Editing Will-o'-the-wisp (section)

{{Short description|Atmospheric ghost lights}}
{{other uses}}
{{More citations needed|date=July 2023}}
[[File:Will-o-the-wisp and snake by Hermann Hendrich 1823.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|The Will o' the Wisp and the Snake by [[Hermann Hendrich]] (1854–1931)]]

In folklore, a '''will-o'-the-wisp''', '''will-o'-wisp''', or {{langnf|la|'''ignis fatuus'''|foolish flame|paren=left}};<ref name="Bergovia">{{cite magazine |last=Phipson|first=T. L. |date=October 1868 |title=Will-o'-the-wisp |magazine=[[Belgravia (magazine)|Belgravia]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KtcYAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA392 |location=London |publisher=Robson and Son |page=392 |volume=6 |access-date=2020-07-24}}</ref> {{plural form|'''{{lang|la|ignes fatui}}'''}}), is an [[atmospheric ghost light]] seen by travellers at night, especially over bogs, swamps or marshes.

The phenomenon is known in the United Kingdom by a variety of names, including '''[[jack-o'-lantern]]''',{{Refn|{{harvp|Kittredge|1900|p=440}}: Jack-with-a-lantern, Jack-a-Lantern and n3, Jack-o'-Lantern, citing Allies (1846)<ref name="allies1846"/>}} '''friar's lantern''',{{Refn|In Milton's ''[[L'Allegro]]''.{{sfnp|Kittredge|1900|pp=429–430}}}}<ref>{{harvp|Denham|1895|loc='''2''': 78}}: friars' lanthorns</ref> and '''hinkypunk''', and is said to mislead and/or guide travellers by resembling a flickering lamp or lantern.<ref>{{cite book |title=Folk-Lore and Folk-Stories of Wales |first=Marie |last=Trevelyan |author-link=<!--Marie Trevelyan--> |location=London |publisher=Elliot Stock|year=1909 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cybaAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA178<!--https://books.google.com/books?id=zmYHrsC6cYIC--> |page=178 |isbn=978-0854099382 |access-date=2010-09-18}}{{dead link |date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Equivalents of the will-o'-the-wisps appear in [[European folklore]] by various names, e.g., {{lang|la|ignis fatuus}} in Latin, {{lang|fr|feu follet}} in French, {{lang|de|Irrlicht}} or {{lang|de|Irrwisch}} in Germany. Equivalents occur in traditions of cultures worldwide (cf. {{section link||Global terms}}); e.g., the [[Naga fireball]]s on the [[Mekong]] in [[Thailand]]. In North America the phenomenon is known as the [[Paulding Light]] in [[Upper Peninsula of Michigan]], [[the Spooklight]] in Southwestern Missouri and Northeastern Oklahoma, and [[St. Louis Light]] in [[Saskatchewan]]. In Arab folklore it is known as {{ill|Abu Fanoos|ar|أبو فانوس (ظاهرة)}}.

In folklore, will-o'-the-wisps are typically attributed as ghosts, fairies or elemental spirits meant to reveal a path or direction. These wisps are portrayed as dancing or flowing in a static form, until noticed or followed, in which case they visually fade or disappear. Modern science explains the light aspect as natural phenomena such as [[bioluminescence]] or [[chemiluminescence]], caused by the [[oxidation]] of [[phosphine]] ({{chem|P|H|3}}), [[diphosphane]] ({{chem|P|2|H|4}}) and methane ({{chem|C|H|4}}), produced by [[organic compound|organic]] decay.