Why Fairy Lights Should NOT be Trusted

These creepy lights don’t always lead you to your fate in a good way... In fact, following them could cut your destiny quite short. Well… if you value your future you should stay far, far away. If you’ve ever found yourself in a foggy bog catching glimpses of mysterious glowing orbs... you’ll know what I’m talking about. These ghost lights are said to give off an inexplicable sense of impending doom… and there are centuries of lore to back that up. And even though we’re talking about lights, this lore gets very, very dark!

I also cover "The Buried Moon" fairytale which is a folklore favorite of mine!

Research: Tara L & abitfrank
Writing: Tara L & abitfrank

Sources:

#weirdfacts #fairytale #creepy #creepystories #folklore #ghost #animation #fairytales #ghost

[axelgidius]

In Denmark, this concept is atributed to a creature named "Lygtemanden", "the lanternman". He is a little man who runs around to either get good people to treasure, or wicked people to their deaths in the forest.

[JudeDragon]

I come from wetland area! Between these and fireflies when the moon isn't out it can be pretty easy to get turned around in dark woods and end up falling into creeks and ravines so it makes sense to blame it on something.

[hexinthelilypond]

From a scientific perspective, I believe that Will o Wisps are probably a combination of fireflies and bog gasses. Perhaps the impending sense of doom is caused by the various chemicals you’re inhaling coupled with a spooky environment. I live near a marsh and I can’t recall ever having seen Wisps, but it’s very flat and easy to navigate, so maybe the Wisps decided it wasn’t worth their time XD

[silencreativa]

In Germany they are called "Irrlicht", which you can translate as "wandering around lights" or "getting lost lights" because they lead you to wander around until you lose any sense of direction. I think the name is rather cute. ;-P

[lapraslazuli]

The Pokémon Pumpkaboo (or however you spell that) is a lantern critter. It guides lost children to safety. The evolved form, Gourgiest, leads lost travelers to their doom.

[ultraviolet.x]

i will not ever catch myself in a foggy bog i can promise you that

[brainflash]

Ironic that mysterious floating lights on land will lure you to your doom, yet we relied on stars for navigation and predicting the future. It seems humans just can't stand things not being in their proper place.

Edit: But then I suppose if the bog lights really were flammable gas, heading toward would indeed be hazardous to your health.

[rozdy]

I live In Poland near German border and I have never heard this story about a gnome XD
In my village those lights were usually called klękanice, my grandma used to warn me to to not go into the forest or fields at night, or they would abduct me
Now whenever I’m outside at night where ever I go I see fireflies, seems like we have a huge population of them, which is probably where the legend comes from in this case

[ks.kyokudonanshun]

I listen to your stories on abitlate every night when I go to sleep. Your voice is so nice to hear.
In Japan, we have blue lights that appear near rivers. They are the reason that during Obon, which is a week long festival to welcome back deceased family, we float lanterns down rivers. The ancestors have to navigate the dark when they have to return to heaven, and so we provide light for them to find their way. In Kyoto and a few other places especially, they set up burning symbols on the side of mountains for the traveling ancestors. The scientific reason for the blue lights is that when a body starts to decompose it releases gas that light up blue, especially near water. I have not seen the phenomenon myself, but I have heard stories from friends who have. I have heard that it is not scary at all, but just a blue flame calmly floating along. I have not heard about seeing the blue lights as being a bad omen. You shouldn't be near rivers anyways for fear of being grabbed by a kappa more than anything else.
Nice topic!

[KidarWolf]

I've never seen a Will o the Wisp, my encounters have been rather more local specific, in the form of something called a shuck. For many, the shuck is a scary figure, but there have been a scant few tales of benevolent shucks, and I believe it's benevolent shucks I've encountered. I see them when I am feeling at my lowest, and go for night time walks to clear my head. It's a little shadowy companion who shadows me across the fens, and I believe keeps me from harm - I think it likely the shuck would keep me safe from a Will o the Wisp.

[despinasgarden.]

In Argentina we have "La luz mala" or "The bad light" in English. Is something similar, but not the same. Is usually said that those lights are either the souls of the dead or the devil himself, they can be either red or white. They are found in rural areas and are known to chase people who get too close to them.

[gnarthdarkanen]

Yeah, I've seen phantom lights a few times. There are a few places rather prone to such things out here in the Appalachian Mountains... Funny thing about the mountain variety, though, is that you're almost never really prepared to go chasing off after them... SO mostly, in the mountains, I just strain my eyes... once even had binoculars, and tried with them. Couldn't get much better detail that way, other than to pretty well pinpoint where the lights were one after another... which is odd, maybe, but not some otherworldly level of weird.

In the swamp I did go after the lights a couple times, BUT it was Louisiana, and I had a pirogue (a really small REALLY lightweight boat) so I just about couldn't get stranded out there... AND I was equipped enough to handle myself for a couple days if necessary (which it wasn't... haha)... The d*mn lights just faded or winked out before I could quite get close enough to make heads or tails out of them...

SPEAKING of which... Ever notice how a LOT of these stories relate to swamps and bogs and moores??? That's at least in part, because in those kinds of places, there's a proclivity for slow moving water... and by nature, there are floating plants. You'd think that wasn't a big deal, BUT how often have you walked around and memorized your way by some tree or a certain bush to recognize the path, or some certain corner of a building or fence. It's not the only thing, of course (usually) BUT it still accounts as part of your navigation... SO in the swamps, we have big mats of swamp-grass that float like islands. Some are big enough and hefty enough, even though they're only grass and reeds intertwined and root-bound, you CAN walk on them. SO whenever you get deep in the wild parts of the swamp, these mats of swamp grass can move in behind you, pulled and pushed by wind or water currents... paths you THOUGHT you knew coming in... DISAPPEAR before you get turned around to try to get back out. It's not terribly dangerous if you know that wherever a floating mat closes one waterway, it opens another... so you just keep paddling, and don't be out there in a boat you can't carry on your own... not if you go alone (which is its own properly hazardous situation in the swamps)...

SO think about it... You go out in the swamp... in the dark... a little foggy here and there (as is pretty much normal)... AND then you go chasing after fairie lights or will o' wisps or whatever... You get hopelessly off in the wild spaces and then it flickers out... and when you turn around to go back, you only get so far, and that waterway you KNOW was just there not 10 minutes ago, IS GONE... and suddenly the panic starts to raise up in you because somehow you just don't recognize ANYTHING...

Yeah... A LOT of people still go missing in swamps every year... and many are just never seen again. It doesn't even take any ill will or supernatural goings on for it to happen... just a little misnavigation... a dash of panic... and the dark settles in on them... pfft... Suddenly they can't think their way out of a wet paper sac...

Anyways... I know you can jam a 8 or 10 foot pipe down in the Louisiana bayous, and light the gas that comes bubbling out the end for a fishing lamp that'll last several hours if you catch the right spot. In the area, they call it a Cajun Nightlight. ;o)

[bellsburn]

I love the way she talks, the art is also topnotch

[lotsofspots]

The lantern in the British Isles was typically a hollowed-out turnip. We didn't get pumpkins until they were imported from the Americas.

It's also Will o' the Wisp, as television viewers of the 1980's can affirm.

[ShatteredQvartz]

Here in México there are a lot of conflicting tales about Lights in the forests

Some say these are good spirits, some say these are bad omens

I've witnessed them from afar and up close, and although I am not a superstitious guy, these always freak me out

At least in my comunity most people, including my grandma and some neighbors agree that these are witches who are looking to kidnap some child who's left unattended or just out to do some evil

[emii]

I love when Irish, Gaelic, and celtic legends are givin the the recognition they deserve! Especially since halloween originated from Ireland

[Pakapakachama]

In the Philippines, there's a creature called "Santelmo" that appears in fields, forests, and bogs. Though some accounts even claim that it also appear in rainy nights in slightly rural areas.
It's just a faint faint but sometimes it changes to blue.
It's said to cause paralysis to those that encounters it.
But most of what I hear of it was it bewitches victims into having a muddled sense of direction. Chasing the victims to endless loop without progressing to safety.

[froggy_buggie]

In Czech we call them "Bludičky" that looks like blue light...And they are mostly seen in bogs, cementaries And other spooky places.... From slavic forclore they can be souls of people that died brutally... newborn unbaptisted children...or little gnomes or soul of the witch...And they are most seen on holidays like 'Dušičky' (day we celebrate our dead loved ones) And around Christmas... Its more complicated but I tried my best to explain it 😅 (And sorry for my english )

[marzana]

In Choctaw culture, the Hashok Okwa Hui'ga or ''Grass Water Drop'' were creatures similar to will-o'-the-wisps. They would lead anyone that followed them off the trail. No one knows what happened to those people afterward, but it is certain they died.

[wendigo]

Me : *wakes up at 3am*
Light : *lights up*
Me: Cool, wait a darn min-