Pixy-light

Pixy-light is a term that has been used in literary fictions such as "Dawnings of Genius, Or, The Early Lives of Some Eminent Persons of the Last Century" by Anne Pratt to describe lights that might have led people from 'the path' and is associated in kind with that of the Will-o'-the-wisp.

Pixy-light has roots in Devon and Cornish folklore and is most often associated with the Pixie who often has "pixie-led" travelers away from the safe and reliable route, and into the bogs with glowing lights. "Like Poltergeist they can generate uncanny sounds. They were less serious than their German Weisse Frauen kin, frequently blowing out candles on unsuspecting courting couples or producing obscene kissing sounds, which were always misinterpreted by parents."

Pixy-Light has sometimes been confused with Foxfire (bioluminescence), optical 'sheets of lights' and caused by the bioluminescence effects of certain fungi found in the bog, within rotting stumps and vegetation. Pixy-Light was also associated with "lambent light" which the "Old Norse" might have seen guarding their tombs.

In Cornish folklore, Pixy-Light also has associations with the Colt Pixy. "A colt pixie is a pixie that has taken the shape of a horse and enjoys playing tricks such as neighing at the other horses to lead them astray". It may well be said that the wild colt pixy would sometimes bedevil regular horses on a ride and cause them to lead their human masters into a predicament or hazard, and might have yielded the pixy - horse name variation.

Other Uses
In a spoof of Edgar Allan Poe The Raven, entitled "The Tale (Tail?) of Edgar Allen Watson", Pixie light is mentioned at the end of the 5th verse.

Other literary inclusions of pixie light can be found in the work of Shennin Hakumei, who's "For Every Girl Who Longs for "True" Love: There are some things you should know" is mentioned in Chapter 4.