, explicitly in the term " hobby lanterns" found in the 19th century Denham Tracts. Martin Luther's writings of the same 16th century. Beside Irrlicht, the will-o'-the-wisp has also been called in German Irrwisch (where Wisch translates to "wisp"), as found in e.g.
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Instead, the Latin 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 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. The term is not attested in the Middle Ages either. Despite its Latin origins, the term ignis fatuus is not attested in antiquity, and what the ancient Romans called the will-o'-wisp may be unknown. The Latin name ignis fatuus is composed of ignis, meaning "fire" and 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". In the United States, they are often called "spook-lights", "ghost-lights", or "orbs" by folklorists and paranormal enthusiasts. The term jack-o'-lantern (Jack of the lantern) originally referred to a will-o'-the-wisp. The term "will-o'-the-wisp" comes from "wisp", a bundle of sticks or paper sometimes used as a torch and the name " Will", thus meaning "Will of the torch". Modern science explains the light aspect as natural phenomena such as bioluminescence or chemiluminescence, caused by the oxidation of phosphine (PH 3), diphosphane (P 2H 4) and methane (CH 4) produced by organic decay. In urban legends, folklore and superstition, wills-o'-the-wisp are typically attributed to ghosts, fairies or elemental spirits. Louis Light in Saskatchewan, the Spooklight in Southwestern Missouri and Northeastern Oklahoma, the Marfa lights of Texas, the Naga fireballs on the Mekong in Thailand, the Paulding Light in Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the Hessdalen light in Norway.
Wills-o'-the-wisp appear in folk tales and traditional legends of numerous countries and cultures notable wills-o'-the-wisp include St. In literature, will-o'-the-wisp metaphorically refers to a hope or goal that leads one on, but is impossible to reach, or something one finds strange or sinister. The phenomenon is known in English folk belief, English folklore and much of European folklore by a variety of names, including jack-o'-lantern, friar's lantern, hinkypunk and hobby lantern and is said to mislead travellers by resembling a flickering lamp or lantern. In folklore, a will-o'-the-wisp, will-o'-wisp or ignis fatuus ( Latin for 'giddy flame', plural ignes fatui), is an atmospheric ghost light seen by travellers at night, especially over bogs, swamps or marshes. An 1882 oil painting of a will-o'-the-wisp by Arnold Böcklin.
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