For an overview of the disputed "ball lighting", see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_lightning http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_lightning My parents live on

For an overview of the disputed "ball lighting", see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_lightning http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_lightning My parents live on top of a hill in the middle of an extinct volcanic valley. On several occasions (over a period of years) my father swore he saw a glowing green ball of light slowly moving toward the ground, which I naturally and sceptically dismissed. Then one night during a storm I witnessed the same phenomena myself. I was inside the house. It was several hills away, so I had no concept of size (let alone smell). And it was only a few years later that I encountered the concept of ball lightning, which remains the best explanation of what I saw. It was also late at night, so perhaps I was susceptible to and victim of the type of hallucinations detailed in the OP?