Will O the Wisp

Few mythical "creatures", if you can call this one, share the kind of worldwide mythology that the will-o'-the-wisp has. In different cultures around the world, this unexplained phenomenon is known by different names and descriptions, but there are a few similarities that seem to appear in all versions of the folklore.

The most common encounters with will-o'-the-wisps occur in marshes and swampland. Travelers will see a faint but definite flame-like light in the distance. It seems to be flickering in and out of sight. Those who approach the light notice consistently that it appears to move away from them, but if they turn around and walk away, it appears to follow them. It is believed that the light wants you to follow it, but folklorists disagree as to whether it wants to help you find your way or lead you to your death.

Will-O'-The-Wisp by Gods-and-Monsters.com

Scientists have long suspected that these lights were simply marsh gas igniting. Small photon emissions (lights) can indeed be replicated by combining chemicals and gasses found in marshes and rotting compost.

In J.G. Owens "Journal of American Folklore", the author makes a striking point in response:

"This is a name that is sometimes applied to a phenomenon perhaps more frequently called Jack-o'-the-Lantern, or Will-o'-the-Wisp. It seems to be a ball of fire, varying in size from that of a candle-flame to that of a man's head. It is generally observed in damp, marshy places, moving to and fro; but it has been known to stand perfectly still and send off scintillations. As you approach it, it will move on, keeping just beyond your reach; if you retire, it will follow you. That these fireballs do occur, and that they will repeat your motion, seems to be established, but no satisfactory explanation has yet been offered that I have heard. Those who are less superstitious say that it is the ignition of the gases rising from the marsh. But how a light produced from burning gas could have the form described and move as described, advancing as you advance, receding as you recede, and at other times remaining stationary, without having any visible connection with the earth, is not clear to me."

Again, explanations as to what will-o'-the-wisps really are depend highly on the context and location of the sighting. Some cultures believe they are ghost lights, some say they are fairies, and some have different takes altogether. They all, however, share the theory that these are spirits or creatures that intend to guide travelers in a certain direction.

The optimistic view is that following a will-o'-the-wisp will lead to great treasure, much like chasing a leprechaun, but seemingly easier. The more common, and seemingly more realistic take is that these are the ghosts of the dead, not allowed in either Heaven or Hell, wandering eternally and leading travelers astray to do them harm.

Several folktales support this theory, stating that the light one sees is a single piece of burning coal from Heaven or a burning ember from Hell - both consolation prizes for trying, but failing, to get in. The name jack-o'-lantern or jack-o'-the-lantern comes from this same myth, where the burning ember is placed in a turnip or pumpkin. This is where the tradition of guiding others to your home by lighting a candle inside a pumpkin on Halloween night comes from.

story from
http://www.gods-and-monsters.com/will-o-the-wisp.html

The legend around The Crying Boy painting.

The stories began around 1985, when several mysterious fires occurred all around England. When the debris was sifted through the only item that remained uncharred was a painting of a little boy with a tear rolling down his cheek in every fire.

Background: Bruno Amadio an italian painter was in Spain when he noticed a boy crying, he then asked him what's wrong, the boy continued crying and didn't talk. Bruno took him to the his apartment, the boy didn't stop crying. Bruno found out about the boy from his nieghbours that the boy had saw his parents being burnt during a fire at thier home, the boy's name is Don Bonillo. Noone wanted to do anything with the boy, because he is know whereever he goes a fire would start for no reason.

He drew around 27 portraits of the boy, all of them sold. Bruno became rich and living luxuriously.
Bruno had gone for a trip and on arrival he saw that his apartment which was also his studio was burnt to the grown, all his painting were ruined, he blamed Don, Don ran away and wasnt seen again.

In 1976, barcelona had witnessed one of the most awful car crashs. After the car crashed, it was on fire, the body couldn't be identified, but in the glove compartment was a license which was partly burnied. It was Don, 19 years old.

Shortly after this incident there were mysterious fires all over england, the fires have turned everything into a rubble expect the portraits of the crying boy.

In 1988, a mysterious explosion destroyed the home of the Amos family in Heswall, England. When firemen sifted through the burnt-out shell of the house, they found a framed picture, entitled ‘The Crying Boy’, which was a portrait of an angelic-looking boy with a sorrowful expression and a tear rolling down his cheek. But the picture was not even singed by the blaze.

Not long afterwards in Bradford, there was another blaze, and again a picture of the crying child was found intact among the smoldering ruins. The head of the Yorkshire Fire Brigade told the national newspapers that pictures of the weird Crying Boy were frequently found intact in the rubble of houses. Journalists asked him if he thought that the picture was evil and could somehow start the fires, but the fire-chief refused to comment.

There have been reports of the crying boy painting being found in charred homes untouched since 1985 and as recent as 1988.

Strange Glimpse of the future, Time Slip?

In 1932, German newspaper reporter J. Bernard Hutton and his colleague, photographer Joachim Brandt, were assigned to do a story on the Hamburg-Altona shipyards.

After being given a tour by a shipyard executive, the two newspapermen were leaving when they heard the drone of overhead aircraft. They at first thought is was a practice drill, but that notion was quickly dispelled when bombs began exploding all around and the roar of anti-aircraft gunfire filled the air. The sky quickly darkened and they were in the middle of a full-blown air raid. They quickly got in their car and drove away from the shipyard back toward Hamburg.

As they left the area, however, the sky seemed to brighten and they again found themselves in the light of a calm, ordinary late afternoon. They looked back at the shipyards, and there was no destruction, no bomb-induced inferno they had just left, no aircraft in the sky.

The photos Brandt had taken during the attack showed nothing unusual.

It wasn't until 1943 that the British Royal Air Force attacked and destroyed the shipyard - just as Hutton and Brandt had experienced it 11 years earlier.

(photo: taken Jan. 30-31 1943)

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The Gordon Mountain Ghost

ESP explores the Gordon Mountain Ghost in Gordon PA. A murder in 1925 led to an 86 year old legend, about a woman that still searches for her murderer. Get Kerri's initial feelings, to events of the actual murder. Then we do a paranormal investigation of the area to see if the woman still roams this mountain.
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http://mikem426.blogspot.com/