Will-o'-the-wisp
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In folklore, a will-o'-the-wisp, or will-o'-wisp, is an atmospheric ghost light seen by travellers at night, especially over bogs, swamps, or marshes.
The Will o' the Wisp and the Snake by Hermann Hendrich (1854–1931)
A Japanese rendition of a Russian will-o'-the-wisp
An 1862 oil painting of a will-o'-the-wisp by Arnold Böcklin
Sculpture of a will-o'-the-wisp by Harriet Hosmer
Ball lightning
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Ball lightning is a rare and unexplained phenomenon described as luminescent spherical objects that vary from pea-sized to several meters in diameter. Though usually associated with thunderstorms, the
Will-o'-the-wisp
…the absence of warmth in some observed ignis fatuus, the odd behavior of ignis fatuus receding upon being approached, and the differing accounts of ball lightning (which was also classified as a kind of ignis fatuus). An example of such criticism is found in Folk-Lore from Buffalo Valley (1891) by the American…
Ball lightning entering via the chimney (1886)
A demonstration of the water discharge experiment