Will 'o the wisp real or not

has anyone ever seen a will 'o the wisp if so please post with an actual photo i can tell if it has bin photoshopped because i happen to have made lots of life like pics so be honest. what do they look like other than a glowing ball?

One time I was driving at night and I saw 2 little blueish white lights flying in a swirly pattern at the edge of the road. They were probably just fireflies, but all the fireflies I've seen before had a greenish glow to them. Don't have any pictures.

i don't know what a will o' the wisp is, but i have seen small floating lights around my house. they were sort of blue, but then at the same time pink... 0_o;; hard to explain. but they don't seem to like me because i can only see them for a few seconds before they disappear. is that what you mean? if i see them again, i'll be sure to snap a photo for you.

what do they look like other than a glowing ball?

That's pretty much it....that's how they are described...though they are bigger than your average firefly....ranging from baseball to basketball sized. I've never seen one, but then, I've never lived near a marsh either...., I'm just familiar with the folklore....

I think those are either extinct or never existed, they were mostly seen in the 1500's.

What the hell is a wisp?

Originally posted by Gazrok
That's pretty much it....that's how they are described...though they are bigger than your average firefly....ranging from baseball to basketball sized. I've never seen one, but then, I've never lived near a marsh either...., I'm just familiar with the folklore....

If they live near marshes...Couldn't they be wanderlights?

Different name, but more general term. Wanderlights (if I recall) are supposed to be of fairy origin, whereas will o wisps are actually thought to be energy beings.

It's interesting that many cultures have described them, and always in marshy areas. Wonder if it really is swamp gas this time, hehe.....

I had this same disscussion on another thread, I dont know if what I saw was a wisp or not I think my grandma called them witchlights but I saw them twice both times it was one glowing ball about the size of a softball. The first time I saw it it went through some bushes and left a tar-like substance on them, the second time I saw it it did not leave any evidence.

willow wisps= orbs?

Just a thought , but the description sounds the same.

it's strange that after scouring the web for an image of a willothewisp, there was nothing. only this picture from a brilliant cartoon that I used to watch many years ago.
I searched for images of swamp gas too but still nothing.
considoring all the things that get explained away by swamp gas , isn't it amazing that there aren't more pictures that are officially real swamp gas.


[Edited on 27-12-2003 by pantha]

does anyone remember if they had them things in the monster manual? or if not maybe fiend folio? i seem to recall that from d&d.

A few years back, one of the local landfills had pipes installed to bent the methane gases. At night these pipes would spout blue flames. As it happened, I had some contact with someone who worked there. When I asked him about it, he said that they kept them lit, but that if they went out, the could sometimes sponaneously ignite on their own.

Originally posted by The General
does anyone remember if they had them things in the monster manual? or if not maybe fiend folio? i seem to recall that from d&d.

Yep - that's right, the Monster Manual (handy guide to all things monstrous and ethereal

J.

wow i have looked and looked for discussion of this
hmm i have seen weird colored fireflies several times,
bluish white and also red
i dont know what on earth they but i can find no reference to them anywhere. Maybe willowisps or wanderlights or orbs, but they twinkle on and off like fireflies but maybe a bit larger and faster flying.

Spontaneously ignited methane AKA swamp gas.

Case closed.

Found a pic of it on wikipedia...well...apparently it's "reenacted" or something. But to give those who have no idea what it looks like, this can give you an idea i suppose?

Originally posted by pantha

I searched for images of swamp gas too but still nothing.
considoring all the things that get explained away by swamp gas , isn't it amazing that there aren't more pictures that are officially real swamp gas.

Things that make ya go "Hmmmmm".

Good point.

You would think with all the sightings blamed on 'swamp gas', there would certainly be more pictures available actually citing it as 'swamp gas'.

Would a Will o' the wisp be the same as ball lightning? Both are said to be the stuff of legends. It's too bad we can't ask Nikola Tesla about this one.

a reply to: cheor
Our mother told us this: Once a couple of years after the death of her father who died when she was 7 years old, it was twilight and she was walking past the cemetery where he was buried. A blue ball of light suddenly appeared bouncing in front of her. Thinking it was her father's ghost, Mamma called out, "Papa, don't hurt me!". The ball of light moved on into the cemetery and disappeared. I told her it was probably will o' the wisp, which I had read about but never seen. There is so much we don't know. It sounds like no one is sure will o' the wisp exists. I suppose it could have been Grandpa's ghost.