Will-o'-the-Wisp
/Do you see that floating light just off in the distance in the dark woods? It has many names - the jack-o-lantern, the Min Min lights, the Naga Fireballs, but it’s perhaps best known as the will-o-the-wisp: a mysterious, sometimes malevolent, sometimes benevolent spirit that can be found around the world!
Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of death, drowning, child death, animal death, abusive relationships, colonization, decapitation, and train accidents.
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Cast & Crew
- Co-Hosts: Julia Schifini and Amanda McLoughlin
- Editor: Bren Frederick
- Music: Brandon Grugle, based on "Danger Storm" by Kevin MacLeod
- Artwork: Allyson Wakeman
- Multitude: multitude.productions
About Us
Spirits is a boozy podcast about mythology, legends, and folklore. Every episode, co-hosts Julia and Amanda mix a drink and discuss a new story or character from a wide range of places, eras, and cultures. Learn brand-new stories and enjoy retellings of your favorite myths, served over ice every week, on Spirits.
Transcript
[theme]
AMANDA: Welcome to Spirits podcast, a boozy dive into mythology, legends, and folklore. Every week, we pour a drink and learn about a new story from around the world. I'm Amanda.
JULIA: And I'm Julia. And Amanda, I want you to take a moment and imagine you are wandering through the woods in the evening.
AMANDA: Okay.
JULIA: The sun having just gone down and the shadows of the woods become longer, darker, more ominous.
AMANDA: Uh-hmm.
JULIA: Now, Amanda, I know this is something that you would never actually do, but I want you to stick with me here, just, you know, playing the space with me.
AMANDA: Okay.
JULIA: As you're walking, as the woods become darker and darker, you see something. At first, you think it might be a fellow traveler who has a lantern or a light to guide their way, but as you stop to watch it move through the trees, you see not another human being, just the light hovering, bouncing even through the tree line beyond the path. And something about it, something deep within you, wonders perhaps. Maybe you should follow it. Maybe that's a good idea.
AMANDA: I'm wandering in the woods after dark, might as well make a second bad decision.
JULIA: But then Amanda, just as you feel that something pulling you towards the light, it vanishes just as soon as it appeared. But what was it, Amanda? Well, that would depend on where in the world you had seen this mysterious light. In Thailand, they might call it the Naga Fireball. In Norway, you might call it the Hessdalen light. In the Arabian desert, is known as Abu Fanous. If you spotted it in the Australian outback, you might refer to it as the Min light. But the United Kingdom probably has the most names for this, the Hinkypunk, the Friar's Lantern, or perhaps two of the most familiar names to us, Jack-o'-lantern, the Will-o'-the-Wisp.
AMANDA: Let's go, baby.
JULIA: So today, we are going to be talking about the Will-o'-the-wisp and the various forms that this phenomena takes across the world.
AMANDA: I am ready. Lots of people still have Jack-o-lanterns on their stoops, maybe some other, you know, pumpkins decorating their, you know, back decks or their front walkways. And I'm excited to learn more about where this light in the night comes from.
JULIA: I'm really excited. Let's dig into it. I love that this is a global phenomenon. My favorite types of roundups are ones where there's stories from around the world. And this particular one, I think is so fun and interesting because almost everyone, Amanda, has pretty much the same, if not, similar explanations for it.
AMANDA: Let's go.
JULIA: All right, so we will start off in England and expand outward from there since, at least for me, the Will-o'-the-Wisp is the name that I think of when I think of this phenomenon, of this sort of ghostly light that oftentimes people will see either on dark roads, or in forests, or on paths and stuff like that. Usually, it is, depending on the area, particularly colored. A lot of times, it'll be like a blue-white light. Sometimes that color changes—
AMANDA: Hmm.
JULIA: —as people view it, but I think that there's a lot of really interesting tales to talk about here.
AMANDA: And for any true heads who also enjoy the bisexual, supernatural, Canadian television show, Lost Girl, one of my very favorite episodes of that show has to do with Will-o'-the-wisp.
JULIA: Incredible. All right. So typically, from England come from areas where there are marshes and they feature men who are doomed to haunt those marshes for some sort of misdeed.
AMANDA: Now, Julia, note, it's not Ireland.
JULIA: It's not Ireland. We'll—
AMANDA: Because we know better.
JULIA: We'll get to Ireland, don't worry.
AMANDA: We know better than to hang out near bodies of water where you might drown.
JULIA: Hmm, well, we'll see. So perhaps one of the most famous stories comes from Shropshire and tells the story of a man named Will Smith, no relation.
AMANDA: Oh.
JULIA: Who had been a blacksmith and led a fairly wicked life, I would say.
AMANDA: Okay.
JULIA: Not a lot of details as to why the life was wicked, but just assume bad dude, right?
AMANDA: Oh, I thought you meant just like sinful but in a fun way, because I was gonna say, I bet blacksmiths fuck, you know? Like I—
JULIA: I bet blacksmith do fuck. Yeah.
AMANDA: If I had to choose a, like, you know, classical trade profession, I think that's the one I'd want to have a hook up with.
JULIA: I mean, that's why we think that Hephaestus is one of the hottest gods.
AMANDA: Yeah.
JULIA: Yeah.
AMANDA: Obviously.
JULIA: I get it. So, not a good dude. When he dies and stands before Saint Peter at the gates of heaven, because, of course—
AMANDA: Uh-huh.
JULIA: —Saint Peter, feeling generous in that moment, offers him up a second chance at life.
AMANDA: Oh.
JULIA: Basically, he's like, "I'm gonna send you back. Do better, and you'll get into heaven."
AMANDA: Okay.
JULIA: Will agrees, he gets sent back to his life. However, he doesn't change at all.
AMANDA: Oh, sure, he just says, "Running back, folks, that was fun."
JULIA: "Running back. We're gonna keep doing and we're gonna keep fucking. And so when he dies again, he is denied entry into the afterlife.
AMANDA: I mean, yeah.
JULIA: As such, he is doomed to wander the Earth where he comes across, of all people, the devil.
AMANDA: Uh-huh.
JULIA: —who provides him with a single burning coal in which to warm himself.
AMANDA: Okay.
JULIA: However, Will, again, did not learn any lesson from what happened to him at all. And so now, it said that he uses the light from that coal in order to lure travelers into marshes where he can drown them.
AMANDA: Okay, what if instead we had, like, a torrid sort of like love affair under the cover of Night in the Woods, then we both walked away?
JULIA: I mean, Amanda, that's— you know how everyone's super horny, I guess, or was super horny, but— and now is becoming horny again for Outlander because now it's on Netflix?
AMANDA: Yes.
JULIA: I think you could do a sort of, like, Outlander-esque story—
AMANDA: Yeah.
JULIA: —about Will from Will-o'-the-wisp.
AMANDA: Will but sexy and she's a butch, like transmasc person.
JULIA: Sure. I'm into it.
AMANDA: All right.
JULIA: I don't hate it.
AMANDA: New fantasy unlocked. Let's go.
JULIA: Great. In Devon and Cornwall, Amanda, it is referred to as the pixie light. They, in terms of the pixie light, will, much like the Will-o'-the-wisp, tend to lead travelers away from the safe trail through the bogs, attempting to get travelers either stuck or to drown them.
AMANDA: Uh-hmm.
JULIA: As one does. Interestingly, though, they are not just glowing lights, but are also sometimes able to make sounds as well.
AMANDA: Oh, really?
JULIA: Now, this becomes important when you know that the pixie light is also associated with a specific type of Cornish pixie called the Colt Pixie.
AMANDA: Man, Cornwall has their own fucking universe—
JULIA: Yeah.
AMANDA: —in there, Julia. That little bit of England, what looks like a boot, just like there is so much there. Not just their pasties, not just their architecture, but they have mythology that just like— it's like it was cut off from the rest of the world, like that island with all the weird lizards, and then it just, like, intensified.
JULIA: The Galapagos Islands?
AMANDA: Yeah.
JULIA: Okay, cool. Just making sure we're on the same page.
AMANDA: Is that what I said?
JULIA: Yep. Okay, cool. So the Colt Pixie will take the shape of a horse and will make neighing noises in order to lead horses-bearing travelers astray.
AMANDA: Oh.
JULIA: Which I think is really funny. I love this idea of, like, essentially a glowing spectral horse that just gives a little tiny whinny and then the other horses kind of follow him.
AMANDA: Yeah.
JULIA: From here, skirting over to Wales, the light is referred to as Faerie Faire, which is a pretty common secondary name for the Will-o'-the-wisp, I will say, and is the work of a creature called the Puca.
AMANDA: Nice.
JULIA: Now, much like the other spirits that we've mentioned so far, and much like a lot of the spirits that we're going to mention in this episode, it enjoys leading travelers off the beaten path, usually into a marsh or a bog, and then when they are well and truly lost, they will extinguish the fairy faire, leaving the traveler completely lost and in the dark.
AMANDA: Instead of high and dry, you're low and wet. Hate to be that.
JULIA: Hate to be that, hate to be the potential for bog butter. That's really the only thing I think of when you think of—
AMANDA: Oh.
JULIA: —bogs.
AMANDA: Yeah.
JULIA: Yeah.
AMANDA: Yeah.
JULIA: I want to try the bog butter.
AMANDA: Wow. That might be one of the craziest things I've ever heard on this podcast.
JULIA: I want to try the bog butter. I want to have it.
AMANDA: I'm good. I'm good without—
JULIA: No? You good? You pass?
AMANDA: Uh-uh. I'm fine.
JULIA: There's actually a specific story told about the Puca, which is told by Wirt Sikes, who is pretty well-known for his writings about Welsh folklore. So this story comes from his book called British Goblins, which is great title for a book.
AMANDA: Hell yeah.
JULIA: So essentially, one day, a peasant man was traveling home at dusk, only to see a bright light traveling along ahead of him on the road. Looking closer, he sees that the light is a lantern and that it is being held by a, "dusky little figure."
AMANDA: Hah.
JULIA: Hmm. Figuring he is a fellow traveler and unfamiliar with the road, the peasant decides that he is going to follow this lantern-holding figure for several miles.
AMANDA: Ah.
JULIA: But after those several miles and after he had sort of, like, let his guard down, I would say, he suddenly finds himself standing on the edge of a vast ravine with a roaring, rushing river far below.
AMANDA: Damn.
JULIA: And at that moment too, where he's like, "Oh, shit, I'm in a ravine," the lantern carrier leaps across the gap, which is far too wide for the peasant himself, just as the peasant reaches the edge. And as he lands on the other side, he lifts the lantern to his head to reveal a laughing, malicious face of a Puca. And as his laugh echoes across the ravine, the Puca blows out the light, leaving the poor peasant standing in the pitch-black, far from his home.
AMANDA: That's a badass legend, Julia. Like, just the rizz, okay, the perspective, the lead you astray, then leave you high and dry. Like, it's a classic for a reason. It's a really good one.
JULIA: It is. It's really tight. I really like these stories. And, you know, again, there's something inherently scary about thinking you know the way or thinking that—
AMANDA: Yeah.
JULIA: —there is a path or someone to follow, and then finding yourself absolutely stranded and in the dark. That is universally scary.
AMANDA: Uh-hmm.
JULIA: And I think that's why so many of these stories sort of repeat it over and over again, right?
AMANDA: Oh, yeah.
JULIA: In the Scottish Highlands, Amanda, this spirit is referred to as the Spunky, which I hate that name.
AMANDA: Oh, okay.
JULIA: It usually takes the form not of a floating light necessarily, but as a linkboy. Amanda, do you know about linkboys?
AMANDA: Uh-uh.
JULIA: So linkboys are essentially— they were usually younger boys who would carry a torch or a lantern and would lead pedestrians along paths for a fee.
AMANDA: Sure.
JULIA: Yeah. So essentially, you know those kids when you're, like, outside a theme park or something like that and it's a hot day and they have the coolers full of water bottles?
AMANDA: Yeah, yeah.
JULIA: It's like that, but it's nighttime and you don't know where you're going and you can't see the road and this guy's like, "I got a torch."
AMANDA: Yeah, it's quarter waters, but instead, it lets you not fall off the path and die.
JULIA: Yes. It's a 12-year-old being like, "I got light for a fee."
AMANDA: Yeah, yeah.
JULIA: Which I really like. So essentially, the spunky, again, hate that name, will begin leading travelers to their destination only for them to take off essentially. So the light will start receding into the distance no matter how fast the traveler attempts to follow it. Or otherwise, it might do, as many of the rest do, try to lead them astray off into their doom. They are really interesting because the Scottish folklore ties these lights to the spirits of the dead, which like some cultures do, but not necessarily all cultures do when talking—
AMANDA: Hmm.
JULIA: —about the Will-o'-the-wisp and its variations. What's interesting, too, is they would often appear usually around locks, which makes sense, as in the kind of lakes of the Scottish Highlands.
AMANDA: Yeah.
JULIA: But also they would often appear along roads where funeral processions would travel.
AMANDA: Oh, dang.
JULIA: So usually like through main streets or like on a road that would be from town to a burial site.
AMANDA: Yeah, wow.
JULIA: Also an interesting twist that I think is that the spunky was often blamed for nighttime shipwrecks. So essentially, they would appear on the coast and then ships would think that it was a harbor light only for them to run aground when they attempted to approach what they thought was a safe harbor but was really just cliffs.
AMANDA: Yeah. Man, that's scary.
JULIA: Very spooky, very spooky. And I like that that's a vaguely nautical light as well. I think that's—
AMANDA: Yeah.
JULIA: —a common one of like, "Oh, the ghost lighthouse or the ghost harbor light." And then you get your ships running aground.
AMANDA: Yeah, this is an extremely water-centered myth.
JULIA: There you go. All right, in Ireland, Amanda, because I knew you were going to mention Ireland, of course. It does go by both Will-o'-the-wisp, but also the Jack-o-Lantern.
AMANDA: Hmm.
JULIA: Probably much like the one you still have on your porch from carving for Halloween, right? So you might remember this tale. I think we talked about it in a Jack-o-Lantern episode in the past, but in this tale, a man named Stingy Jack. Sometimes known as Drunk Jack, but I like Stingy Jack better.
AMANDA: It's so Irish.
JULIA: As his name suggests, not beloved by his community.
AMANDA: Uh-uh.
JULIA: This man is approached by the devil in order to collect his soul. He says, "You suck, Stingy Jack. Give me that soul."
AMANDA: Yep.
JULIA: But Stingy Jack manages to trick the devil. Basically, he's like, "Okay, devil, you can have my soul, but I want to have one last drink. Can you transform yourself into a coin so that I can pay for one last drink and then I will come with you to hell?" And the devil says, "One last drink, all right. I'll transform into a coin." So Stingy Jack takes the coin, puts it in his pocket. The other thing he has in his pocket? A crucifix.
AMANDA: Oh.
JULIA: And so the crucifix prevents the devil from returning back to his true form.
AMANDA: And so Jack can just live the rest of his life, not have another drink and—
JULIA: No, no, no, no, no.
AMANDA: Oh.
JULIA: So the devil, pissed about being caught, makes a deal with Stingy Jack. He's like—
AMANDA: Ah.
JULIA: —"Listen, I'll give you 10 more years on this earth and then I will come back and collect my due." And so Jack's like, "Sounds great. Would love 10 more years."
AMANDA: Works out for me.
JULIA: So when the devil does return, Jack tricks him again. This man tricks him a second time.
AMANDA: At this point, you can call him Tricky Jack? Because he is dealin' and wheelin'.
JULIA: He is dealing and wheeling. So basically, I don't remember exactly why, but he tricks the devil into climbing up a tree.
AMANDA: Okay.
JULIA: And then he carves a cross into the base of the tree, and now the devil can't climb back down.
AMANDA: Excellent idea. Excellent idea.
JULIA: So the devil says, "All right, okay. Fuck this. Your debt is forgiven. I'm not collecting your soul." And Jack's like, "All right, fair enough. I'm gonna keep living my stingy life, gonna keep drinking. It's gonna be great."
AMANDA: Damn.
JULIA: Here's the thing, Amanda, eventually he does die.
AMANDA: Yeah.
JULIA: Jack, not a good guy, and even if the devil wasn't going to collect his soul and bring him to hell, he couldn't get into heaven either.
AMANDA: Yeah, I was just thinking to myself, not gonna get into heaven. That's for sure.
JULIA: Not gonna get into heaven.
AMANDA: Is the devil even gonna be like, "You're not welcome here, man It's not worth the hassle"?
JULIA: So he's left in limbo. He's like—
AMANDA: Ah.
JULIA: —"This sucks." He becomes so desperate to move on that he even goes back down to the devil in hell and is like, "Can I have a place here?" And the devil's like, "No! You suck! I don't want to see you every day." He does end up feeling a little bit of pity for him, though. And so he gives him an ember from the fires of hell to light his way through the world between the living and the dead, right?
AMANDA: I see.
JULIA: So this is when Jack takes a turnip. He carves it into a lantern and then he drops the ember in, which then lights his way. And so now, if you see a light traveling through the night, it may be Stingy Jack with his lantern, AKA the Jack-o'-lantern.
AMANDA: Julia, I'm taking this as gospel. I love this shit. That is—
JULIA: That's a good one.
AMANDA: —one of the best myths I've heard in a while.
JULIA: It's a good one. It's pretty great. Anytime someone's out there tricking the devil multiple times, just being a little, like, sassy bitch—
AMANDA: Yes.
JULIA: —love that for us.
AMANDA: I love that for us.
JULIA: Now, Amanda, this is not to say that the Will-o'-the-wisp and its various forms are always malicious or tricksters. There are stories in which they will come to the aid of travelers who have gotten lost, or will lead them back to the path, or out of the forest. There are also even some versions of the story where they are treasure guardians, leading adventurers towards a hidden prize as long as they are brave enough to follow. Which, you know, since it is kind of split, you do have to be brave to follow that light.
AMANDA: True.
JULIA: This is common as a trope in Ireland, but also Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
AMANDA: Hmm.
JULIA: So in these stories, the treasure can be found, like, either deep in the ground or in a body of water, and it can only be located when the Will-o'-the-wisp leads someone there, which I think is really interesting.
AMANDA: Yeah.
JULIA: There is a specific Finnish folklore that suggests that the best time to search for the wisps and their treasure is during the early autumn.
AMANDA: Hmm.
JULIA: Which I think is like honestly the perfect time to do a little hiking through the woods.
AMANDA: Oh, yeah. Gorgeous, slightly less light, you get some good twilight time.
JULIA: Uh-hmm. You have the glaze. Jake loves talking about the glaze of, like, autumn coming through and I'm like,
I don't really know what you mean, but it sounds so romantic that I can't tell you that it doesn't exist."
AMANDA: Uh-hmm. I agree, baby. I agree.
JULIA: There are, however, other tales, Amanda, that will say that the lights will appear on the summer solstice, basically like marking the exact place and time left by the spirit who had hidden the treasure in the first place.
AMANDA: Uh-hmm.
JULIA: So, like, the light is almost like either a marker for that spirit to come back to or a, like, reflection of a memory, like a marker of like, "This was here at this time in this place, and that's how you can get the treasure."
AMANDA: So cool.
JULIA: A lot of the European folklore around Will-o'-the-wisps say that the flames are also the spirits of unbaptized people.
AMANDA: Sure.
JULIA: Usually children, which is too sad and I don't want to dig into that too much.
AMANDA: Yep.
JULIA: But in Sweden, I really like this one, just connecting the sort of baptism aspect to it, it is said that Will-o'-the-wisps will attempt to lead travelers to water in hope that it might get them baptized and then avoid the wisp's own fate.
AMANDA: Aw.
JULIA: That's kind of cute. Kind of sad.
AMANDA: Yeah.
JULIA: But kind of cute.
AMANDA: It's like, "Dunk me, dunk me, dunk me."
JULIA: [20:06] dunk me." It's like, "You have to make sure that you got dunked, traveler."
AMANDA: Yeah. Aw.
JULIA: "Be sure, or else you might turn out like me."
AMANDA: Aw.
JULIA: It's a real Scared Straight situation, but with baptism. Al right, so Europe, as I implied earlier, is not the only area in the world that has a version of the Will-o'-the-wisp, but let's take a trip over to South America first.
AMANDA: Let's go. Vamos.
JULIA: So in Brazil, their version is known as the Boitata, whose name comes from a Tupi translation meaning fiery serpent.
AMANDA: Sick.
JULIA: It's so sick. I love a cool name like that. So as the story goes, and as the name implies, there is a huge serpent who had survived a great flood. If you revisit our Great Floods episode, you can hear a little bit more about that great flood, and who had eyes full of flames. Though, it was said that basically was nearly blind by day, but it could see perfectly in the dark.
AMANDA: Cool.
JULIA: I really like that as a, yes, because it's eyes are full of flames, hard to see during the day. when it's also kind of flame on, flame action happening there. If you can call this on a flame, sure. But at night, can see perfectly.
AMANDA: Cool.
JULIA: So what's interesting is the light of its eyes is basically what is being seen or Will-o'-the-wisp phenomenon here. It's seen by travelers at night, but it is said that it keeps the light ablaze in its eyes by eating the eyes of animals and corpses.
AMANDA: Oh.
JULIA: Like it is quite literally stealing the light from their eyes in order to feed the fire of its own.
AMANDA: That's so fucked up, I love it.
JULIA: Isn't that metal as hell?
AMANDA: Yeah.
JULIA: I love it. Okay. How about we go next to Columbia?
AMANDA: Okay.
JULIA: We have La Bola de Fuego, which is also sometimes known as the Candileja. So this is a spirit of a grandmother.
AMANDA: Oh.
JULIA: Now, Amanda, you're picturing probably your grandma in your head right now.
AMANDA: Yeah.
JULIA: This is not a nice little grandmother.
AMANDA: Oh, no. This is not Joyce?
JULIA: This is not Joyce. This is one who corrupted her grandchildren, raising them without morals. How dare she!
AMANDA: Bet she didn't even baptize them.
JULIA: So they ended up growing up to become murderers and thieves.
AMANDA: Okay.
JULIA: As a result of her bad influence, she was cursed in the afterlife to wander the world surrounded in flames and continues to try to corrupt those around her.
AMANDA: That's scary. You don't often get the evil grandma trope in folklore.
JULIA: I— very rarely, right? Like the grandma is good because we respect our elders in folklore.
AMANDA: Yes.
JULIA: But this grandma, not good.
AMANDA: Dang.
JULIA: I think Columbia also, like, has a little bit of a thing with this because the Bola Fuego is from a similar region as
El Silbón.
AMANDA: Oh.
JULIA: And there's just something about the, like, bad elderly person who then is punished for their crimes that they seem to enjoy.
AMANDA: It's like Girls Gone Wild, but Elders Gone Bad. I'm always saying this.
JULIA: You're right, Amanda. AI can never take our jobs.
AMANDA: Thank you, thank you.
JULIA: Okay, there is another version of this tale where she is essentially betrayed by her grandchildren and was burned alive in her own home by them, which is why she's constantly surrounded by flames in these stories.
AMANDA: Yikes.
JULIA: She will also appear in the form of a flashing lantern that will turn and shake violently from a distance. And if you were to come across her on a dark road, Amanda, you might be tempted to, I don't know, pray for deliverance, right?
AMANDA: I mean, probably.
JULIA: Apparently, though, bad idea. She is attracted to prayers and they will have no effect on her.
AMANDA: This is an evil granny. Wow.
JULIA: Yeah. That granny, she's scary.
AMANDA: Dang.
JULIA: In a somewhat similar vein in Central America and specifically in Mexico, the floating lights are sometimes said to be witches who had transformed into this light. And again, who are trying to attempt to lead travelers astray, very classic.
AMANDA: Uh-hmm.
JULIA: But there's a variety, Amanda, in Mexico that we see the Will-o'-the-wisps that are associated with treasure again, which I think—
AMANDA: Hmm.
JULIA: —is really cool. So they will essentially float in places where gold or hidden treasures have been buried. But the twist here is that they can only be found with the help of children.
AMANDA: Wow.
JULIA: So these lights are referred to as Luce del Dinero or Luce del Tesoro.
AMANDA: Hmm.
JULIA: And I want to give a quick shout out to our good friend Isabel Cáñas who features this myth. bit in the beginning of her book, The Vampires of El Norte. The two main characters as children are following one of these Luce del Dinero in order to find a hidden buried treasure.
AMANDA: So good.
JULIA: It's so cool. I love it so much. Okay.
AMANDA: Also, it's not uncommon to call kids like mi tesoro, like my little treasure, mi tesorito.
JULIA: Aw.
AMANDA: And so it's like an extra little fuck them up, you know?
JULIA: That's really cute. I actually really like that.
AMANDA: Yeah.
JULIA: That's some really good context, Amanda. Thank you for that.
AMANDA: Uh-hmm. Uh-hmm. Uh-hmm.
JULIA: That's amazing. Okay. We're going to head over to East Asia and Australia next and then finish off in North America. But before we fly away like wisps in the forest, let's grab our refill.
AMANDA: Let's do it.
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JULIA: Hey, this is Julia and welcome to the refill. Let’s start of course by thanking our new patrons who, a lot of you, took advantage of our Halloween Patreon Sale, so thank you so much to Michelle, Anna, RoseErrors, Meredith, Lyssa, Liar, Kristyn, Jill, and Emma. You join the ranks of our supporting producer-level patrons like Uhleeseeuh, Hannah, Scott, Anne, Matthew, Rikoelike, Lily, and Wil. And of course, our legend-level patrons, Audra, Bex, Chibi Yokai, Michael, Morgan H., Captain Jonathan MAL-uh-kye Cosmos, Sarah, and Bea Me Up Scotty. And hey, even though our sale has ended, you can still go over to patreon.com/spiritspodcast. You can try our seven-day free trial which gets you access to a bunch of cool rewards, like our bonus Urban Legends episode, our recipe cards, ad-free episodes, and so much more. That is over at patreon.com/spiritspodcast. Go check it out. I also want to tell you about another show here at Multitude that I love, and that is Pale Blue Pod. Pale Blue Pod is an astronomy podcast for people who are overwhelmed by the universe but want to be its friend. Astrophysicist Dr. Moiya McTier and her best friend ConStar demystify space one topic at a time with open eyes, open arms, and open mouths from so much laughing and jaw-dropping. And I think you’re gonna really love Moiya and ConStar's dynamic. They are wonderful, wonderful folks, and you can really tell. If you like the dynamic that Amanda and I have, you're gonna love their dynamic as well. By the end of each episode, the cosmos will feel a little less, "Aah, too scary," and a lot more, "Ooh, so cool." And they have new episodes every Monday. Go check it out, wherever you're listening to this podcast. This episode is sponsored is Blueland. And hey, with the holidays coming up, it's all about kind of creating a cozy, safe home for yourself, right? Whether that is for the holidays or even just going into winter and sort of feeling yourself nestle in and create your own space. That's super important to feel cozy and to feel safe in your home. But if you’re using laundry or dishwasher pods, then hidden microplastics could be sneaking into the place and the people that you care most about. That's why I've made the switch to Blueland across all of my cleaning products. Especially during the holidays when most of us spend more time cooking and hosting and cozying up indoors. Blueland products meet the highest standard of clean. They're effective yet gentle on people and the planet. In fact, Blueland was named an EPA Safer Choice Partner of the year. From cleaning sprays and toilet bowl cleaner to dishwasher and laundry detergent tablets. Blueland's formulas are 100% microplastic free. Made with certified clean ingredients, free from chlorine bleach and harsh chemicals that are safe to use around my family. You'll love not having to choose between the safe option and what actually gets your home cleaned. I've talked to you about already how much I love the toilet bowl cleaner. It is a bath bomb for your toilet, it's wonderful. But I also really like their hand soap, which is getting a festive around this time of year, with cozy scents like Wintery Pine, Toasted Vanilla, and Winterberry. It's also the perfect gift for your loved one or for yourself if you want to reduce waste. I really like the Wintery Pine smell. It is delicious-smelling. So to stock up on sustainable cleaning products for yourself or to give a beautiful, sustainable gift to your friends and family this holiday season, go to blueland.com/spirits and save up to 30% during Blueland's holiday sale. Don't wait, they only do this once a year. That's 30% off during Blueland's holidays sale by going to blueland.com/spirits. blueland.com/spirits for 30% off. And finally, we are sponsored by Uncommon Goods. Listen, the holiday sneak up but it's not too early to get your shopping done and actually have fun with it. Uncommon Goods makes holiday shopping stress-free and joyful with thousands of one-of-a-kind gifts that you can't find anywhere else. They look for products that are high-quality, unique, and often handmade, or made in the US. Many are crafted by independent artists and small businesses, and because they're made in small batches, the best finds can sell out fast. Now, straight up is very tough to shop for. I struggle every year trying to find her a gift. But while browsing Uncommon Goods, I found these really incredible little turtle bowls that, one, fit her aesthetic beautifully and also are extremely gorgeous. So I got those for her immediately and I'm really excited to give it to her during the holidays. And that's the best part because Uncommon Goods has something for everyone, for moms and dads to kids and teens, from book lovers, history buff and die-hard football fans, to foodies, mixologists and avid gardeners. You'll find thousands of new gift ideas that you won't be able to find anywhere else. When you shot at Uncommon Goods, you’re supporting artists and small, independent businesses. Many of their handcrafted products are made in small batches, so shop now before they sell out for the holiday season. And every purchase you make from Uncommon Goods, they give one dollar back to a non-profit of your choice, and they've donated more than three million dollars to date. So shop early, have fun, and cross some names off your list today. To get 15% off your next gift, go to uncommongoods.com/spirits. That's uncommongoods.com/spirits for 15% off. Don't miss out on this limited time offer. Uncommon Goods, we're all out of the ordinary.
AMANDA: We are sponsored this week by Soon To Be Mythical. Folks, pay attention, you're gonna love this one, okay? This is a conservation-driven apparel and accessories brand, featuring endangered animals and also some cryptids. Now, the endangered animals are perhaps soon to be mythical, right? We're trying to prevent them from becoming mythical by conserving the environment and conserving the species. And so when this brand reached out to us to sponsor the show, Julia and I said, "Holy crap, I don't think we've ever seen a brand that is more in line with Spirits." You can get a T-shirt with a beautiful logo that says, "Mermaids against microplastics." You can get a T-shirt with a yeti on it, holding up a sign against climate change. You can even get a beautiful, very soft jersey T-shirt with Mothman on it. It says, "Mothman: Endangered," and then, "Only appears before disasters." I just— I can't believe this is a thing. I'm so happy it's a thing, up to 25% of proceeds from the shirts that they sell and the accessories and things will be donated to non-profit organizations that assist with the conservation of endangered species and they print stuff on demand, which I love. There's not like, you know, hundreds of T-shirts and sweatshirts lying around in the warehouse. They make them as you order them. And they hope, actually, that the business is ultimately irrelevant because they help the animals become so common and thriving that wearing a T-shirt that says, "Soon To Be Mythical" makes no sense. So help them postpone the myth, okay? Visit postponethemyth.com and use the code SPIRITS10 to get 10% off your order. That's postponethemyth.com, code SPIRITS10 for 10% off. I love the stuff, I love my T-shirt. It is so smooth. It is so soft. Postponethemyth.com, SPIRITS10, 10% off.
JULIA: And now, let's get back to the show.
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JULIA: All right, Amanda, for this episode, I think a smoked cocktail would be perfect personally.
AMANDA: Uh-hmm.
JULIA: So I decided to do a variation of a Smoked Old-Fashioned, but rather than smoking the cocktail itself, what you're gonna be doing is you're gonna make a smoked cinnamon syrup.
AMANDA: Ooh.
JULIA: Luckily, that is pretty easy. You're gonna take one cup water, one cup white sugar, combine them in a pot, and then you are going to smoke some cinnamon sticks, about like two or three of them. You're going to light them on fire, you're gonna let them smoke for, like, 10 seconds or so, like really kind of let the, like, smoke permeate into it. And then you're gonna blow them out and then you're gonna drop them into that simple syrup mixture. And then you're gonna cover that, you're gonna let it simmer for about 10 minutes, and then you take it off heat. And then you'll strain those cinnamon sticks out. And then you're gonna combine that with a little bourbon, a little bit of an allspice dram, and then a few dashes of either, take your pick,
chocolate or black walnut bitters.
AMANDA: I think I'm gonna need to make this for my iced coffees today.
JULIA: Yeah. Smoked cinnamon syrup?
AMANDA: That sounds so good.
JULIA: That would be great for a coffee, actually.
AMANDA: Yeah. In cold brew. Ooh. Love it.
JULIA: Ooh. Yeah. Or even just a hot coffee. That would be really—
AMANDA: Uh-hmm.
JULIA: —nice on a hot coffee as well. But that is my Will-o'-the-wisp Old-Fashioned.
AMANDA: Hell yes, Julia. Excellent.
JULIA: As someone who used to have a lisp, and sometimes it still comes up every now and again, Will-o'-the-wisp, particularly wisp—
AMANDA: Yeah.
JULIA: —is a hard word to say.
AMANDA: Yeah, it's really— it's sibilant.
JULIA: Yes.
AMANDA: It has Julia winding through the sounds, much like the trail of a Will-o'-the-Wisp takes you winding through a forest.
JULIA: That's a beautiful image, I will say.
AMANDA: There you go.
JULIA: Beautiful image. Okay. Now, Amanda, there are a few notable Will-o'-the-Wisps variations that can be found throughout Asia. One of my personal favorites are the Naga fireballs on the Mekong River in Thailand. Now, these are really interesting, Amanda, because you can go see them. You can go see them because they actually happen annually.
AMANDA: No way.
JULIA: So usually, it happens in late October of every year, rather than it just being like a random occurrence, like the ones we've discussed so far.
AMANDA: Yeah.
JULIA: They are basically described as glowing reddish lights that range from the size of, like, small, little sparks to as big as the size of basketball.
AMANDA: Oh, my God.
JULIA: And what they do is they essentially rise out of the river and then they shoot up into the air, like hundreds of feet before disappearing.
AMANDA: Okay, pencil me in for next October, because that sounds incredible.
JULIA: Let's go to Thailand, baby! So they have been reported for hundreds of years and can vary between, like, tens of lights in one night to thousands in a single night.
AMANDA: Oh, my God.
JULIA: And so locals believe that the lights are tied to the Naga, as the name implies—
AMANDA: Uh-hmm.
JULIA: —because these are the Naga Fireballs, and the Naga is a, basically, serpentine, almost dragon-like spirit that is considered the patron of the river and they play a really important role in both fertility and rainfall throughout the year.
AMANDA: Cool. We've definitely touched on the Naga before in Spirits.
JULIA: Yes. And what's interesting is you can find Nagas throughout Asia. Sometimes they're like half-human, half-serpent, but the Thai Naga specifically is a serpentine figure and is so important in its appearance and cultural significance that it was actually declared the national symbol of Thailand in November 2022.
AMANDA: Damn.
JULIA: Which is pretty cool.
AMANDA: That is cool.
JULIA: I will say.
AMANDA: Thailand is fucking metal.
JULIA: Yeah, and they're gorgeous. So if you can find some artwork of a Thai Naga, they're very, very beautiful.
AMANDA: Hell yeah.
JULIA: Now, a different version of the story comes out of the Indian state of Gujarat, which are called Tirupati. Now, there are stories about Tirupati that date back centuries at this point. Now, this is basically, essentially a ghost light is what they consider it. It's interesting because this is the first someone— that we've talked about that changes color.
AMANDA: Hmm.
JULIA: So, apparently, it will shift between blue, red, and yellow and then back again to blue. And it resembles a glowing ball of fire, though sometimes it's referred to as pear-shaped, which I think it's really cute.
AMANDA: That is really cute.
JULIA: It is really cute.
AMANDA: Yeah.
JULIA: It is typically only seen on dark nights and it floats between about two to 10 feet off the ground.
AMANDA: Wow.
JULIA: So it can get up there, can get kind of high. And witnesses describe it as playing hide and seek with those who try to follow it, or that the light will sometimes even try to follow them at times.
AMANDA: Wow.
JULIA: And then, of course, in classic form, there are also stories that say if you follow it, it will lead you away from the road and into the thorny jungles beyond where it is often spotted.
AMANDA: Extremely charmed by the idea of this light playing hide and seek with you.
JULIA: I know, right? Isn't that like kinda sweet? And then you're like—
AMANDA: Yeah.
JULIA: —"Ooh, but I don't know if I want this thing following me."
AMANDA: Yeah.
JULIA: That seems scary and bad.
AMANDA: Yeah. So you wait for, like, 30 seconds until you're like, "Oh. Oh, wait. Oh, it's not stopping. Uh-oh."
JULIA: And then I also really wanted to mention the Abu Fanous which is a light that has appeared to many travelers making their way across the Arabian desert.
AMANDA: Uh-hmm.
JULIA: So it is said to typically appear just before dawn. Occasionally, it'll be at night as well, but typically within that dawn range is when it's most likely seen. And according to Arabic folklore of the region, it is a jin that lures travelers into remote regions of the desert and then will disappear, leaving them lost, stranded. and most likely to die.
AMANDA: Damn.
JULIA: Now, don't follow it, obviously, and you can avoid its influence by reciting specific prayers. It's kind of the opposite of the grandma from earlier.
AMANDA: Uh-hmm.
JULIA: Now, what is interesting is there is also a story of a more modern traveler. And when I say more modern, it involves a car.
AMANDA: Oh. That is quite modern.
JULIA: So this person while driving through the desert reported that the light had pursued him in his car, like managed to go as fast as the car was going.
AMANDA: Damn.
JULIA: And only disappeared once he arrived in the nearest city.
AMANDA: That's crazy.
JULIA: That is wild, right?
AMANDA: Yeah. Like, we think that the sort of like, you know, New Mexico, Nevada, sort of desert of the US is like unending. Talk about the Arabian desert, baby. Like—
JULIA: Yeah.
AMANDA: —on the best of circumstances, it is difficult to make your way, you know, between destinations safely.
JULIA: Absolutely. So another light that I think is worth mentioning comes from the outback of Australia, and these are known as the Min lights.
AMANDA: Hmm.
JULIA: Now, these stories about the lights predate the colonization of Australia, and it is referenced in several Aboriginal Australian cultural stories. Not always as the Min lights, but as this phenomena of a light that appears and then disappears.
AMANDA: Uh-hmm.
JULIA: So the majority of modern sightings have been reported in Channel Country in Queensland, Yunta in South Australia, and the Pyramid Station in Western Australia.
AMANDA: Hmm.
JULIA: Now, these lights tend to hover just above the horizon, and unlike some of the other lights, they tend to be described as disc-shaped rather than sort of round orbs.
AMANDA: Uh-hmm.
JULIA: They are usually described as fuzzy, as in like, you know, there's not a clear delineation of the lines.
AMANDA: Right.
JULIA: They are white in color, but sometimes much like the Tirupati, they will sometimes change color. So in this case, they will change from white to red to green, and then back to white again.
AMANDA: Damn.
JULIA: They will sometimes follow people or attempt to approach them, but will disappear if someone, for example, fires a gun at them.
AMANDA: Oh, sure, yeah. Talking about Western Australia.
JULIA: That's real Australian, yeah.
AMANDA: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
JULIA: They are said to move very fast at times, again, being able to keep pace with moving vehicles.
AMANDA: Dang.
JULIA: And somewhat frighteningly is that it is said that anyone who chases the light and catches it will never return to tell the tale.
AMANDA: Oh, no.
JULIA: These stories tend to be more of like the colonizer stories.
AMANDA: Uh-hmm.
JULIA: But in contrast, a lot of the Aboriginal stories say that they tend to guard or protect place that people shouldn't be. Whether that is because it's a dangerous area or because it is sacred, kind of depends on which region or which people are telling the story.
AMANDA: And make sense that if you get close enough to touch it, that's the final warning.
JULIA: Exactly. It's like, "I was telling you not to come over here. How about you leave now, please?"
AMANDA: Permanently.
JULIA: And then that silly person doesn't do that and then they disappear forever.
AMANDA: Yeah.
JULIA: Now, Amanda, there are quite a few ghost lights or Will-o'-the-Wisp variations that come out of the United States. And I think we have mentioned a few in previous episodes when discussing urban legends from across the United States. You might remember, for example, the Bragg Road Ghost Light of Texas, which is also sometimes known as the Light of Saratoga, and is said to be the spirit of a railroad worker who was decapitated in a railway accident. And now the light that you people see is the lantern that he uses to futilely search for his missing head.
AMANDA: Never will forget that one.
JULIA: What's wild, Amanda, is there are so many stories in the United States about ghost lights that are train death-related.
AMANDA: Julia, trains were very dangerous until extremely recently.
JULIA: And still are dangerous at times.
AMANDA: And still are.
JULIA: Yes. But it's— Amanda, like three-quarters of the light stories that come out of the United States have some sort of ghost train situation happening with them.
AMANDA: Is the ghost train the American well in which you can drown of Ireland?
JULIA: Maybe.
AMANDA: Does everybody know someone who got sadly injured or killed by a train?
JULIA: Yeah, maybe. I don't know.
AMANDA: Yoinks.
JULIA: So similarly train-related is the Maco light of Brunswick County, North Carolina, which has been spotted since the late 19th century along a specific section of the railroad track. Now, witnesses say that it resembles the glow of a railroad lantern and is tied to a story in which another conductor was decapitated as the result of a collision between two train cars.
AMANDA: I hate this.
JULIA: Amanda, this story was so well spread that it was said that even President Grover Cleveland had heard the story while he was traveling through North Carolina and passing through the town of Maco.
AMANDA: Obsessed with the idea of, like, kid or mom, or a railway worker being like, "Mr. President, this is my one shot. Got to tell you about the headless ghost."
JULIA: "It's wild that you're coming through here. Do you know our ghost story?"
AMANDA: And then somewhere Washington Irving goes, "Ooh, ooh.
JULIA: "Ooh, ooh."
AMANDA: "Ooh."
JULIA: Maybe it's just American's, Amanda, that are obsessed with beheadings. Maybe it isn't just Washington Irving's kink. Or maybe we all have it because of Washington Irving.
AMANDA: It's in the national consciousness, for sure.
JULIA: Yeah.
AMANDA: I think we have to keep kind of exploring this.
JULIA: Now, another super interesting one, there's a bunch, there's so many, Amanda, if I went into every decapitated train conductor, we would be here forever. But one super interesting one is the Paulding light of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Now, this is another one that we have mentioned on the show before because I believe a listener wrote in about it, but I think it's an important one to mention because it ends up being a logical explanation.
AMANDA: Uh-hmm.
JULIA: So the light was first recorded in 1966 when a group of teenagers reported it to the local police.
AMANDA: Let's go.
JULIA: That's so funny to me.
AMANDA: Yeah.
JULIA: It's truly so funny. They're like, "Sheriff, you'll never guess. There's a ghost light."
AMANDA: "We were kissing in the woods and this is what happened."
JULIA: So, Amanda, the story also involves the death of a railroad brakeman—
AMANDA: Damn.
JULIA: —who died attempting to stop an oncoming train from colliding with railway cars stopped on the tracks. And now he haunts the tracks forever. But the funny part— I guess not funny part, but the interesting part is those railroad tracks have since been ripped up. So now this railroad brakeman is just wandering around this basically dirt road in the middle of the Upper Peninsula.
AMANDA: Well, maybe the UP, like some parts of the Northeast, will end up turning old railway lines or clearings into, like, paths for biking, hiking, things like that.
JULIA: Uh-hmm.
AMANDA: In which case, this very confused rail conductor will be like, you don't have to do this. You could just take the train. You don't have to bike this whole way.
JULIA: They're like, "The train hasn't been here since 1966."
AMANDA: Yeah, yeah.
JULIA: So one reporter from the Detroit Free Press also claimed that there's another version of this legend where it is like a grandparent looking for a lost grandchild.
AMANDA: Oh.
JULIA: And that the light seems to appear and disappear because the lantern that he's holding needs relighting over and over again.
AMANDA: Aw, it just seems like a bad lantern.
JULIA: A nice grandparent, though.
AMANDA: Yeah.
JULIA: We got a nice grandparent this time.
AMANDA: I bet if you prayed, they'd be like, "Good for you, honey."
JULIA: Cool. Great.
AMANDA: Yeah.
JULIA: Now, Amanda, there have been two scientific studies to prove that this is not a spirit at all.
AMANDA: Oh.
JULIA: In 1990, a group of investigators used telescopic, spectroscopic, and travel time analysis to hypothesize that what they were actually seeing were car lights traveling on the highway just north of where the light is usually seen.
AMANDA: Did you say something that sounded like time travel in there?
JULIA: Travel time analysis.
AMANDA: Incredible. I love this. And yes, we did cover this on our very first Logical Explanations—
JULIA: Wow.
AMANDA: —Urban Legends episode.
JULIA: Uh-hmm. And then again, Amanda, in 2010, there was a bunch of students from Michigan Tech who were part of, I love this, the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers or SPIE.
AMANDA: SPIE.
JULIA: So they observed the light through a telescope and then were able to recreate the lights when weather patterns were correct. So specifically, they realized that when an inversion was happening, which an inversion is when there is a layer of warmer air that overlies cooler air. Basically, the light from the highway would be reflected off that inversion layer, and that's what caused these lights from the highway to look spectral and be visible on this path, even though the highway was four and a half miles away.
AMANDA: So cool.
JULIA: Isn't that so cool?
AMANDA: So weird. Science is crazy.
JULIA: Science is wild. It's so interesting to me, 100%. Now, you're probably asking yourself if you're listening to this podcast episode or if you're Amanda sitting across from me, why bring up a scientific explanation for this one light, right?
AMANDA: Why indeed.
JULIA: Well, that's because a lot of scientists have been trying to come up with logical explanations for a lot of the Will-o'-the-wisp stories. So, Amanda, it's wild because theorizing that the Will-o'-the-wisp had something to do with natural gases dates back to— do you want to guess a just ran— like guess century for me, Amanda.
AMANDA: I mean, probably 19th century, I guess 1800s.
JULIA: 1596.
AMANDA: No shit.
JULIA: With a man named Ludwig Lavater.
AMANDA: Whoa.
JULIA: Who mentioned this in his writing. And he wasn't wrong. So essentially modern scientists believe that it is most likely a mixture of phosphine, diphosphine, and methane.
AMANDA: Oh.
JULIA: So essentially the first two are known to spontaneously ignite when they come into contact with oxygen and that in turn ignites the methane, which burns and creates those flames in the air.
AMANDA: You still want to eat that bog butter, your little freak?
JULIA: I do. I still want to eat it. I still want to eat it.
AMANDA: Damn. Crazy.
JULIA: I want to eat the bog butter.
AMANDA: Crazy.
JULIA: There's also— there's a couple of different theories and they have tried a lot to sort of— there's been a lot of experimentation with gases to try to figure out what exactly it is. And it was a lot of experimentation where it's like, "We think it's these things." And then they would light it on fire and they'd be like, "Too much smoke. This can't possibly be it."
AMANDA: Sounds like a fun night at the lab, you know?
JULIA: Honestly, yeah. There is one theory as well that I personally enjoy, and you'll see why in a second, which is bioluminescence.
AMANDA: Hmm.
JULIA: So obviously there are a number of insects and microorganisms out there that have the ability to glow in the dark, fireflies, for example, but there are also, Amanda, several species of mushroom that during chemical reactions will basically create a glowing white rot that scientists believe could be mistaken for a Will-o'-the-wisp. Because essentially, these mushrooms will grow on trees—
AMANDA: Uh-hmm.
JULIA: —and will create this white rot that then is bioluminescent in the dark. And they think that like, that's what people are seeing. And as you move through, it kind of makes it seem like the light is moving itself.
AMANDA: Cool.
JULIA: Two interesting mushrooms do this. So honey fungus is one of them. Those tend to be like on the ground low lying, but can grow on trees and stuff like that. And then the other is the bitter oyster mushroom, which does grow on trees.
AMANDA: Love an oyster mushroom.
JULIA: Yeah.
AMANDA: What a weirdo.
JULIA: And there's like different varieties and strains of both of those types of fungus that can glow in the dark.
AMANDA: Awesome. It is also worth noting, Amanda, that there have been less and less sightings of Will-o'-the-wisps in our modern era. And the scientific reasoning behind this is the decrease of wilderness across the globe. So for example, if we're going to say like, "Oh, this is natural gases coming out of the ground because of, you know, decay and, you know, bogs and whatnot."
AMANDA: Now, that's someone's grandparent's subdivision in Florida.
JULIA: Exactly. So the draining of swamplands across the world to convert them into either farmland or residential neighborhoods has led to a decrease in Will-o'-the-wisps. So it is, like, kind of sad to think that in a lot of ways we are making the world a little less magical.
AMANDA: A bit. And though, Julia, I am happy to report that people are still getting into nature and getting into all kinds of freaky stuff. Just last week, we posted a bonus Urban Legends Episode on our Patreon, patreon.com/spirits podcast, with a first-person contemporary account from the woods of Appalachia, which didn't have to do with— I wouldn't say a new light as the absence of light.
JULIA: Hmm.
AMANDA: And that certainly got my brain thinking.
JULIA: Yeah. But I love these Will-o'-the-wisp stories. I love that there is such a through line to this idea of a phantom light that is here to lead you astray. But also there are some cute, nice stories about them as well. Sometimes they are benevolent, sometimes they're just hiding treasure out. And I think that it's kind of wonderful that this phenomena, we look at it and we're like, "All right, well, we have to explain that. There's no other reason why this would be happening."
AMANDA: Incredible. Well, folks, next time you are wandering through the wilderness and see an inviting light bobbing on the horizon, remember—
JULIA: Stay creepy.
AMANDA: Stay cool.
JULIA: Later, Satyrs.
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