An experimental approach is developed for producing autonomous objects reminiscent of ball lightning by the charging of an activated base made of materials such as polymers and metals with an energetic metastable plasma. Methods of obtaining these autonomous objects and some of their properties are described. It is found that as the energy-deposition parameters are increased, these objects increasingly resemble ball lightning. An attempt is made to indicate the specific forms of the charging and to give a brief phenomenological treatment of the processes responsible for the observed effects.