A lantern man is an
atmospheric ghost light Atmospheric ghost lights are lights (or fires) that appear in the atmosphere without an obvious cause. Examples include the onibi, hitodama and will-o'-wisp. They are often seen in humid climates. Tsunoda 1979, pages 11-53
According to legend, some ...
, in the
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 ...
of
The Fens
The Fens, also known as the , in eastern England are a naturally marshy region supporting a rich ecology and numerous species. Most of the fens were drained centuries ago, resulting in a flat, dry, low-lying agricultural region supported by a ...
of
East Anglia
East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
, seen around
Wicken Fen and other areas.
According to the stories, first collected by folklorist L.F. Newman,
the lights, believed to be evil spirits trying to draw victims to their death in the reed beds,
were drawn to the sound of whistling
and could be evaded by lying face down on the ground with your mouth in the mud.
The phenomenon, which seems to be a variation of
will-o'-the-wisp
In folklore, a will-o'-the-wisp, will-o'-wisp or ''ignis fatuus'' (, plural ''ignes fatui''), is an atmospheric ghost light seen by travellers at night, especially over bogs, swamps or marshes. The phenomenon is known in English folk belief, ...
folklore, is now dismissed as the result of combustible marsh gas.
Encounters
A local fisherman recounted to
parapsychologist Peter Underwood how he had once thrown himself to the floor to escape the attention of a lantern man which had been drawn to his whistling.
Another local man recounted to folklorist
L.F. Newman how he had attracted the attention of a lantern man while whistling to his dog while walking on the fen. The man had taken shelter at the home of a friend, who hung out a horn on a long pole to distract the spirit. The following morning the horn was found to have been burnt up.
References
{{Reflist
Atmospheric ghost lights
Supernatural legends
English legendary creatures
Cambridgeshire folklore