Tradition: Welsh Mythology
Alternative Names: Corpse Candle, Candle of the Dead
Category: Flame

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The Myth

The Canwyll Corph, meaning “Corpse Candle,” is a supernatural light from Welsh folklore and one of the most feared omens of death. It appears as a ghastly blue flame burning like a candle, sometimes floating through the darkness without anyone carrying it. In other accounts, it takes the form of an ordinary tallow candle held by a ghost. When the ghost can be seen clearly, it is believed to resemble a living person whose death is approaching, revealing a spectral double of someone destined to die soon.

The Corpse Candle may also appear as a light emerging directly from a person’s mouth or nostrils. Its size is believed to reveal the age of the person whose death it foretells: a large flame signifies an adult, a smaller one a child, and a still tinier light an infant. When two candles appear together, one large and one small, they are said to predict the deaths of a mother and her child. The colour of the flame is also significant: a white light foretells the death of a woman, while a red flame signals the death of a man.

The Canwyll Corph is invariably regarded as a warning that death is near. Its appearance may be that of a solitary, wandering flame or a ghostly figure carrying a candle, but its message remains the same: someone living is believed to be approaching the end of their life. In Welsh tradition, the candle becomes a spectral sign of fate, illuminating the boundary between the living and the dead.

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Sources

Sikes, Wirt. British Goblins: Welsh Folk-Lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions. London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, 1880.

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