Will O’ The Wisp ~ What Really Are They?

Welcome to my channel! Here you’ll find folk tales and legends from across the British Isles. The strange atmospheric ghostly lights that can be found in swamps and marshlands are known by many names, but most commonly they are referred to as Will O' the Wisp. But what are these things? In this video I take a look at a fascinating piece of folklore that is found all over the world.

Filmed on location at Jenny's Lantern Hill, Alnwick, Northumberland.
Video filmed in May, 2024.

Sources:
Trevelyan, Marie (1909). Folk-Lore and Folk-Stories of Wales. London. p. 178.
Briggs, Katharine (1976), A Dictionary of Fairies: Hobgoblins, Brownies, Bogies, and Other Supernatural Creatures, London: Penguin Books.
Hausman, Leon A., and Joseph S. Hall (1958), ‘Will-o’-the-Wisp’, Western Folklore, 17 (2), pp. 128–29.
Rudkin, Ethel H. (1938), ‘Will o’ the Wisp’, Folklore, 49(1), pp. 46–48.
Sloane, T. O’Conor (1889), ‘A Scientific Will-O’-The-Wisp’, Scientific American, 60 (23), pp. 361–361.
Stoker, B. (1993). Dracula. Wordsworth Editions.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (2005). The two towers. HarperCollins.
Luigi Garlaschelli & Paolo Boschetti. On the track of the will-o'-the-wisp. Dipartimento di Chimica Organica, Università di Pavia.
Will O’ The Wisp: A Fairy, Ghost or Guardian? (2021). Icy Sedgwick.
Lavatar, Ludwig (1596). Of ghostes and spirites, walking by night: and of straunge noyses, crackes, and sundrie forewarnings: which commonly happen before the death of men: great slaughters, and alterations of kingdoms. Blough-Weis Library Susquehanna University. Thomas Creede. pp. 51–52.

Video music by Albert Schofield and Kevin Macleod.

If you'd like to support my work, you can do so via Patreon with a monthly subscription or with a one-off payment via Paypal. Your help is greatly appreciated as it aids me with travel costs and entry fees. Links below:

[loganstroganoff]

On a fishing trip in northwest Florida about 15 years ago my friends and i had one of the most errie experiences when we observed these throughout the course of a night. We were camping on by a pond on a friends land, right next to a cypress swamp. At the time he had never been there at night bc his father had only purchased the property a few months prior. We had a campfire going and i first noticed one when i stepped away from the fire to relieve myself. I thought my eyes were playing tricks adjusting to pitch black after being by the fire. I mentioned it to everyone and nothing much was thought about it until my friend saw them as well. They were a glowing green color, barely perceptible until we doused the fire to go to sleep and allowed our eyes to fully adjust. We stayed up until 3 am watching them. Tons of them floating around aimlessly amongst the trees. Some were faint while others were fairly bright. At the time we knew nothing of will o the wisps so we had no name for them or slightest idea what they were. It was actually very peaceful watching them while the frogs croaked incessantly, but also eerie. very reminiscent of the northern lights. I have no clue what they are but this area was sparsely populated by European descended people until the last century or so. If i were to venture a guess on the spiritual possibilities id say theyre more likely native American spirits. Definitely not swamp gas. There was a breeze that might. Any gas would've been blown away. Even on a still night gas doesn't float around like that..like a feather on the wind I'd say.

[juliecavanagh]

I truly love your videos, please keep making more! Now, more than ever, it's crucial to preserve British history. Much love from America!

[williamrobinson]

I have seen Will o' The Wisp a few times, but only many years ago, when I was a child growing up in rural East Yorkshire. There was a pond, just inland from Fraisethorpe, which we knew as 'Ginny Green Teeth', named for a local witch. I've seen Will o' The Wisp, in twos or threes, hanging about near this pond. I wasn't surprised particularly by this, but had the distinct impression that it might not be a good idea to get too close.
Thanks for your excellent work! 🌟👍

[BS-mzin]

Always happy to see one of your videos in the subs Duke. Thanks for playing a part in keeping our heritage alive.

[atsukorichards]

In Japan, we call it Kitsune-bi/狐火 (fox fire) or Oni-bi/鬼火 (orge fire). Hito-dama/人魂 (soul away from its body) is another one.

[azillliasmith]

Love that cute pup ❤😊 I'm sure she will be a great addition to the team as your second in command👍🏻happy detecting 😊 🌻🌼

[spiderstheythem]

thank you for keeping the magic of folklore, history, and most important of all, the art of story telling alive. i love listening to your videos while sewing. so many youtube channels nowadays are just content mill trash, but i can tell the effort and heart and soul that goes into your videos. they make me believe in magic.

it's especially lovely for folks like me who have grown up in a american culture vacuum, your passion for places and local history is a antidote to that. it's even more important in the era of the nothingness of ai. it's beautiful. it almost makes me wish i lived in a place like northumberland

[deathproof]

Here in north Louisiana, me and my wife went to her grandfather's grave at a cemetery. It was dusk and we noticed a strange fire in the sky shaped like the burning wisp of a candle floating in the air. We watched it for 20 minutes as it floated slowly across the cemetery. We wanted to follow it but I knew I needed to get up early for work so we left.

[pomfret_and_pommes_frites_]

For years, I worked night shift and on my drive to work, the road went through a dark stretch of marshy forest. Fine. ONE night, I saw a blue light among the trees, about human height, yeah, nah, so what, then another, then dozens....um that's impossible, I floored the gas and got out. Never saw them again, as long as I worked there. In Canada.

[osakarose]

Fascinating! I've never seen Will-o-the-Wisps but have read many stories about them. I've seen them on the videos of YT creators who are out in the woods (chasing Bigfoot or UFOs). They've chased the lights and had similar experiences to yours. I like that no one knows the reason for them; it's nice to have some mysteries still left in this world. We aren't meant to understand everything. Love your sweet little doggie, Ava. She seems a handful. 😂

[jameskosusnik]

I love how you included the history of the scientific theory that tries to explain the will of the wisps. Good video dude.

[bigbossimmotal]

Another excellent story, as always. Thank You!

[GeorgeCSquire]

In the hills of the Beara Peninsula in Kerry 1976 I encountered a strange greenish light which followed me and my girl friend for about half a mile to her family cottage. When all the family came outside to see what had scared us. The light was still there but began to withdraw the way it had followed us. We followed it until it seemed to slowly melt away. I will never forget our strange encounter with a seemingly intelligent greenish light.

[ElmOwl]

Will o the Wisps have long been a fascination of mine, there’s something so deeply intriguing about them. Loved this video so much!

[ShaunUnderwoodx]

Really did enjoy this.. well worth the wait mate . wish it had been longer but still great? thanks for all the hard work ....

[silvabambe]

Thank you for this video! I enjoyed it, and learned some new stuff about the Wisps.
(The dog is cute, by the way 🖤)

[bornalikonwar]

Really like your videos. Do make more videos on other historical folklores and stories, experiences. It's very interesting that i have heard a very similar folklore from my elders when i was a kid. Thank you. Much love from Assam, India.

[paularthur]

Class as usual mate👍🏻
Love the channel 👍🏻

[darransykes]

Facinating, just subscribed. I hope to see more folk tale videos about past history...

[lissanne]

There are many novels about Will O' the Wisp. There is a town in Colorado off of Innerstate hi-way 285. It's also the name of a very small bird. Folklore states that family of the recently dead, needed to protect the soul from being taken by the Will O' the Wisp, by staying in a well light room with their loved one at night. I had no idea there was so much more about the phenomenon. Thank you for this fascinating video.