Ghost Lights
Japan has a separate name for almost every light that has no business being there, and the difference between them is never what the flame looks like — it is who owns it. A fox lights one on purpose. A soul leaves the body carrying its own. Some burn where the unburied fell, steered by nobody at all. These are the kaika: cold fires that give off no heat, cross wet ground on windless nights, and were never quite safe to follow.
Kazenbo
火前坊A monk who burned himself alive on Toribeyama, still standing upright in his own flames.
sorrowful
Minobi
蓑火Sparks that cling to a fisherman's straw cape on rainy nights—and multiply if you try to brush them off.
eerie
Aosagibi
青鷺火A night heron whose feathers glow blue-white as it passes overhead—a real bird, and a real light.
mysterious
Kosenjobi
古戦場火Flames that rise from old battlefields on rainy nights, where the dead were never buried.
eerie
Hikeshibaba
火消婆An old woman who blows out the lantern in your hand and leaves you standing in the dark.
menacing
Ubagabi
姥ヶ火A ball of flame with an old woman's face, born from a woman who stole lamp oil from a shrine.
vengeful
Onibi
鬼火Cold blue 'demon-fires' that flicker in graveyards and wetlands, said to be born of the dead.
eerie
Hitodama
人魂Pale floating orbs of soul-fire that drift from the newly dead near graveyards and rooftops.
eerie
Kitsunebi
狐火Mysterious floating fox-fires that lead travelers astray at night.
eerie