In the rural traditions of Argentina, the luz mala is the form in which souls in torment are personified, wandering through the nights across the countryside and the wilderness.
It takes the form of a radiant light that bursts through the darkness of the night and pursues those who attempt to flee from it.
This belief has its origins in a physical phenomenon: the luminescence produced by the phosphorous emanations released from the bones of animals that have died out in the fields.