Will o the wisp

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Will-o'-the-Wisp (detail) (Lev Lerch, 1888)

Will-o'-the-Wisp is the most common English designation for a family of fairy-beings characterized by their fiery appearance and their tendency to lead nighttime wayfarers astray. The term wisp refers to a twist of straw, used as a torch. Other names for these apparitions include Hobby-Lantern, Jack-o'-Lantern, Jenny-Burnt-Tale, Kitty-Candlestick, Peg-a-Lantern, and many more.

Will O' The Wisp are a type of fairy or ghost described in the folklore of Great Britain and Ireland, though regional varieties exist in other cultures. They were believed to be evil spirits or "impure" souls that haunted marshes at night, leading unwary travelers into dangerous areas where they would become lost or even drown. Appearing as balls of light, the Will O' The Wisp often showed signs of intelligence and was a silent trickster feared by travelers who had to travel alone at night…

illustration for the Card Game "Sorcery: Contested Realm" https://www.facebook.com/SorceryTCG

Will-o’-the-Wisps, also called “ignis fatuus,” Latin for “foolish fire”, are enchanting balls of greenish-blue floating lights observed over swamps and marshes at night. At a distance, they look identical to flickering lanterns. All over the world, since ancient times, people have struggled to rationalize with the origins of these mystery lights; thus, legends and myths appear in almost every ancient culture surrounding Will-o’-the-Wisps.

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