Folklore Spotlight: Wondering About Wanderlights

A traveler is walking along a path in the woods one evening, whistling a tune and minding their own business.

Through the foggy woods, a small, warm light appears.

The bobbing light gets closer, then a bit farther, wandering in and then floating away.

Curious, the traveler steps off the safety of the path...and is never seen again.

What are Wanderlights?

Wanderlight comes from the dutch word “dwaallicht” (dwaal = wander, licht = light). Wanderlights can best be described as ghost lights - low hovering orbs of light seen by travelers at night. They are most often spotted in and around swamps, and sometimes in graveyards. They often recede when approached, which leads travelers astray.

Another commonly known version of the wanderlights are known as “Will-o’-the-wisps”.

Will-o-the-wisp comes from the common name “WIll” combined with “wisp”, a bundle of sticks or paper sometimes used as a torch.

There are different variations as to the origin of this tale, but they mostly come from Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales. In this folktale, an evil man named Will is doomed to haunt marshes with a light as punishment for some misdeed.

In Shropshire, Will, the smith, is a very wicked man who is given a second chance by Saint Peter at the gates of heaven. However, he ends up ruining his second chance by living such a terrible life that he is doomed to wander the earth. The devil gives him one single coal to keep himself warm, which he uses to lure travelers into the marshes.

In Europe, wanderlights are said to be mischievous spirits of the dead, or faeries attempting to lead travelers astray.

In North America, the lights are frequently seen along roadsides or railroads, leading people to believe they are the spirits of railway workers who died on the job. In Marfa, TX, ghost lights have been observed near US Rt 67 on Mitchell Flat east of Marfa, TX. No one is quite sure what they are, but some people believe they are aliens.

There have also been many, many sightings of lights similar to wanderlights all throughout Central and South America. In Mexico, wanderlights are explained as witches who have transformed into the lights. In Argentina, this phenomenon is very feared. The lights are known as “Luz Mala” or “Fuego Fatuo”, evil lights. They are mostly seen in rural Argentine areas.

In Brazil, they are known as “Mboi-tata”, which comes from the old Tupi language meaning “fiery serpent.” This creature’s eyes leave it blind during the day, but at night it can see everything. It leaves its cave dwelling after a deluge and goes through fields in the dark eating corpses and animals, but only the eyes. The light from the eyes is what gives it it’s fiery gaze.

Australia has what are known as the “Min Min Lights”. This is an unusual light formation in the eastern outback of Australia. They have been reported from as far south as Brewarriha in western New South Wales, to as far north as Boulia in northern Queensland. Stories of these lights can be found in aboriginal myth predating colonization of the region.

In Asia, the Bengali people call them “Aleya”, or marsh ghost lights. Local communities of the area believe they are the ghosts of fishermen who died fishing. Sometimes they are helpful but sometimes they are mischievous. Near the Indo-Pakistani border in Kutch district, Gujarat State, India, “Chir Batti” are unexplained dancing lights that villagers have reported as having always seen. In Japan, “hitodama” are human souls as balls of energy, and are seen all across Japan.

In conclusion…

Wanderlights are mysterious and unexplained lights that happen on almost every continent. These lights have been reported even before there was written language. Are they human spirits? Are they faeries? Are they just balls of energy or fire? When it comes to wanderlights, we really just do not know...and that may be for the best.

Folklore Spotlight: The Legend of The Deer Man

Picture this.

You’re walking in the woods, enjoying the sounds of nature and taking in the beautiful scenery. Suddenly, you begin to notice the sounds of the wildlife around you have begun to grow distant. Then, you begin to feel a sense of foreboding as you see animals leaving the area, looking hurried and nervous.

Fear hits you when you realize you are no longer seeing anything, and all the sound in the forest has come to a halt. You begin to hear rustling and movement around you and then, through the trees, you see a creature emerge. The body is that of a man, the head is of a deer or an elk. The neck and head are covered in fur and antlers protrude from its head. As terrifying as this is, it doesn’t compare to the chill that is caused by the glowing red eyes and the blood-curdling screech it emits.

You have just met The Deer Man.

Who or what is The Deer Man?

Many indigenous and Native American tribes from both Canada and the United States hold traditional beliefs and legends of beings that bear a striking resemblance to this creature.

The Ijirait believe the “Caribou People'' live in caves and have the ability to shift either completely into caribou or into caribou/human hybrids. The Cree and Algonquin believe in an evil spirit associated with starvation and the cold, called the Wendigo. The Sonnie-Appoo, as told by the Okanagan tribe, has the body of a man, the head of a deer with a human face covered in deer hair, the limbs are those of a deer, and it also has bat wings growing out of its shoulders.

The Choctaw in the southeastern United States have stories of a creature called “Kashehotapolo”. This mischievous being loves to frighten hunters in the woods by screeching and wailing as they run past hunters, at a speed that is so fast you cannot see it. On the other hand, the Lakota, located in the Great Plains region of the United States, have “Sinte Sapela Win”. Also known as the Black-Tailed Deer Woman, she appears to hunters and seduces them into madness or death…

Folklore Spotlight: Unlocking the Secrets of Black-Eyed Children

Imagine you are home alone late one night, when you receive a knock on the door. Curious, you walk over and peer through the peephole. You become alarmed when you realize there are children at your door.

You open the door to see what they need when they ask, “Can we use your phone?”

You want to let them in because, well, they are children after all. But something doesn't feel quite right to you. When you hesitate, they become agitated, becoming insistent, “you must give us permission to come inside!”

At this point, you begin to notice something is off about their faces. You gasp when you realize that it's their eyes! There is no colored iris, no white sclera. All there is empty blackness.

Who or what are black-eyed children?

Black-eyed children generally appear as children between the ages of six and sixteen. They have pale skin and completely black eyes. They always ask for seemingly harmless favors. But it's a ruse, because, like vampires, they must have your permission to enter your dwelling or car. Some people believe that they are able to put their target in a hypnotic-like state in order to get what they want. For those who are not transfixed, feelings of intense fear, dread and panic have been reported.

Black-eyed children were first reported as having been encountered in Abilene, Texas, by Brian Bethel. He claimed that he had a run-in with them late one night, where they asked him to give them a ride. When he refused, they became very upset. He noticed himself reaching to let them in the car, and instead pressed the lock button and was able to drive away.

There have also been sightings of black-eyed children in Cannock Chase, England.

There, a mother and her daughter were walking in the woods when they heard the screams of a child. When the mother and daughter turned towards the sound, a girl no more than 10 years old suddenly appeared before them. She was covering her eyes with her hands, and when the mother asked her if she was okay, the girl removed her hands to show two completely black eyes…