A will-o'-the-wisp or ignis fatuus (Latin, from ignis, “fire” + fatuus, “foolish”), also called will-o’-wisp, corpse candle, jack-o’-lantern, friar’s lantern, hinkypunk, and wisp, is a ghostly light sometimes seen at night or twilight over bogs, swamps, and marshes. It resembles a flickering lamp and is sometimes said to recede if approached. Much folklore surrounds the phenomenon.

Origin

The oxidation of phosphine and methane, produced by organic decay, can cause glowing light. Since phosphine spontaneously ignites on contact with the oxygen in air, only small quantities of it would be needed to ignite the much more abundant methane to create ephemeral fires. The Italian chemists Luigi Garlaschelli and Paolo Boschetti have replicated the lights by adding some chemicals to gases from rotting compounds. They argue that the combustion can be sustained at lower temperatures than those found in traditional fires. Taken together, these findings seem to explain two of the more puzzling aspects of the Will o’the wisp, its spontaneous, transient nature and low temperature “flame” that doesn’t seem to burn items close by.

paper by Luigi Garlaschelli and Paolo Boschetti

keywords: chemiluminescence, cold-flame, PH3, draeger xam-7000, gas, ghost, soul