The will-o'-the-wisp was also known as the Spunkie in the Scottish Highlands where it would take the form of a linkboy (a boy who carried a flaming torch to light the way for pedestrians in exchange for a fee), or else simply a light that always seemed to recede, in order to lead unwary travellers to their doom.William Grant Stewart (1823). The Popular Superstitions and Festive Amusements of the Highlanders of Scotland. pp. 161–162. The spunkie has also been blamed for shipwrecks at night after being spotted on land and mistaken for a harbour light.Katharine Briggs (1976). An Encyclopedia of Fairies. Pantheon Books. p. 381. Other tales of Scottish folklore regard these mysterious lights as omens of death or the ghosts of once living human beings. They often appeared over lochsAlasdair Alpin MacGregor (1937). The Peat Fire Flame: Folktales and Traditions of the Highlands and Islands. Moray Press. pp. 284–285. or on roads along which funeral processions were known to travel.John Gregorson Campbell (1902). Witchcraft and Second Sight in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. James MacLehose and Sons. pp. 169–172. A strange light sometimes seen in the Hebrides is referred to as the teine sith, or "fairy light", though there was no formal connection between it and the fairy race.John Gregorson Campbell (1900). Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. James MacLehose and Sons. pp. 6–7.
The will-o'-the-wisp was also known as the Spunkie in the Scottish Highlands where it would take the form of a linkboy (a boy who carried a flaming torch to light the way for pedestrians in exchange for a fee), or else simply a light that always seemed to recede, in order to lead unwary travellers to their doom.William Grant Stewart (1823). The Popular Superstitions and Festive Amusements of the Highlanders of Scotland. pp. 161–162. The spunkie has also been blamed for shipwrecks at night after being spotted on land and mistaken for a harbour light.Katharine Briggs (1976). An Encyclopedia of Fairies. Pantheon Books. p. 381. Other tales of Scottish folklore regard these mysterious lights as omens of death or the ghosts of once living human beings. They often appeared over lochsAlasdair Alpin MacGregor (1937). The Peat Fire Flame: Folktales and Traditions of the Highlands and Islands. Moray Press. pp. 284–285. or on roads along which funeral processions were known to travel.John Gregorson Campbell (1902). Witchcraft and Second Sight in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. James MacLehose and Sons. pp. 169–172 A strange light sometimes seen in the Hebrides is referred to as the teine sith, or "fairy light", though there was no formal connection between it and the fairy race.John Gregorson Campbell (1900). Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. James MacLehose and Sons. pp. 6–7.