Dr. Donald Blake & Thor Odinson (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ifwebeworthy) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2025-10-31 09:02 am
ifwebeworthy) wrote in fandomhigh2025-10-31 09:02 am
Weather & Storms, Friday, Second Period
Thor was not dressed in his usual armor today, but rather in a surgeon costume of such pitiful quality that he was regretting not just buying a pair of scrubs in his size. He wasn't sure if this fabric, and he was being generous in calling it that, was going to survive the day.
"Today is All Hallow's Eve, or Samhain, or Halloween, depending on where you are and how you celebrate. It is, they say, the day when the veils between worlds thin, and spirits and monsters come to play...and be appeased with candy, of course. I thought today we could learn about a sort of atmospheric phenomenon, rather than a particular weather event, that is tied to the holiday.
"Will=o'-the-wisps are strange lights that dance in bogs and marshlands, leading travelers, who think they are seeing another traveler's torch, or perhaps light in a house, astray. Throughout history, these were believed to be spirits, perhaps the fae, causing mischief and leading travelers to their doom, but in modern times we know that the lights are caused by natural phenomena, such as the releasing of certain gases caused by the decay of organic matter in the swamps...or are they?
After letting that sit for a moment, Thor added, "Will-o'-the-wisp sightings are relatively rare in the modern era, perhaps due to the draining of large swathes of wetlands. They have many names in many different cultures, but one of them is jack-o'-lantern. For anyone who may be unaware, the carved, lit pumpkins set out for Halloween, meant to frighten malicious spirits away, are also jack-o'-lanterns. The same name for a spirit and the ward against its kind. Interesting, no? Happy Halloween, and be sure to take some candy from the bowl on your way out." He had tried to make sure to provide an assortment of the popular sorts.
"Today is All Hallow's Eve, or Samhain, or Halloween, depending on where you are and how you celebrate. It is, they say, the day when the veils between worlds thin, and spirits and monsters come to play...and be appeased with candy, of course. I thought today we could learn about a sort of atmospheric phenomenon, rather than a particular weather event, that is tied to the holiday.
"Will=o'-the-wisps are strange lights that dance in bogs and marshlands, leading travelers, who think they are seeing another traveler's torch, or perhaps light in a house, astray. Throughout history, these were believed to be spirits, perhaps the fae, causing mischief and leading travelers to their doom, but in modern times we know that the lights are caused by natural phenomena, such as the releasing of certain gases caused by the decay of organic matter in the swamps...or are they?
After letting that sit for a moment, Thor added, "Will-o'-the-wisp sightings are relatively rare in the modern era, perhaps due to the draining of large swathes of wetlands. They have many names in many different cultures, but one of them is jack-o'-lantern. For anyone who may be unaware, the carved, lit pumpkins set out for Halloween, meant to frighten malicious spirits away, are also jack-o'-lanterns. The same name for a spirit and the ward against its kind. Interesting, no? Happy Halloween, and be sure to take some candy from the bowl on your way out." He had tried to make sure to provide an assortment of the popular sorts.
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