Santelmo

Santelmo comes from "Saint Elmo." In science, St. Elmo's fire is a faint blue or violet glow at the tip of a mast, spire or animal horn during a thunderstorm. It happens when strong electric fields in the air make the air glow. Sailors named it for St. Erasmus, called Elmo, the patron saint of sailors. Many saw the glow as a good sign, or as a warning of lightning.

In the Philippines, the name also covers floating lights that people see at night over fields, graves and the sea. Tagalog speakers say apoy ng santelmo. Stories from Cavite and Batangas say it is a lost soul or a trick of the dark that leads travelers off the path. The lights people report may not be the same as the electric glow.

One writer links the stories to an older Tagalog figure. The goddess Tala is said to have used balls of light to guide people to safety at night. After the Spanish brought the santelmo idea, the same orbs came to be seen as dangerous. That is a modern claim, and no old text for it is known.