Under a midnight moon, Luigi Garlaschelli peered out over graves. He was scouting for glowing balls of light known as will-o’-the-wisps. Like a ghostbuster, Garlaschelli, a chemist formerly at the University of Pavia in Italy, wore a device to vacuum up the wisp for study — should one appear.
Sadly, one didn’t. But for hundreds of years, others’ tales have recounted these bluish lights floating above swamps and cemeteries. While folklore links the lights to spirits trying to lead travelers astray, scientists think rotting plants or creatures release a methane-filled gas that, under certain conditions, can burn slowly with a cool, blue flame.
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