A mysterious phenomenon can be observed at night in the swamps - luminous lights. Since ancient times, they have instilled fear and horror in people. It was believed that wandering lights lured lost people into the swamp bog, where they died. Seeing a glowing ball or fire in the form of a candle flame has always been considered a bad omen. Different peoples of the world have different attitudes towards this natural phenomenon. Most consider the mysterious appearance of a glow to be a bad sign, others argue that the lights help people in a difficult situation.
Mysterious Lights
These lights are most commonly referred to as "dead man's candles" because they look like balls or candle flames. In most cases, they are aggressive towards people, and according to legend, they always bring bad news. Superstitious fear in a person is also caused by the fact that you can often see pale wandering lights over fresh graves. Scientists explain this by the fact that as a result of the decomposition of corpses, phosphorus enters the air, causing a glow, but no one can say how true this is.
There were times when a wandering fire beckoned people along, leading them into a swamp bog. There are other descriptionswhich says that the lights pursued people for a long time, then disappeared without a trace.
Some peoples, including the Russians, have legends that say that flickering lights indicate a treasure buried nearby, but whoever finds it will incur many troubles and misfortunes. Treasures were believed to be guarded by an unclean spirit.
Description
Most often the lights are found in swampy areas. Sometimes the glow can be in the singular, other times people see a lot of flashing objects. What are wandering lights? The description of this amazing phenomenon is given in numerous myths and legends of different peoples of the world. But in our time there are eyewitnesses who saw them with their own eyes.
The inexplicable nature of the appearance of glowing lights instilled fear in people. Superstitious horror is also caused by the fact that they most often appear in swamps and cemeteries. They are rarely seen in open fields. They look like a ball or a candle flame.
Wandering, or as they are also called swamp, demonic fires - a rare natural phenomenon that appears in different parts of the world. They are located at arm's length and are lit in different places, which creates the impression of movement. The color can be different: blue, greenish, yellow. In rare cases, they look like an open flame. But there is no smoke from them.
How fires are formed. Versions
If in the old days people could not explain the originthis amazing phenomenon, and put a mythical meaning into it, then modern science gives several explanations of how wandering lights are formed. Versions are interesting, but not fully explored, therefore contradictory.
Most scientists explain this phenomenon by the fact that organic remains, sinking to the bottom of the swamp or falling into the ground, decompose. Without access to air, the phosphorous carbon resulting from decay accumulates and rises up, where it ignites and forms a glow.
The second version is bioluminescence, which allows some living organisms to glow. It can be some types of bacteria, fish, fireflies, as well as plants and mushrooms. But these scientific arguments do not explain the movement of luminous lights. Eyewitnesses indicate that they are moving ahead or chasing eyewitnesses, sometimes for several kilometers.
Slavic mythology
Wandering fires are described in the epic of many peoples, Slavic mythology is no exception. It was believed that these were the souls of drowned, murdered, cursed people, sorcerers who did not find rest and hover over their graves or places of death. They can be seen after August 24th.
In the eastern regions of Russia and Ukraine, there are beliefs according to which fires in swamps, forests and coastal mounds are lit by mermaids who died unbaptized children in order to lure travelers and throw them from there into the watery depths or lead a person astray.
In the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the fires are called fornicators, which are water and swamp spirits. They areappear in the form of wandering lights. It is believed that these are the souls of drowned people who were taken by Vodyanoy to guard a lake, swamp or pond.
In Poland, mysterious lights are called merniks. These are the souls of land surveyors who dishonestly measured the land during their lifetime. They are evil, and meeting them does not bode well.
Mythology of Great Britain
In the UK, most of the tales and legends gave rise to wandering lights. The mythology of each region of the country contains legends and beliefs about its own special character. Here they are mostly represented as harbingers of death. It was considered a bad omen to see such a light near the house, which means that he came for the soul of the person living in it.
According to an old legend, Saint David, who is considered the patron saint of Wales, promised that every inhabitant would be warned of his end and be able to prepare for his last journey. This will make a wandering fire. In addition, he will be shown the place of burial, and the road along which the funeral procession will pass.
Mysterious Lights
In Shropshire there is a legend about the bringing of the blacksmith Will, holding a wandering fire in his hand. He committed many sins and could not enter Paradise.
Saint Peter gave him a second life so he could make things right. The blacksmith committed so many sins in it that he was not allowed into either Heaven or Hell. The devil took pity on him and gave him an ember from hellfire so that he could warm himself. So Will's soul walks the earth with devilish fire.
Lights in Japan
The emergence of such a phenomenon as wandering lights, many nations explain in their own way. In Japanese mythology, there are several types of will-o'-the-wisps. Depending on the province where the legend was born, they have different names. Evil entities and forest spirits are represented here.
Abura-akago is an oil baby. As the legend says, in one city there lived a man who constantly stole oil from the lamp of a sacred statue standing on the street. After his death, he turned into a wandering fire, which continues to steal oil from the lamps, while turning into a baby.
Tsurube-bi - tree spirits. This is the name given to flying blue wandering lights in the forests. They are thought to be tree spirits that appear at night and swing from branches. Sometimes the balls fall to the ground, but then move back to the crown of the tree. They do no harm. Blue fire does not burn, does not scorch, lives its own life, not paying attention to people. It's just the spirit of the tree.
Lights in the USA
Mysterious balls did not bypass the New World either. Some US states can boast of their mysterious lights. True, the legends about them are not as ancient as the beliefs of Europe. In the state of Texas, an unknown glow got its names - the lights of Saragoga and Marfa. These mysterious balls have their own characteristics. The wandering fire can change color and disappear if a person tries to approach it.
Unlike superstitious Europeans who are afraid to even think about wanderinglights, the Americans in the 60s of the last century staged a real boom because of them. Thousands of tourists came to the provincial mining area of Texas, where the mysterious will-o'-the-wisp lights appeared, and tried to chase them on cars and horses. But the lights quickly disappeared, as if playing hide and seek with dashing Americans.
There were also legends. According to one of them, two policemen in a patrol car on a summer night in 1952 were moving along the road when they saw a yellow luminous ball in front of them. They stopped the car, and the ball stopped, then they added gas and rushed in pursuit, but they could not catch up. The flame accelerated and, turning into the forest, disappeared.
Ming-Ming lights in Australia
In the last century, Australia was stirred by the news of the appearance of mysterious lights near Alexandria Station, in the west of Queensland. A local shepherd noticed flickering lights in the cemetery. Having driven closer in his car to examine them, he was surprised to see that the wandering lights began to gather together and formed a ball that moved towards the shepherd. Frightened, the man drove towards the station. The ball followed him until he drove up to the village.
Fire on Snowball Mountain
This amazing story happened in Czechoslovakia in the middle of the last century. The couple traveled to the Sudetenland. On the top of Mount Snezhka, they were caught by bad weather and heavy snowfall. They got lost, lost their way, and were in despair when they saw a bluish ball in front of them, hovering above the ground. Something told the couple that he would do no harm. Having consulted, the coupledecided to go towards the ball, which floated in front of them, showing the way. After a while, they saw the houses of the village in the distance.
This suggests that the mysterious fiery essences are not always aggressive, if you really ask them, even mentally, they will definitely help. Don't forget to thank them after everything.
