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Friar's Lantern

English Folk Will-o'-the-Wisp

Friar's Lantern is a variant name for the will-o'-the-wisp in English folklore, derived from the 16th-century legend of 'Friar Rush,' a mischievous monk-spirit. Appearing as a flickering light in marshes and dark forests, it lures travelers astray. Mentioned in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (where Puck likens himself to it) and Milton's L'Allegro, it belongs to the same family of marsh spirits as the jack-o'-lantern.

Origin

Friar's Lantern is a British folk variant of the will-o'-the-wisp. It draws on the 16th-century English tradition of a mischievous friar-spirit named Friar Rush who carries a lantern to mislead travellers. Almost identical to the will-o'-the-wisp save for the friar's form.

Features

Light appearing on moors, meadows, and churchyards
May appear in the form of a friar
Deliberately misleads travellers
Mischievous and prankish
Vanishes at dawn

Stories

Part of the British countryside lore of lost travellers, sometimes used as allegory for false friars and religious hypocrisy. Influenced Shakespeare's depiction of Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Weakness

Vanishes in dawn light. Vulnerable to crosses and holy water — an irony given its friar-form. A firm will can simply ignore it.