Keraunography or keranography is the belief that

lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous release of an avera ...

, when striking an object (generally a human body), can leave markings which constitute a

photographic image A photograph (also known as a photo, image, or picture) is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor, such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are now create ...

of surrounding objects. It is generally considered a myth.

Origins

Like most

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

, it is impossible to trace the origins of keraunography. However, it seems to have attracted scientific and media attention in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in the early 19th century, and by

Victorian times In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardi ...

the term "keraunography" had been coined to describe numerous unconnected events. With increasing scientific understanding of

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as describ ...

and the popularity of

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employe ...

, the time was right in the 19th century for keraunography, which seems to combine both concepts, to enter the public consciousness. However, it is likely that anecdotal accounts of keraunography had existed long before there was a word for it.

Relationship to other myths

Lightning, being a dramatic and often-seen (yet mysterious and poorly understood) aspect of

nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...

, has since ancient times been the subject of mythology and folklore regarding its origins, effects, and various ways to ward it off. As mentioned previously, the 19th century were a breeding ground for myths about electricity and photography. Sympsychography, by which

brain waves Neural oscillations, or brainwaves, are rhythmic or repetitive patterns of neural activity in the central nervous system. Neural tissue can generate oscillation, oscillatory activity in many ways, driven either by mechanisms within individual ne ...

are used to produce a photographic image, was a deliberate joke, but no less taken as truth by members of the public. Also possibly related to keraunography is the mistaken belief that the last image a dying person sees is burned into their

retina The retina (from la, rete "net") is the innermost, light-sensitive layer of tissue of the eye of most vertebrates and some molluscs. The optics of the eye create a focused two-dimensional image of the visual world on the retina, which then ...

, like a photograph taken at the time of death.

Modern perception

Although to some degree science has still not fully explained all the behaviours of lightning, very few people currently accept keraunography as truth. It is evident that lightning strikes do indeed produce burn marks, and like any basically random shape (clouds, birthmarks, inkblots, etc.) it is

human nature Human nature is a concept that denotes the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting—that humans are said to have naturally. The term is often used to denote the essence of humankind, or ...

to see shapes in them. The lightning often leaves skin marks in characteristic Lichtenberg figures, sometimes called ''lightning flowers''; they may persist for hours or days, and are a useful indicator for medical examiners when trying to determine the cause of death. Although humans being struck by lightning is of course rare, it is nonetheless possible that over a wide period of time, certain cases of burn marks would exist which could be said to resemble objects nearby the point of the lightning strike. However, these cases are almost certainly the product of

coincidence A coincidence is a remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances that have no apparent causal connection with one another. The perception of remarkable coincidences may lead to supernatural, occult, or paranormal claims, or it may lead t ...

rather than evidence of any photographic property of lightning. No supposed case of keraunography has been investigated by modern

science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

, and unless further evidence is presented, it remains a strange object of 19th-century

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

folklore.

Sources

References

General sources

* {{cite news , last1=Pilkington , first1=Mark , title=Keranography , url=https://www.theguardian.com/life/farout/story/0,13028,1229755,00.html , access-date=8 June 2021 , work=the Guardian , date=2004-06-03 , language=en Photographic techniques Lightning Pseudoscience