noun
- a will-o’-the-wisp or ghostly light seen over marshy ground
Usage: Scottish; folklore
Examples
- The old fisherman claimed he saw a spunkie dancing over the bog last night.
- Local legends tell of spunkies leading travelers astray in the moors.
- She dismissed the strange light as merely a spunkie, nothing to fear.
- The spunkie flickered and vanished as they approached the marsh.
- Scottish folklore is rich with tales of spunkies and other mysterious lights.