"Mother Carey" wrote a popular 19th-century poem titled "Will-O'-The-Wisp". The Will o' the wisp makes an appearance in the first chapter of Bram Stoker's Dracula, as the Count, masquerading as his own coach driver, takes Jonathan Harker to his castle in the night.

When did Will O Wisp come out?

The Will-o'-the-Wisp

It was first seen, it is said, in 1812, and is the haunting spirit of a young girl from Benbecula, who frequented the machair, or sandy plain beside the sea, in search of the galium verum, used in the dyeing of the local cloth or tweed.

What causes will o '- the wisp?

Will-o'-the-Wisps are caused by burning gases—called “swamp gas” or “marsh gas”—that develops from the breakdown of organic matter in persistently wet areas. ... Instead, the dead matter is buried beneath water and saturated soil where it continues to decompose in the absence of air.