This 'enchanting' illusion shows the moment a 'sprite' appeared to be dancing in the flame of a firebreather. Beverley Thain had been at an event at Aden Country Park, in Mintlaw, Aberdeenshire, when she whipped out her camera to capture the performance.
But when the 64-year-old support assistant returned home and reviewed her images, she spotted the shape of the mythological creature in the orange flame. The fairy-like figure appears with its spiky hair, wings and holding sticks - as it is commonly depicted in folklore.
Beverley, from Peterhead, said: "I felt amazed when I spotted it. It's quite enchanting. It is the first time I'd taken a photo at night.
"I didn't think anything of it but later when I looked over it on the computer I thought 'wow, there's a sprite there'. The woman was a firebreather and as she was dancing, she'd blown the fire out of her mouth. I only noticed it afterwards. I didn't see it form in the air."
After spotting the image of the playful creature in the flames, Beverley claims it reminded her of a childhood game of finding pictures and patterns in her family's coalfire.
Beverley said: "When I showed people, they were amazed. It reminds me of when I was little and I'd look in the coal fire [to try and see images in the flames]. It's an old thing."
