“In marshy and boggy places, a light is sometimes
seen to hover over the ground by night, appearing from a distance like a taper
gleaming from some cottage window. The light is caused by the lighting up of an
inflammable gas produced by decaying animal and vegetable matter in bogs,
marshes and stagnant pools. It is found that when damp soils are drained, the
Will-o'-the-Wisp disappears.”
|
Plate 25. 'The
Ignis Fatuus' from the collection of
the Science Museum Group, HERE. |
“Ignis
Fatuus”, “foolish fire”, “Jack-o’-Lantern”, “Will-o’-the-wisp”, or “corpse
candle”, “the hinkypunk”, “elf-fire”, “feu follet”, “irrlicht”1,
call it what you will, but all are names used to describe the same phenomenon; a
glowing orb of spectral light shining, always just out of your grasp, luring
you on, floating above the farthest reaches of a bog, swamp or fetid pool. If you try to touch it, you just might sink
into the muddy depths, never to be heard from, or seen again!
An excerpt from Knowledge, “The Ignis Fatuus”, page 47.
Ooooh…Spooky! But is it a real, natural phenomenon, or something
supernatural?
Ignis
fatuus is a phenomenon whose cause has perplexed scientists for centuries, and
even today scientists still don’t agree on exactly what causes it. Will-o’-the wisp, or ignis fatuus, has been
discussed scientifically since at least 1596, when Ludvig Lavater, wrote of
Ghostes and Spirites, in the chapter titled "That many naturall
things are taken to be ghoasts"
An excerpt from Knowledge, “The Ignis Fatuus”, page 47.
Ignis fatuus was often encountered at
night in burial grounds or churchyards, in swampy, boggy marshes, particularly those
that had been recently disturbed or dug into, or when it is raining.
A
challenge with understanding the phenomenon that causes ignis fatuus is that early
reports and research were inconsistent, with some stating that the flames were
cold and produced no heat, and others reporting that ignes fatui could light
slips of paper on fire and even explode!
While most early observers spoke of ignis fatuus as being a flame, some very
prominent researchers did not. As a
matter of fact, Sir Isaac Newton, in the
third book of his “Opticks”, thought that “Ignis Fatuus is a Vapour shining
without heat, and is there not the same difference between this Vapour and a
Flame, as between rotten Wood shining without heat and burning Coals of Fire?”
Compounding
the problem of understanding the cause of this strange occurrence, apparently during
the late 18th and early 19th centuries, will-o’-the-wisps,
or ignes fatui were more commonly seen than they
are today. Interestingly, researchers of
the late 19th and early 20th centuries thought that there
was a direct correlation between the decrease in sightings of ignes fatui and
the increase in the draining of swamplands to make more farmland; so, the fewer
and smaller the wetlands, the fewer and less often are will-o’-the-wisps seen.
“Many times candles & small fires appeare in
the night, and seeme to runne up and downe... Sometime these fires goe alone in
the night season, and put such as see them, as they travel by night, in great
feare. But these things, and many such lyke have their naturall causes...
Natural Philosophers write, that thicke exhilations aryse out of the earth, and
are kindled. Mynes full of sulphur and brimstone, if the aire enter unto it, as
it lyeth in the holes and veines of the earth, will kindle on fier, and strive
to get out.”
|
An excerpt from Of Ghostes
and Spirites, by Ludwig Lavater, 1596. |
So, what
could it be?
An Ignis Fatuus, or Will-o'-The-Whisp. As seen in Lincolnshire, 1820, from the collection of the Science Museum Group, HERE.
So just what could it be? Researchers and other observers of ignis
fatuus have at various times suggested everything from marsh gas, bio or chemiluminescence,
geologic or piezoelectric occurrences, ball lightning or even the supernatural
to explain will-o’-the-wisps,
or ignes fatui. Let’s talk about a couple of them.
 |
An excerpt from Knowledge, “The Ignis Fatuus”, page 48.
Take
a walk in a bog, swamp or marsh and you will see bubbles, floating to the
surface. You might even see an oily,
rainbow film floating on the surface of the water, like gasoline spilled on wet
pavement, this is naturally occurring liquid hydrocarbons. Marshes, bogs, and swamps contain large,
thick deposits of rotting plants and other organic materials, and as underwater
microorganisms decompose them, “marsh gas” is produced. Marsh gas is made up of three flammable gases,
methane (CH4), diphosphane (P2H4) and phosphine
(PH3)2.
Methane
is the primary component of marsh gas, and the “ignition theory” as the source
for the will-o’-the-wisp. But what
ignites the methane? Methane doesn’t spontaneously
ignite below temperatures of 999oF or 537ºC, so without an ignition
source how does the ignis fatuus form?
It
forms because as underwater microorganisms decompose phosphorus containing
proteins, phosphine and diphosphane gases are formed and produce a lovely
rotting fish smell. Phosphine gas can self-ignite
at temperatures above about 99o F or 37o C, but diphosphane gas, which is more unstable, ignites spontaneously
in air, at room temperatures of only 68o to 75o F, or 20o
to 24o C3. So as
these three hydrocarbon gases bubble to the surface and contact the air, due to
oxidation, the phosphine and more importantly the diphosphane gas ignite
spontaneously, creating the spark that ignites the flammable methane and voila,
a naturally formed ignis fatuus!
 |
An excerpt from “Ignis Fatuus”, by Fernando Sanford, page 365.
Cold flame, fox fire, glow sticks and fireflies are all example of
either bio or chemiluminescence. While
most observations of ignis fatuus seem to be describing some form of
combustion, apparently of marsh gas, others seem to be describing some type of bio or chemiluminescence. But what is bio or chemiluminescence, you ask?
Simply put, it is the emission of light
(luminescence) as the result of a chemical reaction, with or without any emission
of heat.
There are many things that exhibit bio or chemiluminescence, and the phosphine(PH3)
gas, in marsh gas, is one of them, and it might be able to explain the
sightings of cold flame. In 2008, researchers
Luigi Garaschelli and Paolo Boschetti, of the University of Pavia’s organic
chemistry department, writing in “On the track of the will-o'-the-wisp”, suggested
that phosphine’s natural chemiluminescence might be an explanation for the
strange sightings of ignis fatuus instead.
Phosphine according to these researchers could react with oxygen and
nitrogen in the air and although this puts out only a dim light, in the dark of
the night, in a dank, murky depths of a swamp it would be easily visible.
 |
A traditional Irish turnip Jack-o'-lantern from the early 20th century, at the Museum of Country Life, Ireland, from Wikimedia, HERE.
But maybe, hidden in all of the glimmers of burning marsh gas, lies a
supernatural origin for ignes fatui, or will-o’-the-wisps. Maybe Stingy Jack O’ The Lantern, truly
exists, lighting the way for, or leading astray travelers in the nighttime
swamps, in a never-ending cycle of Halloween trick or treat!
An excerpt from Irish Miscellany; “Jack O’ The Lantern”, November 27, 1858, page 247.
According to the law of parsimony (also known
as Occam's razor), the simplest solution is often the best, and while marsh gas is less interesting than a
supernatural origin, I believe that this is the simplest and best solution to
the problem of what causes ignis fatuus.
But, while it seems that self-igniting marsh
gases are behind the sightings, in the end, just like with the Mothman, the
truth of will-o’-the-wisp, or ignis fatuus may never be known. Anyways, Happy Halloween!
Don’t forget to come back next week and read about “Path-Pilot Compass
©”, where we will talk about a really cool piece of gear that unfortunately
they don’t make any longer.
I
hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and look for me
on YouTube at BandanaMan Productions for other related videos, HERE. Don’t forget to follow me on both The
Woodsman’s Journal Online, HERE,
and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube. If you have questions, as always, feel free
to leave a comment on either site. I
announce new articles on Facebook at Eric Reynolds, on Instagram at
bandanamanaproductions, and on VK at Eric Reynolds, so watch for me.
That
is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!
Notes
1
The plural of these are “ignes fatui”, “feux
follets” and “irlichter”.
2 Methane
used to be known as light carbureted hydrogen or light carburetted hydrogen and
also as “fire damp” and phosphine used to be known as phosphureted or
phosphuretted hydrogen.
3 Room
temperature scientific calculations, room temperature is taken to be roughly 68o
to 75o F or 20° to 23.5°C, with an average of 73°F, or about 21°C. From New World Encyclopedia, HERE.
Sources
Borrows, Peter; “Marsh gas, or hydrocarbons on the heath”, Education In
Chemistry, December 31, 2007, [© Royal Society of Chemistry 2022],
https://edu.rsc.org/opinion/marsh-gas-or-hydrocarbons-on-the-heath/2021054.article, accessed October 22, 2022
Chapman, Kit; “Phosphine”, April 12, 2017, Chemistry World, [© Royal
Society of Chemistry 2022], https://www.chemistryworld.com/podcasts/phosphine/3007120.article,
accessed October 22,2022
Irish Miscellany; “Jack
O’ The Lantern”, Volume 2, Number 42, Boston, November 27, 1858, page 246 to
247, https://www.google.com/books/edition/Irish_Miscellany/YIcyAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22forsaken+craythur%22&pg=RA1-PA246&printsec=frontcover,
accessed October 20, 2022
Jones, David; “Fire with no spark”, Chemistry World, April 23, 2014, [©
Royal Society of Chemistry 2022], https://www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/fire-with-no-spark/7288.article, accessed October 22, 2022.
Sanford,
Fernando; “Ignis Fatuus”, The Scientific Monthly, Volume 9,
Number 4, October 1919, pages 358 to 365, https://www.jstor.org/stable/6287#metadata_info_tab_contents,
accessed October 15, 2022
Science Museum Group Collection; Plate 25. 'The Ignis
Fatuus', by Josiah Wood Whymper, Phenomena of Nature, Published for the
Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, London, 1849, [© The Board of
Trustees of the Science Museum, London], https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co8033684/phenomena-of-nature-the-ignis-fatuus-book,
accessed October 15, 2022
Science Museum Group Collection; An Ignis Fatuus, or Will-o'-The-Whisp.
As seen in Lincolnshire, engraved by T. W. Cook after Pether. Published by R.N.
Rose, London, 1820. [© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum, London], https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co64526/engraving-an-ignis-fatuus-print, accessed October 15, 2022
Tomlinson, Charles; “The Ignis Fatuus”, Knowledge,
March 1, 183, London, page 46 to 48, https://archive.org/details/knowledgev140nov16londuoft,
accessed October 19, 2022
Wikimedia; A traditional Irish turnip Jack-o'-lantern from the early
20th century, at the Museum of Country Life, Ireland, by Rannpháirtí anaithnid,
July 21, 2009, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Traditional_Irish_halloween_Jack-o%27-lantern.jpg, accessed October 15, 2022
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