Hitodama
Hitodama (人魂, "human soul")[citation needed] are believed in Japanese folklore to be the souls of the newly dead,[citation needed] taking form as mysterious fiery apparitions. [citation needed]
In Folklore
The word Hitodama is a combination of the Japanese words hito, meaning "human", and tama (short for tamashii),[citation needed] meaning "soul"[citation needed] These flames supposedly "appear as pale blue or sometimes green spheres with long tails, and they are believed to be tricksters originating from fluorescent gases that can sometimes be seen above human graves."[citation needed]
A Hitodama is usually said to be found near a "graveyard and in gloomy forest in summer time."[citation needed] They are allegedly sometimes seen "close to a dying person as an apparition of the soul leaving the body before going to the other side. Most Hitodama fade away or fall to the ground shortly after being spotted."[citation needed]
Among tricks they are believed to play on people is "leading travelers off track and causing them to become lost."[citation needed] Some Japanese[citation needed] consider the Hitodama to be "a trick of the Kitsune, employing their "fox-fire" (kitsune-bi) to lead travelers astray."[citation needed]
Ghostly fires in Japan may also be called onibi (鬼火, "demon fire")[citation needed] In Chinese they are called guǐ-huǒ (Pinyin) or gwäe-fo (Cantonese). [citation needed]