Aleya Lights of the Sundarbans

West Bengal · India · Natural site

Over Bengal's marshlands flicker the aleya lights – souls of drowned fishermen said to lure night travellers to their deaths.

In the vast mangrove swamps of the Sundarbans in West Bengal, fishing folk speak in low voices of the aleya – wavering orbs of light that rise from the mud once night has settled. Folklore holds the lights to be the spirits of fishermen who drowned in the marshes, said either to warn the living or to lead them away from safe ground. Over the years several deaths have been blamed on the lights, with men who followed the glow found drowned in the channels. Science points to self-igniting marsh gas, but for the delta villages the aleya remain proof that the dead have never left the water.

FAQ

Where is Aleya Lights of the Sundarbans located?

Aleya Lights of the Sundarbans is in Västbengalen, India.

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Accounts are drawn from local folklore and visitor reports.