History Main / WillOTheWisp

* In Brazilian folklore, will o' wisps were said to be the Boitatá, an enormous fire serpent that [[GreenAesop went after hunters and loggers]]. Similar to a basilisk, its blinding brightness could [[BrownNote drive people insane or cause death]]. Oddly enough, it could also try to crush people by turning into a burning tree trunk and in the state of Santa Catarina it was depicted as a cyclopean bull instead.

* ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasyRoleplay'': Marshlights are [[TheUndead ethereal undead]] that cannot physically harm their victims, instead they mesmerise them and lead them into danger. They are impossible to harm unless hit with a magical weapon which banishes them in a single hit. There is also the Marsh Lights spell that allows a caster to create a number of lights within 100 yards of themselves and then send them off in any desired direction.

* ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasyRoleplay'': Marshlights are ethereal {{undead}} that cannot physically harm their victims, instead they mesmerise them and lead them into danger. They are impossible to harm unless hit with a magical weapon which banishes them in a single hit. There is also the Marsh Lights spell that allows a caster to create a number of lights within 100 yards of themselves and then send them off in any desired direction.

* ''VideoGame/DiabloII'': The Willowisp monsters are ethereal {{Undead}} that are transparent until they use their lightning attack. They shoot incredibly fast, come in packs that will focus fire on one character, and are some of the most prominent DemonicSpiders in the game.

[[folder: Anime and Manga]]

* In ''Fanfic/TheMeaningOfHarmony'' the group runs into several Will-o'-Wisps in the Hayseed Swamps, the first of which nearly manages to kill them by luring them into the swamp.
* In ''Fanfic/ThePowerOfTheEquinox'', there lives in the Everfree Forest a fiery fae that [[GigglingVillain giggles a lot]] and loves enchanting whatever creatures it can, leading them to Ghastly Gorge, and causing them to fall to their death. When it enchants [[spoiler:Scootaloo]], its flames glow blue (though it shows itself to be capable of changing colors), as do the victim's eyes. Fortunately, [[spoiler:Scootaloo]] is [[BigDamnHeroes saved at the last minute]] by [[spoiler:Zecora]] who proceeds to destroy the dark fairy by [[spoiler:throwing at it salt and wrought iron shavings, causing it to change colors in agony before exploding in flames]].

** 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 are also a large number of variants and related creatures:

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

* ''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 superstitious; he soon causes the raft to capsize.

*** Dune candles inhabit the depths of the desert. Their glow burns with true fire, and they especially enjoy setting victims aflame.

** 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. In addition to common will-o'-wisps, there are also a large number of variants and related creatures:

** The Lantern King, one of the Eldest of the fey, resembles a floating orb of light crowned with arcane symbols, endlessly wandering the roads and paths of the First World. He is speculated to be the father of will-o-wisps, though he laughs off all inquiries on the subject without answer.

** 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 "chandeliers", and lure travelers into the wilderness to feed on their fear and life energy when they die. In addition to common will-o'-wisps, there are also a large number of variants and related creatures:

** Will-o'-wisps are aberrations resembling floating balls of light, which can modify their appearance to take on a number of forms -- winged humanoids, floating skulls, and so on. They lure travelers into the wilderness and feed on their fear and life energy when they die.
** Flickerwsips are lesser relatives of will-o'-wisps that resemble three-foot-long clumps of trailing hair that pulse with flickering yellow light. They have similar habits to will-o'-wisps, but feed on confusion and doubt instead of fear, especially the unease of lost travelers.
** 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’-wisps are aberrations resembling floating balls of light, which can modify their appearance to take on a number of forms -- winged humanoids, floating skulls, and so on. They lure travelers into the wilderness and feed on their life energy when they die.
** The empyreal lord Ashava is a benevolent version of this. Her true form is a hazy sphere of silvery moonlight, and she entices others to follow her so as to lead them home (if they're living) or to the afterlife (if they're dead). Conversely, she despises true will-o’-wisps due to them deliberately leading people astray and encouraging fear of the wilderness and the night.

* ''WesternAnimation/WilloTheWisp'' was also the title of a British cartoon; the stories of various creatures in an enchanted forest whose adventures were narrated by Willow the Wisp, a ghostly creature voiced by and [[InkSuitActor caricature of]] Creator/KennethWilliams.

** [[https://scryfall.com/card/a25/115/will-o-the-wisp Will-o'-the-Wisp]] is a Spirit creature that doesn't do much beyond fly, but it's Black -- the color associated with swamps, and its card indeed shows the wisps drifting in a dark mire -- and its flavor text references will-o-the-wisp myths of various sorts. Its original text consist of lines from ''Literature/TheRimeOfTheAncientMariner'' desiring ghost-fires on the sea, while its modern one references an in-universe myth of the ghost of a deceased woman wandering the moors at night with a lantern in hand, trying to find her lost brother and dooming the living who meet her to join in her endless search.

* ''TableTopGame/YuGiOh'':
** In mythology, Will-o'-the-wisps are considered to be ghostly lights that lure travelers to their doom. "Umbral Horror Will-o'-the-Wisp"'s art and effect in reference that.
** There's also Evilswarm Obliviwisp, whose name was originally Vers O-Wisp, obviously paying tribute to the will-o-wisp. In practice, it's the EvilCounterpart of a fire elemental.

** ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'': Wisps are {{Nature Spirit}}s that act as the WorkerUnit for the [[OurElvesAreBetter 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]].\\

* Invoked in ''Anime/PumpkinScissors.'' 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."

* In mythology, Will-o'-the-wisps are considered to be ghostly lights that lure travelers to their doom. "Umbral Horror Will-o'-the-Wisp"'s art and effect in ''TableTopGame/YuGiOh'' reference that.

[[folder:ComicBooks]]
* Creator/MarvelComics has a villain named Will o'the Wisp, who most often fights ComicBook/SpiderMan. He can control his density and hypnotize targets.
* In the ''Comicbook/JohanAndPeewit'' adventure "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 superstitious; he soon causes the raft to capsize.

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]

* ''Literature/HarryPotter'' has a creature called the Hinkypunk that floats around bogs and marshes and glows. In ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban Prisoner of Azkaban]]'' Professor Lupin tells the third year Defense Against the Dark Arts class that they ''“[Lure] travelers into bogs. You notice the lantern dangling from his hand? Hops ahead -people follow the light— and then...”'' "Hinkypunk" is the name for a will o' the wisp in the West Country region of England, where Creator/JKRowling grew up.

* 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.
* ''Will o' the Wisp'' is the name of the main phantom ship in ''Literature/TheNauticalBalladOfBenBoBohns''.

* The Wisps from ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'' also appear in the first episode of Season 5 of ''Series/OnceUponATime''. Merida needs one to find her brothers; Emma needs one to find Merlin.

* Manuel de Falla included a song about it, titled "Canción de Fuego Fatuo," in the ballet ''El Amor Brujo''.
** Music/MilesDavis's version of this tune on ''Music/SketchesOfSpain'' is titled "Will o' the Wisp."
* An Opeth song also has this title.

* Venus of ''VisualNovel/WeKnowTheDevil'' sometimes sees these in the distance. It is a character tic that hints towards [[spoiler: her element, and the nature she takes on when possessed.]]
* Several enemies in ''VideoGame/ArcanumOfSteamworksAndMagickObscura'' are glowing balls of light found in swampy terrain.
* The [[http://classic.battle.net/diablo2exp/monsters/act3-willowisp.shtml Willowisp]] monsters from ''VideoGame/DiabloII'' are ethereal {{undead}} that are transparent until they use their lightning attack. They shoot incredibly fast, come in packs that will focus fire on one character, and are some of the most prominent DemonicSpiders in the game.
--> Created from the vapors that rise from the dense jungle swamps, these mindless forms seek out the energy contained in all living things. While not evil in nature, their feeding habits do make them a serious threat to adventurers.
* Wisps in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' are [[OurDemonsAreDifferent demons]] who lost their power by being in the physical world without a host for too long or by being destroyed, often by other demons. What remains of its mind clings to a hatred of all living things. Wisps mindlessly attack in [[SpiritWorld the Fade]] while in the physical world, they pose as light sources such as lanterns to lead the living into dangerous areas. The Spell Wisp is a spell from the Creation tree summons a wisp that grants a small bonus to spellpower while maintained.
* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''

* Will-'o-Wisps spawn in ''VideoGame/RecettearAnItemShopsTale'' 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.

* The "Late Night" ExpansionPack for ''VideoGame/TheSims3'' adds wisps that can be [[BugCatching caught like butterflies]] and are quite valuable.
* ''{{VideoGame/Warcraft}}''

* 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.
* ''[[VideoGame/NexusWar Nexus Clash]]'' has them as some of the low-level minions of the [[OurLichesAreDifferent Lich]]. They're not very effective in combat but they're cheap, can heal their masters with LifeDrain, and their ghostly nature means that even invisible characters can't hide from them.
* 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/AncientEmpires'' has Wisps as a type of unit. They appear as bluish balls of light that increase the attack of nearby allied units. Their attack does increased damage to skeletons, but their base attack is still too weak for this to be effective.

* In the CreepyPasta "If You See Ghost Lights, Don't Leave the Trail," 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 the "[[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSiegeOfTheNorthPart2 The Siege of The North Part 2]]" episode of ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' after being transported to the spirit world, Aang runs through a swampy region chasing a mysterious small light sphere. When he climbed up a tree and grabbed it, it made the tree branch dissolve.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'', the Corpselight, or will o' wisp, is a mysterious magical being that looks like a wisp, floating about two metres above ground in desolate areas. They are solitary and malevolent, draining their victim's essence in a way similar to Vampires.

* The Marshlight creatures of ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasyRoleplay'' are ethereal {{undead}} that cannot physically harm their victims, instead they mesmerise them and lead them into danger. They are impossible to harm unless hit with a magical weapon which banishes them in a single hit. There is also the Marsh Lights spell that allows a caster to create a number of lights within 100 yards of themselves and then send them off in any desired direction.