The Ghost Light of West Bengal

By,Muskan Jain

IX-D

The Explanation

The Mystery

There have been many sightings of unnatural glowing lights of different colors hovering over the marshes in West Bengal. Referred to as ‘Aleya Lights’ for many

years now, these lights are a nightmare for fishermen, as they usually end up confusing them and they would

lose their way. In many cases reported till date, various fishermen have even lost their lives due to

these strange lights. These marshes are some of the most mysterious places in India owing to this

unexplained phenomenon.

The Facts1. The swamps and marshes of Bengal have long been haunted by mysterious lights floating around in the darkness. These lights are known as the Aleya Ghost Lights.2. Despite their typical Bengali name, these ghost lights are not really limited to Bengal. They have been spotted in several other places like the UK, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and others. Similar lights have been spotted in North America, South America and Australia.3. In Bengal, the associated folklore says that the lights are nothing but the spirits of dead fishermen, who lost their way in those swamps and eventually died.4. In Bengal, it is said that whoever sees and follows those lights end up meeting their eminent doom.5. Some say that people don’t really die when they follow the lights but they do become insane and never recover.

The History

Aleya (or marsh ghost-light) is the name given to an unexplained strange light phenomena occurring over the marshes as observed by Bengalis, especially the fishermen of West Bengal and Bangladesh.

The Theory

Scientists suggest that these lights are essentially ionization of methane over the marshes that forms out of the decaying organic matter present in abundance in these bogs.

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Muskan JainIX-D

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