Foxfire
Foxfire is the faint green glow that sometimes shines from rotting wood on damp nights. In Southern and Appalachian lore, it’s both a natural wonder and a bit of quiet magic - light that seems alive in the dark.
Hillbilly Dude Says...
When I was a young'un, my favorite campin' spot was deep in the western NC mountains, close to a branch. I found lots of chunks of foxfire glowin' green, and had a hard time convincin' people it was real. But I did take a chunk back home eventually, and it glowed for a a really long time. Hillbilly Dude Says...
When I was a young'un, my favorite campin' spot was deep in the western NC mountains, close to a branch. I found lots of chunks of foxfire glowin' green, and had a hard time convincin' people it was real. But I did take a chunk back home eventually, and it glowed for a a really long time. Pronunciation
[FOX-fahyuhr] ~ [FOX-fahr]
/ˈfɑks.faɪɚ/
/ˈfɑks.faɪɚ/
Meaning & Usage
- Bioluminescent Fungi on Wood (noun)
Mamaw:
That stump’s glowin’ again - it’s just foxfire.
That stump’s glowin’ again - it’s just foxfire.
Papaw:
Ain’t no harm in it. Just the woods lettin’ off light.
Ain’t no harm in it. Just the woods lettin’ off light.- Folkloric Light or Omen (noun, figurative)
Estel:
He followed that foxfire and never come back.
He followed that foxfire and never come back.
Elmer:
Some lights best left alone.
Some lights best left alone.★ The glow comes from fungi that live in decaying wood, but that don’t make it any less mysterious when you see it out in the holler on a moonless night. ★
Origin and Etymology
From Middle English foxfyr ("false fire"). The term dates back to at least the 1500s, but it found a second home in Appalachia, where settlers used it for the faint green light seen in the woods.
Usage Notes
Still used across the Southern Appalachians and Ozarks. The word also became famous through The Foxfire Book series, a collection of mountain lore and crafts first published in 1972.