foxfire
That eerie green glow on rotting wood from living fungus.
Also called fairy fire, fox-fire.
Updated September 21, 2026
foxfire pronunciation
/FOKS-fire/
Meaning
Walk a wet Appalachian woods at night and you may catch a soft cold light on a stump or log. That is foxfire: bioluminescent fungus working the dead wood, not a lantern and not a ghost. Old folks still swap stories about fairy fire and false fire. Mountain kids later borrowed the name for the Foxfire books that wrote down Appalachian craft and talk.
How folks use it
- “We saw foxfire glowing on that old oak stump after the rain.”
- “Don't step off the trail. That foxfire makes the hollow look haunted.”
Origin and etymology
English fox-fire is attested by the late 1400s for phosphorescent light in decayed timber. Some say the fox bit comes from Old French faux (false), as in false fire; others keep it tied to foxwood. Aristotle already noted a cold light that was not flame. Science pinned it on fungus in the 1800s. In southern Appalachia the word stuck hard enough that Rabun Gap students named their oral-history magazine Foxfire in 1967.
Frequently asked questions
Is foxfire dangerous?
The glow itself will not burn you. It is living fungus on wet wood. Still, rotting logs can be slick and full of critters, so watch your step.