A lantern man is an atmospheric ghost light described in the folklore of The Fens of East Anglia, with sightings around Wicken Fen and other areas.[1] According to the stories, first collected by folklorist L.F. Newman,[2] the lights are believed to be evil spirits who attempt to draw victims to their death in the reed beds.[3][4] Newman writes that the spirits are attracted by the sound of whistling,[4] and that a way to evade them is to lie face down on the ground with your mouth in the mud.[2][3] The phenomenon, which seems to be a variation of will-o'-the-wisp folklore, is now dismissed as sightings of combustible marsh gas.[4]

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.[1][3]

Another local man recounted 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.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 Underwood, Peter (1984), "Wicken Fen, Cambridgeshire", This Haunted Isle, Harrap, ISBN 9780245542329
  2. 1 2 3 James, Maureen (2014), "Of Strange Phenomena: Black Dogs, Will o' the Wykes and Lantern Men", Cambridgeshire Folk Tales, History Press, ISBN 9780752466286
  3. 1 2 3 Codd, Daniel (2010), "Inexplicable Incidents, Bizarre Behaviour and Peculiar Places: John Clare's Will-o'-the-Whisps", Mysterious Cambridgeshire, JMD Media, ISBN 9781859838082
  4. 1 2 3 O'Dell, Damien (15 November 2011), "More Tales from the Fens: Wicken Fen", Paranormal Cambridge, Amberley (published 2011), ISBN 9781848681385
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