Editing Will-o'-the-wisp (section)

==Folklore==
[[File:Arnold Böcklin - Das Irrlicht -1882.jpeg|thumb|An 1862 oil painting of a will-o'-the-wisp by [[Arnold Böcklin]]]]

In the etiological (origin)  tales, protagonists named either Will or Jack are doomed to haunt the marshes with a light for some misdeed. One version from [[Shropshire]] is recounted by Briggs in ''A Dictionary of Fairies'' and refers to Will Smith. Will is a wicked blacksmith who is given a second chance by [[Saint Peter]] at the gates of heaven, but leads such a bad life that he ends up being doomed to wander the earth. The Devil provides him with a single burning coal with which to warm himself, which he then uses to lure foolish travellers into the marshes.

An Irish version of the tale has a ne'er-do-well named Drunk Jack or [[Stingy Jack]] who, when the Devil comes to collect his soul, tricks him into turning into a coin, so he can pay for his one last drink. When the Devil obliges, Jack places him in his pocket next to a crucifix, preventing him from returning to his original form. In exchange for his freedom, the Devil grants Jack ten more years of life. When the term expires, the Devil comes to collect his due. But Jack tricks him again by making him climb a tree and then carving a cross underneath, preventing him from climbing down. In exchange for removing the cross, the Devil forgives Jack's debt. However, no one as bad as Jack would ever be allowed into heaven, so Jack is forced upon his death to travel to hell and ask for a place there. The Devil denies him entrance in revenge but grants him an ember from the fires of hell to light his way through the twilight world to which lost souls are forever condemned. Jack places it in a carved turnip to serve as a lantern.<ref>{{cite web|title=History of the Jack-O-Lantern|first=Mark|last=Hoerrner|url=http://www.buzzle.com/articles/history-jacko-lantern-irish-tale-halloween.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061114193117/http://www.buzzle.com/articles/history-jacko-lantern-irish-tale-halloween.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=November 14, 2006 |work=buzzle.com|year=2006|access-date=May 9, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=History of the Jack O'Lantern and the Legend of Stingy Jack|author=Leslie O'Malley|date=2015-10-15|publisher=authenticireland.com|url=https://www.authenticireland.com/blog/history-of-the-jack-olantern-and-the-legend-of-stingy-jack/|access-date=2017-12-11}}</ref> Another version of the tale is "Willy the Whisp", related in ''Irish Folktales'' by [[Henry Glassie]]. ''Séadna'' by [[Peadar Ua Laoghaire]] is yet another version—and also the first modern novel in the Irish language.