Corpse Candle
The legends detailing corpse candles or corpse lights hark back to Ireland and Wales in the 18th century. Most of the stories describe strange lights flickering over the home of a person about to die or taking the path of a funeral procession to a space where a grave is yet to be dug. Often times the viewer of the lights is said to be soon to pass away.
In rural Wales there are many legends and folk tales involving the strange lights. Witnesses described the lights following a straight line, taking a direct route from the home of the person to the site where they would be buried, passing through obstacles on the way. The lights are sometimes reported to travel long distances over rough terrain, not bothering with established roadways.
Some accounts detailed how different colours and sizes of the lights were dictating who was about to die:
- A large red light suggested an adult male
- A large white light suggested an adult woman
- Small blue lights suggested out a young child or youth
- Intense blue lights suggested an infant
- Two white orbs of varying sizes floating together suggested a pregnant woman and her unborn child
One particularly well known tale of corpse lights is the story of three men who were tossed from their boat in rough conditions and drowned near Llandelio in Wales. Passersby on horseback reported seeing three strange lights hovering over the river before they were made aware of what had happened to the men.
Paranormal Explanations
Corpse candles are similar to a number of other phenomena that are not well understood. They sound similar in appearance to ball lightning - electrical charges that emerge in a ball form and are able to float around for several minutes before discharging and disappearing. Their behavior conjures thoughts of residual hauntings - hauntings that seem to be imprints of events that happened in the past that replay over and over again. The obvious problem with this being that the events are from the future rather than the past. Einstein’s theory of relativity suggests that time is much less linear and rigid than we perceive it to be. Perhaps the spirits of the dead are able to travel back in time, appearing as orbs, to view the path of their funeral procession before it happens.
Scientific Explanations
There are a number of more mundane potential explanations for Corpse Candles. One could be a build up of static electricity that discharges in the dark and is coincidentally seen by someone who is soon to die. Another is that barn owls with some bioluminescent properties to their feathers are seen from a distance. Another still is that the witnesses are simply seeing swamp gas - gases from underground being escaping with that self ignite and burn in brilliant colors. Perhaps the least satisfying potential explanation of all is that the accounts are simply made up or embellished beyond recognition.
It is still undetermined what causes these lights and if they are in fact related to the deaths of people surrounding them. Make note if you see strange lights outside. You never know if they’re here for you.
