Haloes

 Haloes are symbols used in art to depict sanctity.  But where did the idea come from?  Do some people have light shining from them?  It seems like haloes may not occur all the time and when they do they are not visible by everyone, but, yes, some writings do attest to them.  Here is what Marinus says in his biography of Proclus:

"One day a very distinguished political personage named Rufinus, who was entirely trustworthy and honorable, while listening to one of his lectures, saw a halo surrounding his head.  At the close, Rufinus rose, and saluted him with respect, under oath testifying to the divine manifestation of which he had been witness.  It was this same Rufinus who offered Proclus a large sum of money on his return from Asia, after his political troubles.  Proclus however refused this offering." 

In the Penguin Dictionary of Saints, here is an excerpt from the entry about Seraphim of Sarov: 

"and the more-than-natural facial transfiguration recorded in the conversation with Motovilov - a spiritual irradiation manifesting itself outwardly in a 'blinding light' - is a phenomenon recorded of other outstandingly holy men and women in both East and West."