Download Game Ori And The Will Of The Wisps

In folklore, a will-o'-the-wisp, will-o'-wisp, or ignis fatuus (Latin for 'foolish flame';[1] pl. ignes fatui), is an atmospheric ghost light seen by travellers at night, especially over bogs, swamps or marshes. The phenomenon is known in much of European folklore by a variety of names, including jack-o'-lantern, friar's lantern, and hinkypunk, and is said to mislead travellers by resembling a flickering lamp or lantern.[2] 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.[3] Wills-o'-the-wisp appear in folk tales and traditional legends of numerous countries and cultures; notable named examples include St. 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.

In folklore wills-o'-the-wisp are typically attributed as ghosts, fairies or elemental spirits. Modern science explains the light aspect as natural phenomena such as bioluminescence or chemiluminescence, caused by the oxidation of phosphine (PH3), diphosphane (P2H4) and methane (CH4), produced by organic decay.

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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'. The term jack-o'-lantern ('Jack of the lantern') originally referred to a will-o'-the-wisp.[4] In the United States, they are often called "spook-lights", "ghost-lights", or "orbs" by folklorists.[5][6][7]

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'.[1] Despite its Latin origins, the term ignis fatuus is not attested in antiquity, and the name for the will-o'-the-wisp used by the ancient Romans is uncertain.[1] The term is not attested in the Middle Ages either. 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' or 'deceiving light') conceived of in German folklore as a mischievous spirit of nature; the Latin translation was made to lend the German name intellectual credibility.[8][9] Beside Irrlicht, the will-o'-the-wisp has also been called in German Irrwisch (where Wisch translates to 'wisp'), as found in e.g. Martin Luther's writings of the same 16th century.[9]

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.[10][11][12] In these tales, protagonists named either Will or Jack are doomed to haunt the marshes with a light for some misdeed. One version from Shropshire is recounted by Briggs in A Dictionary of Fairies and refers to Will Smith. 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. 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.

Boi-tat (.mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}Portuguese pronunciation: [bojtata]) is the Brazilian equivalent of the will-o'-the-wisp.[17] Regionally it is called Boitat, Baitat, Batat, Bitat, Batato, Biatat, M'boiguau, Mboitat and Mba-Tata. The name comes from the Old Tupi language and means "fiery serpent" (mbo tat). Its great fiery eyes leave it almost blind by day, but by night, it can see everything. According to legend, Boi-tat was a big serpent which survived a great deluge. A "boiguau" (cave anaconda) left its cave after the deluge and, in the dark, went through the fields preying on the animals and corpses, eating exclusively its favourite morsel, the eyes. The collected light from the eaten eyes gave "Boitat" its fiery gaze. Not really a dragon but a giant snake (in the native language, boa or mboi or mboa).

In Argentina and Uruguay, the will-o'-the-wisp phenomenon is known as luz mala (evil light) and is one of the most important myths in both countries' folklore. This phenomenon is quite feared and is mostly seen in rural areas. It consists of an extremely shiny ball of light floating a few inches from the ground.

Danes, Finns, 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 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 wills-o'-the-wisp 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, 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 wills o' the wisp 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.

In Welsh folklore, it is said that the light is "fairy fire" held in the hand of a pca, or pwca, a small goblin-like fairy that mischievously leads lone travellers off the beaten path at night.[citation needed] As the traveller follows the pca through the marsh or bog, the fire is extinguished, leaving them lost. The pca 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 tale about pca.

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. There are some tales told about the will-o'-the-wisp being guardians of treasure, much like the Irish leprechaun leading those brave enough to follow them to sure riches. Other stories tell of travellers getting lost in the woodland and coming upon a will-o'-the-wisp, and depending on how they treated the will-o'-the-wisp, the spirit would either get them lost further in the woods or guide them out.

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 Weie Frauen kin, frequently blowing out candles on unsuspecting courting couples or producing obscene kissing sounds, which were always misinterpreted by parents."[28] Pixy-Light was also associated with "lambent light"[29] 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".[30][31] 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.[32]

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.[33] The spunkie has also been blamed for shipwrecks at night after being spotted on land and mistaken for a harbour light.[34] 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[35] or on roads along which funeral processions were known to travel.[36] 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.[37] e24fc04721