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

===Europe===
{{See also|Supernatural beings in Slavic folklore}}

In European folklore the lights are often believed to be the spirits of un-baptised or stillborn children, flitting between heaven and hell ([[purgatory]]).{{sfnp|Kittredge|1900|loc=p. 438, n3}}

In Germany there was a belief that a ''Irrlicht'' was the soul of an [[Unbaptized Infants|unbaptised child]], but that it could be redeemed if  the remains are first buried near the eaves of the church, so that at the moment rainwater splashes onto this grave, the churchman could pronounce the [[baptismal formula]] to sanctify the child.{{Refn|Zerrenner (1783)<ref name="zerrenner1783"/> cited by Rochholz.<ref name="rochholz1862"/>}}

In [[Sweden]] also, the will-o'-the-wisp represents the soul of an [[baptism|unbaptised]] person "trying to lead travellers to water in the hope of being baptized".<ref>The Element Encyclopedia of Vampires (Theresa Cheung), HarperCollins</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=July 2023}}

[[Danish people|Danes]], [[Finns]], [[Swedish people|Swedes]], [[Estonians]], [[Latvians]], [[Lithuanians]], and Irish people and amongst some other groups believed that a will-o'-the-wisp also marked the location of a treasure deep in ground or water, which could be taken only when the fire was there. Sometimes magical procedures, and even a [[Hand of Glory|dead man's hand]], were required as well, to uncover the treasure. In Finland and several other northern countries, it was believed that early autumn was the best time to search for will-o'-the-wisps and treasures below them. It was believed that when someone hid treasure in the ground, he made the treasure available only at the summer solstice [[Midsummer|(Midsummer, or Saint John's Day)]], and set a will-o'-the-wisp to mark the exact place and time so that he could reclaim the treasure.

The Aarnivalkea (also known as virvatuli, aarretuli and aarreliekki), in [[Finnish mythology]], are spots where an eternal flame associated with will-o'-the-wisps burns. They are claimed to mark the places where [[faerie]] gold is buried. They are protected by a glamour that would prevent anyone finding them by pure chance. However, if one finds a fern seed from a mythical flowering [[fern]], the magical properties of that seed will lead the fortunate person to these treasures, in addition to providing one with a glamour of invisibility. Since in reality the fern produces no flower and reproduces via spores under the leaves, the myth specifies that it blooms only extremely rarely.

====Britain====
{{See also|Puck (mythology)}}
[[File:Will-o-the-Wisp by Harriet Hosmer.jpg|thumb|upright|Sculpture of a will-o'-the-wisp by [[Harriet Hosmer]]]]
In [[Welsh language|Welsh]] folklore, it is said that the light is "fairy fire" held in the hand of a [[púca]], or pwca, a small goblin-like fairy that mischievously leads lone travellers off the beaten path at night.{{citation needed|reason="Can find direct quoting of this article but no original source"|date=December 2022}} As the traveller follows the púca through the marsh or bog, the fire is extinguished, leaving them lost. The púca is said to be one of the [[Tylwyth Teg]], or fairy family. In [[Wales]] the light predicts a funeral that will take place soon in the locality. [[Wirt Sikes]] in his book ''British Goblins'' mentions the following [[Welsh mythology|Welsh]] tale about púca.

A peasant travelling home at dusk sees a bright light travelling along ahead of him. Looking closer, he sees that the light is a lantern held by a "dusky little figure", which he follows for several miles. All of a sudden he finds himself standing on the edge of a vast chasm with a roaring torrent of water rushing below him. At that precise moment the lantern-carrier leaps across the gap, lifts the light high over its head, lets out a malicious laugh and blows out the light, leaving the poor peasant a long way from home, standing in pitch darkness at the edge of a precipice. This is a fairly common cautionary tale concerning the phenomenon; however, the ignis fatuus was not always considered dangerous. Some tales present the will-o'-the-wisp as a treasure-guardian, leading those brave enough to follow it to certain riches - a form of behaviour sometimes ascribed also to the Irish [[leprechaun]]. Other stories tell of travellers surprising a will-o'-the-wisp while lost in the woods and being either guided out or led further astray, depending on whether they treated the spirit kindly or harshly.

Also related, the pixy-light from [[Devon]] and [[Cornwall]] which leads travellers away from the safe and reliable route and into the bogs with glowing lights. "Like [[Poltergeist]] they can generate uncanny sounds. They were less serious than their German [[Weiße Frauen]] kin, frequently blowing out candles on unsuspecting courting couples or producing obscene kissing sounds, which were always misinterpreted by parents."<ref>[http://rodneymackay.com/writing/pdf%20files/worldmyth.pdf] [[Portable Document Format|PDF]]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225001000/http://rodneymackay.com/writing/pdf%20files/worldmyth.pdf|date=February 25, 2009}}</ref> Pixy-Light was also associated with "lambent light"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alphadictionary.com/goodword/word/lambent|title=lambent - alphaDictionary * Free English On-line Dictionary |website=Alphadictionary.com|access-date=November 18, 2011}}</ref> which the [[Old Norse]] might have seen guarding their tombs. In Cornish folklore, Pixy-Light also has associations with the [[Colt pixie]]. "A colt pixie is a pixie that has taken the shape of a horse and enjoys playing tricks such as neighing at the other horses to lead them astray".<ref>{{cite web|website=Shadowdrake.com|url=http://www.shadowdrake.com/waterhorse.html|title=House Shadow Drake – Water Horses and Other Fairy Steeds|access-date=November 18, 2011|archive-date=September 27, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927144745/http://www.shadowdrake.com/waterhorse.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pandius.com/coltpixy.html|title=Colypixy|website=Pandius.com|access-date= November 18, 2011}}</ref> In [[Guernsey]], the light is known as the ''faeu boulanger'' (rolling fire), and is believed to be a lost soul. On being confronted with the spectre, tradition prescribes two remedies. The first is to turn one's cap or coat inside out. This has the effect of stopping the ''faeu boulanger'' in its tracks. The other solution is to stick a knife into the ground, blade up. The faeu, in an attempt to kill itself, will attack the blade.<ref>Folklore of Guernsey by Marie de Garis (1986) {{ASIN|B0000EE6P8}} {{Page needed|date=December 2022}}</ref>

The will-o'-the-wisp was also known as the Spunkie in the [[Scottish Highlands]] where it would take the form of a [[linkboy]] (a boy who carried a flaming torch to light the way for pedestrians in exchange for a fee), or else simply a light that always seemed to recede, in order to lead unwary travellers to their doom.<ref name="Stewart">William Grant Stewart (1823). ''The Popular Superstitions and Festive Amusements of the Highlanders of Scotland''. pp. 161–162. {{ISBN?}}</ref> The spunkie has also been blamed for shipwrecks at night after being spotted on land and mistaken for a harbour light.<ref name="Briggs">Katharine Briggs (1976). ''An Encyclopedia of Fairies''. [[Pantheon Books]]. p. 381. {{ISBN|0394409183}}</ref> Other tales of Scottish folklore regard these mysterious lights as omens of death or the ghosts of once living human beings. They often appeared over lochs<ref name="Alasdair">Alasdair Alpin MacGregor (1937). ''The Peat Fire Flame: Folktales and Traditions of the Highlands and Islands''. Moray Press. pp. 284–285. {{ISBN?}}</ref> or on roads along which funeral processions were known to travel.<ref name="Witchcraft">John Gregorson Campbell (1902). ''Witchcraft and Second Sight in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland''. James MacLehose and Sons. pp. 169–172. {{ISBN?}}</ref> A strange light sometimes seen in the [[Hebrides]] is referred to as the ''teine sith'', or "fairy light", though there was no formal connection between it and the fairy race.<ref name="Campbell">John Gregorson Campbell (1900). ''Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland''. James MacLehose and Sons. pp. 6–7. {{ISBN?}}</ref>

====Ireland====
In the late 1930s, schoolchildren across Ireland were tasked with the interviewing of older neighbours and relatives with regards to collecting local history and folklore as part of the [[Irish Folklore Commission]]'s ''[[Irish_Folklore_Commission#School's_Collection|Schools' Collection]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.duchas.ie/en/info/cbe|title=National Folklore Collection (NFC) and its collections|date = 2014-01-01|website=[[Dúchas]].ie |access-date=2025-04-26 }}</ref> Numerous sightings of the phenomenon were recorded as part of the project. One such child, James Curran, relayed information taken from his father about a sighting in [[Harristown, Naas South|Harristown]], [[County Kildare]]:
<blockquote>
My father told me that when he was about fourteen years of age, he was crossing the limekiln of Harristown and he saw a little red ball of fire rolling along in front of him. He ran after it, but he could not catch it as when he would run it would roll quicker, and quicker, and when he would stop, it would stop.
He followed it, all through Clarke's bottoms, across Major Mc Gees land and on to the railway and then it disappeared. He did not know what it was, but his father told him it was Will o' the Wisp.<ref name = duchas_cat>{{Cite journal |last= Curran |first=James | title= Will o' the Wisp |url=https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/5260470/5256180?HighlightText=%22harristown%22&Route=stories&SearchLanguage=ga |date= 1938-02-02|access-date=27 April 2025| journal= [[Irish_Folklore_Commission#School's_Collection|The Schools' Collection 1937-1939]] ([[Irish Folklore Commission|The Irish Folklore Commission]])|volume=0776C |pages=12_037}}</ref>
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