Top 12 Ball Lightning Folklore From All Around World

5. The Fairy Lights of Celtic Tradition

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Sometimes connected in Celtic mythology—especially in Ireland and Scotland—ball lightning is associated with the magical kingdom of fairies and other supernatural entities. According to Celtic tradition, dark fairies or elves make these dazzling orbs—also known as "fairy lights," "pixie lights," or "elf fire—while they dance and play in the night. Said to be portals to the fairy world, the lights show up in meadows, forests, and at the borders of fairy rings—round patterns of mushrooms. Some stories have these orbs as lanterns carried by small fairy creatures engaged in their nighttime activities. Other tales, forms of fairy magic, consider the lights as markers of fairy land or luring tools for stupid humans into the fairy realm. Based on Celtic mythology—years or maybe centuries of imprisonment in the fairy realm—following these hypnotic lights might have terrible consequences. Still, not every interaction with fairy lights qualifies as risky. Certain stories say that persons with pure hearts who find these magical orbs could be given wishes or unique gifts from the fairy people. In Celtic tradition, the idea of fairy lights generally combines with other folklore themes, such the Will-o'-the-Wisp, to create a rich tapestry of supernatural ideas around the ball lightning occurrence. This surviving legacy reveals the strong link to the environment and belief in a world in which magic and reality mix among the Celtic people. A physical form of the enigmatic forces living in their legendary land is ball lightning.