History Main / WillOTheWisp

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* ''Literature/TheSpiderwickChronicles'': Will-o'-the-Wisps are fairies resembling fat little insects with glowing bodies, who disorient and confuse.

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': The Will-O-Wisp is a monster that haunts dangerous and deserted places like catacombs, swamps, and bogs with traps that can kill the unwary ({{Pit Trap}}s, QuicksandSucks, etc.). When a victim is killed by one of these hazards the Will-O-Wisp feeds on their LifeEnergy.

What the Will-o'-the-Wisp is depends on the source mythology and the individual work. Sometimes they are wandering ghosts, other times they are fairies, demons or nondescript spirits, and in some works they are simply living creatures with a natural glow and an elaborate hunting strategy. In appearence, they can appear as vague floating lights, humanoids carrying lanterns, buzzing insect-like beings and other, more unusual forms. Most of the time, Wisps are malicious, but on rare occasions they can be helpful. They are usually found in desolate environments, primarily moorland, bogs and marshes, but sometimes also in deep, trackless forests. Why exactly they seem so interested in waylaying travelers can be given any number of reasons. Some versions are simply a bizarre natural or magical phenomenon, while others are mindless or lost spirits who draw people along with them unintetionally. Others act out of cruelty and malice, or else are predators who feed on their victims' spirits, life energy, or fear and despair.

What the Will-o'-the-Wisp is depends on the source mythology and the individual work. Sometimes they are wandering ghosts, other times they are fairies, demons or nondescript spirits, and in some works they are simply living creatures with a natural glow and an elaborate hunting strategy. In appearence, they can appear as vague floating lights, humanoids carrying lanterns, buzzing insect-like beings and other, more unusual forms. Most of the time, Wisps are malicious, but on rare occasions they can be helpful. They are usually found in desloate environments, primarily moorland, bogs and marshes, but sometimes also in deep, trackless forests. Why exactly they seem so interested in waylaying travelers can be given any number of reasons. Some versions are simply a bizarre natural or magical phenomenon, while others are mindless or lost spirits who draw people along with them unintetionally. Others act out of cruelty and malice, or else are predators who feed on their victims' spirits, life energy, or fear and despair.

* ''Comicbook/JohanAndPeewit'': In "Le Pays Maudit", the duo is crossing a bog on a raft when they notice Will o'the Wisps. Unfortunately the King is traveling with them, and he is superstitious; he soon causes the raft to capsize.
* ''Franchise/MarvelUniverse'': There's a villain named Will o'the Wisp, who most often fights ComicBook/SpiderMan. He can control his density and hypnotize targets.

What the Will-o'-the-Wisp is depends on the source mythology and the individual work. Sometimes they are wandering ghosts, other times they are fairies, demons or nondescript spirits, and in some works they are simply living creatures with a natural glow and an elaborate hunting strategy. In appearence, they can appear as vague floating lights, humanoids carrying lanterns, buzzing insect-like beings and other, more unusual forms. Most of the time, Wisps are malicious, but on rare occasions they can be helpful. They are usually found in desloate environments, primarily moorland, bogs and marshes, but sometimes also in deep, trackless forests. Why exactly they seem so interested in waylaying travelers can be given any number of reasons. Some versions are simply a bizarre natural or magical phenoemnon, while others are mindless or lost spirits who draw people along with them unintetionally. Others act out of cruelty and malice, or else are predators who feed on their victims' spirits, life energy, or fear and despair.

What the Will-o'-the-Wisp is depends on the source mythology and the individual work. Sometimes they are wandering ghosts, other times they are fairies, demons or nondescript spirits, and in some works they are simply living creatures with a natural glow and an elaborate hunting strategy. In appearence, they can appears vague floating lights, humanoids carrying lanterns, buzzing insect-like beings and other, more unusual forms. Most of the time, Wisps is malicious, but on rare occasions they can be helpful. "Will-o'-the-wisp" is an archaism roughly translating to "Will of the torch", "Will" here being the given name, similarly to "Jack of the lantern", as both were described as wandering spirits bearing lights. The UsefulNotes/{{Latin|Language}} name for it is ''ignis fatuus'', "fool fire" (plural ''ignes fatui''). Historically, they have also been known by a variety of local names such as friar's lanterns, hinkypunks and Wills-o'-the-wyke.

What the Will-o-the-Wisp is depends on the mythology, sometimes it can be a ghost when it's played straight, other times it can be a fairy or demon, it goes by many different names and most of the time a Wisp is malicious, but on rare occasions they can be helpful. The [[UsefulNotes/LatinLanguage Latin]] name for it is ''ignis fatuus'', "fool fire".

Will-o'-the-Wisps tend to appear in desolate locations with a macabre history, appearing as vengeful apparitions or a lost soul wandering aimlessly. Wisps in video games function as a (usually) weak enemy found in graveyards or [[SwampsAreEvil swamps]].

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* In ''Literature/{{Deathmoor}}'', the titular moor is inhabited by swamp ghosts, who appear only at night as shining orbs of gases, and are capable of attacking passersby with their ice-cold touch.

* In ''Literature/TheSpiderwickChronicles'', Will O' The Wisps are glowing fairies who disorient and confuse.

* ''VideoGame/EasternExorcist'' is a supernatural-themed game where several of your enemies are ghosts, while floating ghostly orbs resembling Willow-o'the-Wisps will appear in the graveyard levels. They materialize from orbs to ghosts after a while.

* ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'': Ermac (who is a being made of [[MergerOfSouls thousands of souls shoved into one body]]) has green lights similar to these orbiting him in his [[SoulPower Master Of Souls]] [[StanceSystem variation.]] He can use them as projectiles to temporarily paralyze the opponent.

* In ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryIV'', Will-o'-the-Wisps are the souls of dead children, and they hang around the swamp at night. Following them into the swamp, naturally, is [[HaveANiceDeath foolish]], but they're also there for a good reason. The Hero must capture a few of them in order to find one of the Dark One Rituals.

** ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'': Wisps are {{Nature Spirit}}s that act as the WorkerUnit for the [[OurElvesAreDifferent Night Elves]]. Their duties include mining gold from entangled mines, harvesting lumber without killing trees, creating buildings or being consumed to make [[WhenTreesAttack Ancients]]. They also have the Detonate ability that [[ActionBomb blows the wisp up]] to [[ManaDrain drain mana]], damage [[SummonMagic summoned]] units, and dispel [[StatusBuff buffs]].\\

* In ''VideoGame/ZanZarahTheHiddenPortal'', will-o'-whisps are found in the Great Swamp around the Goblin village of Dunmore. You are supposed to follow them to get to the island in the middle of the swamp, because the area is extremely convoluted (by design) and covered in fog, to boot.

* In ''Roleplay/TheGamersAlliance'', wisps are semi-sentient balls of light that are attracted to anything which oozes with mana, whether it's a place of power or a creature. They live by leeching magic from their target and are thus desired by mages who wish to channel the magic within them.

* ''TableTopGame/MagicTheGathering'':

* ''TableTopGame/YuGiOh'': Evilswarm Obliviwisp, whose name was originally Vers O-Wisp, is an EvilCounterpart of a fire elemental.

* ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'': "Mysterious Seelie" are small beings that look like floating blue orbs. Following them to their final destination (called "Seelie Gardens") rewards you with hidden loot.

* ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'': Kyuubimon's Onibidama is an attack in form of nine ghostly fireballs fired from the the tips of its nine tails.

** The attack Will'o-wisp is initially portrayed as an offensive attack, unlike in the games where it's just a status debuff. In the games, it wouldn't effect Fire-types, but in the anime, Ash's Charizard got his by this attack as if it's a regular attack. Later generations would depict this attack correctly.
** All of Ash's Fire-types (except Incineroar) teaches his Gengar how to learn Will-o'wisp, even though none of them actually know this move themselves. Gengar manages to learn it and uses it on Paul's Metagross to inflict the Burn status on it and win the battle. Gengar continues to use this move during the Master Tournament.

* ''Fanfic/TheWorldIsFilledWithMonsters'': Will-o-Wisps are among the creatures that have been encroaching on the lands around Hazelnacht. They're described as clusters of little lights that appear on the moors at night, bobbing and weaving and enticing travelers to head closer and investigate them. They have an almost hypnotic effect, making victims obsessed with reaching them and finding out what their excited movement is about, luring them further and further away from the path. Particularly lucky or perceptive people are able to see past the light and see the wisps' wings, eyes and teeth. The rest are eaten.

* ''Film/ElAmorBrujo'': Candela things she's being haunted by the ghost of her dead lover, Diego. In one scene she goes to his grave and sees will-o'-the-wisp that seem to be leading her to him.

* In ''Literature/{{Deathmoor}}'', the titular moor is inhabited by swamp ghosts, who appears only at night as shining orbs of gases, and are capable of attacking passerbys with their ice-cold touch.

* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'': When Sam and Frodo are being guided across the Dead Marshes by Gollum he warns them not look at them. His term for them is "corpse candles."

* ''Literature/TheWorldOfLightness'', drawing upon [[UsefulNotes/NorthEastEngland Northumberland]] folklore, notes the Duergar, a tribe of hill-dwelling dwarfs, to be fond of shining their torches through darkened trees, and luring travellers into difficult terrain.

* The danish folksong [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vrh2HCz34QQ Lygtemandens Sang- Hvor er mine fødder dog ømme]] (the Lantern Man's song - How my feet are aching) is about a man who follows the titular Lantern Man, convinced that it will lead him to treasure. He ends up wandering forever.

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': The Will-O-Wisp is a monster that haunts dangerous and deserted places like catacombs, swamps and bogs with traps that can kill the unwary ({{Pit Trap}}s, QuicksandSucks, etc.). When a victim is killed by one of these hazards the Will-O-Wisp feeds on their LifeEnergy.

** Will-o'-wisps are aberrations resembling floating spongy orbs that glow with eery light, but can selectively dim and modify their illumination to take on a number of forms -- winged humanoids, floating skulls, and so on. They live in lonely bogs, moors and forests, usually alone but rarely in groups called strings or chandeliers, and lure travelers into the wilderness to feed on their fear and life energy when they die. Although they aren't fey, they're fairly common in the First World where the true fey live. In addition to common will-o'-wisps, there's also a large number of variants and related creatures:

*** Voidgluttons are stronger relatives to will-o'-wisps and flickerwisps, and take the form of glowing, disembodied eyes and claws swirling around a seething black core. Their preferred haunts are sites of great misery, such as graveyards, prison camps and battlefields.

*** Will-o'-the-deeps live over seas and occasionally large lakes. They tend to live in groups, and use their collective light to create beautiful vistas and beacons that they use to lure ships into reefs and away from safe waters.

** Lampads, nymphs who live in cavern systems, can create glowing wisps of magical light, which they use to guid lost travelers to safety and to lure monsters to their doom.

* ''VideoGame/EvilIslands'': Willow-o'the-Wisps are enemies that appear in the first island (especially around the swamp areas and around the City of the Dead) as a group of lights that start burning when attacking. They throw fire at you, an attack which isn't very damaging at later stages, but makes them quite a threat when first encountered.

** It is also learned by the Litwick line, which take the shape of animated candles (Litwick itself), lamps (Lampent) or candelabra (Chandelure) lit with a ghostly blue flames, which they use to mesmerize people and consume their souls.

* ''VideoGame/RecettearAnItemShopsTale'': Will-'o-Wisps spawn when you spend [[StalkedByTheBell too much time on a dungeon floor]], The first time you see one, Tear recommends outright that you drop whatever you're doing and make tracks for the level exit. Most of the time, Wisps are not worth fighting due to lack of reward except they are the only enemies to drop Salamander Scales which are needed to make high level items. Since you need a) ''28'' Salamander Scales total to make all possible items once each and b) the drop rate of them is 1:50, you will have to kill a '''lot''' of these very dangerous enemies if you aim for HundredPercentCompletion of the item encyclopedia.

** ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'': Wisps are {{Nature Spirit}}s that act as the WorkerUnit for the [[OurElvesAreDifferent Night Elves]]. Their duties include mining gold from entangled mines, harvesting lumber without killing trees, creating buildings or being consumed to make [[WhenTreesAttack Ancients]]. They also have the Detonate ability that [[ActionBomb blows the wisp up]] to [[ManaDrain drain mana]], damage [[SummonMagic summoned]] units and dispel [[StatusBuff buffs]].\\

* In ''Roleplay/TheGamersAlliance'', wisps are semi-sentient balls of light which are attracted to anything which oozes with mana, whether it's a place of power or a creature. They live by leeching magic from their target and are thus desired by mages who wish to channel the magic within them.
* In "If You See Ghost Lights, Don't Leave the Trail", a CreepyPasta, the narrator describes his run-in with them. His friend, a folklore buff, states that sometimes they lead to a body, sometimes to treasure, and sometimes to the persuer's death. Subverted, however, because they turn out to be the GlowingEyelightsOfUndeath of a group of ghostly murdered factory workers.

* In ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'', Ermac (who is a being made of [[MergerOfSouls thousands of souls shoved into one body]]) has green lights similar to these orbiting him in his [[SoulPower Master Of Souls]] [[StanceSystem variation.]] He can use them as projectiles to temporarily paralyze the opponent.

See HitodamaLight for ghostly lights of Japanese folklore, FauxFlame for a supernatural illusion of fire conjured up by someone, and SparkFairy for fairies or magical insects depicted as a point of light. SupernaturalLight is the SuperTrope. %%How is TreacherousSpiritChase similar?

* ''VideoGame/{{Temtem}}'': Aohi is wreathed in blue flames, and has a trait called Ignis Fatuus, which is the Latin name for will-o'-the-wisps.

* ''Anime/PumpkinScissors'': Invoked. The [[SuperSoldier 901st]] used BottledHeroicResolve in the form of a special kind of lamp oil that burns at a specific frequency of blue light that drove them AxCrazy. At a distance, at night, this looked like Will O' the Whisps, and a legend sprang up around them that they were evil ghosts "guided by the Will-of-the-Wisp."

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[[ALightInTheDistance A spectral light is spotted]] upon the misty moors one night. If by chance there are travelers who are lost, the Will-o'-the-Wisp's light is an alluring sight, but a savvy traveler knows that the light of the Wisp may only lead them further astray. The light itself is supposed to resemble a flickering flame. The explanation for the lights is that the areas where the flames were often seen were bogs, and the flames were the result of methane combustion in the air.

* In ''Literature/TheBartimaeusTrilogy'' books, Will-o'-the-wisps are small spirits that are described as "struggling to keep up with the times." Visible as flickering flames on the first plane, they were once employed to lure travelers to their death in pits or quags, but with the invention of cities, were employed to lurk over manhole covers, to rather less effect.
* In the English folktale "Literature/TheBuriedMoon," the Moon is captured by evil creatures while WalkingTheEarth (long story), and buried under a great stone at the foot of a twisted tree, with a will o' the wisp keeping watch to make sure she doesn't escape. Naturally, after a time, a local wise woman has a vision of "a coffin, a cross, and a candle," and sends a few brave souls out to search for those signs, and find where the Moon is hidden.

* In ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' when Sam and Frodo are being guided across the Dead Marshes by Gollum he warns them not look at them. His term for them is "corpse candles."