The Most Popular Ghosts In Indian Folklore And Mythology

According to Indian culture and folklore, there are many types of ghosts and similar supernatural entities that exist, especially in Bengali culture, whose presence is defined by those who have seen or heard about them. Perhaps this is not 100 percent true, but it would be a great experience to share this information with you.

Nishi Dak

The Nishi Dak belongs to the most dangerous category of ghosts. Nishi means night or dark, and dak means call. It is also called the Night Spirit. Nishi calls its victim in the darkness of night in the voice of a loved one. It is said that Nishi's voice comes from far away and when the victim follows its voice and reaches a deserted place, then the helpless victim has to face the terrible form of Nishi. The victim who follows Nishi's voice never returns alive. This dangerous spirit fairly commonly encountered in Bengal - where it is known as the Nishir Daak or Call of the Night Spirit. In Bihar and Jharkhand, it is known as the Nishi.

Petni / Shakchunni

Petni are basically unfortunate female ghosts who die before their marriage and whose many wishes remain unfulfilled. These ghosts continue to wander in search of a married and rich man even after their death. When such a person is found, these spirits take him under their control and take possession of his body and start living his life. The word Petni originated from the Sanskrit word Pretni. On the other hand, Shakchunni is a woman who usually wears a special kind of traditional bangles made of shell in their hands, a sign of a married woman in Bengal.

Jokkho

It is believed that these spirits called "Jokkho" are a supernatural warrior-type entity, who protects hidden treasures and wealth on earth and whatever wealth is in the possession of these spirits is cursed and the one who steals it becomes a victim of this curse. After the theft of wealth, these guardians and protectors chase that victim and put his life in danger.

Odiyan

The Odiyan, from Kerala, is believed to be a Tantrik who specializes in black magic and tantra vidya. He is a shapeshifter who can turn himself into any animal during the night, after which he kills innocent people. But in order to transform himself into an animal, a particular kind of pungent oil is needed which he makes from the baby's blood and as soon as he applies this oil on his body, he gets the power to turns himself into any animal. It is said that even a mere touch from an Odiyan can lead to instant death.

Yakshi 

Yakshi is believed to be the ghost of a woman who has been brutally murdered or suffered a violent death. At night, she sits on the palm trees and waits for her victim, which is mostly male. Yakshi adopts the form of a beautiful woman and whoever sees in her eyes gets hypnotized and cannot even move from his place after which she lures him to her leafy abode and where she drinks his blood. Yakshi ghost is most notorious in Kerala.

Chudail

According to some legends, when a woman dies during pregnancy or while giving birth to a child, become Chudail, and in some other cases, the women who die from suffering at the hands of her in-laws, become Chudail and come back as a revenant. It is believed that the true form of the Chudail is very terrible and ugly, and she invariably has her feet turned backward. Sometimes her look is related to an extremely ugly appearance that has saggy breasts, a black tongue, and thick rough lips although sometimes she is reported to have no mouth at all. Sometimes she is described as having a white front and a black back and sometimes, she roams naked. Chudail takes the form of a young and beautiful woman and lures men and takes them in her possession and then such hypnotized men can do anything at the behest of the Chudail, even they can take someone's life too.

Pishach

Pishachas are very angry and scary ghosts and are often called flesh-eating demons in Hindu theology. It is believed that Pishachas are found in filthy and dark places, and they are always in search of eating human flesh, no matter whether it is the flesh of a dead or a living person. They like darkness and traditionally depicted to haunt cremation grounds and graveyards. Pishachas have many magical powers such as changing form, flying in the air and ability to become invisible. The female version of Pishach is called "Pishachini", which is described to have a hideous and terrible appearance. She sometimes turns into a beautiful woman to lure young men and drinks their blood. If Pishach enters the body of a living person, then the mental balance of that person completely deteriorated and in such a situation it becomes very difficult to control him.

Chir Batti

Chir which means ghost and Batti which means light, Chir batti is a ghost light reported in the Banni grasslands, a seasonal marshy wetlands in Gujrat state. Due to its mysterious lights, people continue to call them "ghost lights. The color and shape of these lights always changes, and sometimes its speed becomes slow or sometimes fast. Some people believe that the light can only be seen after 8 pm on dark nights and are always two to ten feet above the ground, and if followed during the night, one may be misled from the road and may lose their way in jungles.

Chedipe

There are some women who are still declared as devadasis who were dedicated to a Hindu temple god and were often treated as temple prostitutes. It is believed that after the death of such women their souls become Chedipe. It is also believed that the women who die an unnatural death, such as in childbirth or by suicide, and prostitutes may become chedipes. These spirits enter someone's house at night and suck the blood from the toe of a young man sleeping in the house and if the chidepe likes the blood of that man, then every night she returns back to drink his blood. In the morning, when Chedip's victim wakes up from his sleep, he has no memory of Chedip's visit. If he does not receive medical treatment, the man can surely die. She repeats all this until the man dies due to a lack of blood or weakness.

Ghoul

These spirits named Ghoul are demon-like beings and found around the graveyards. A male ghoul is referred to as ghul while the female is called ghulah. They lure unwary people into the desert wastes or abandoned places to slay and devour them. They are mainly associated with graveyards and consuming human flesh. These man-eating souls eat many of the corpses buried in the cemetery and they are also adept in changing different forms. Whatever they eat, they take the form of that, even to hunt humans, they can also turn themselves into a ferocious animal.

Dayan

Dayan, often regarded as a witch in English, can be a living or dead woman. These women are experts in black magic and worship the devil. Daayan is sometimes used interchangeably with the term chudail although conceptual and cultural differences exist between them. Dayan has to sacrifice the lives of young or little children before Satan to increase his magical powers and to prolong his lifespan. It is said that after sacrificing the lives of children, Dayan bathes in their blood, which gives these old-looking witches a young and beautiful look. They have many magical powers such as flying in the air and the ability to change forms. In the form of a young, attractive female, she hunts for young men on roads and seduces lone travelers into accompanying her and after that, she kills them and quenches her thirst by drinking their blood.

Chakva

These spirits named 'chakva' are mainly found in Maharashtra. It is believed that these spirits mislead people who passing through the jungles or in dark deserted roads at night, after which they do not get their way back and they return to the same place again and again. It is basically a spirit that does not let you reach your destination and you keep roaming around the same spot in circles. And when those people do not find their way back, then these evil spirits hunt those weary weak people.

Betaal

These are some spirits who inhabiting cadavers and charnel grounds. These evil spirits make the body of a dead person their home, after which the body's decomposition stops automatically and that body starts to look like a living person, which can also be called a zombie. These evil spirits may use corpses as vehicles for movement. These spirits, which have taken the human dead body under their control, hang upside down from trees just like bats to rest at night. Betaal, according to his will, can leave the first dead body and take possession of another dead body.

Jinnat

Jinnat, abbreviated as Jinn, are actually very powerful supernatural powers that can be good or bad just like any human. Jinns can be both benevolent or malevolent. It is believed that Malevolent Jinns (Demon) can be really evil and are very dangerous and they can cause haunting in human residences, empty houses, toilets, lakes, hospitals, morgues, and graveyards. It is said that when Jinn is close to you or in the surrounding area, then you might experience a strange perfume/flowery smell or terrible odor of rotten flesh. Jinns have no physical body of their own. It is also believed that the Jinns are shape-shifters, and can often take the form of anyone by his own choice, whether a human or animal. Jinns have the ability to predict future, can read people's thoughts. Bad jinns enter into the body of someone and execute evil antics, but on the other hand, there are some good and wise jinns too that save and help humans from dangerous and fatal situations.

Baak

Baak is a grotesque-looking creature who sometimes kills a person and takes the form of a corpse. Baaks are believed to mainly inhabit the region of Lower Assam, in places such as Kokrajhar and Barpeta. This aqueous creature is notorious for its murderous nature because after killing its victim, it hides the body in deep underwater. After taking the corpse's appearance, it goes out in search of more prey. It is said to be found near isolated ponds and lakes.

Boba

In Bengali culture, Boba is a creature that attacks people in their sleep and strangles them to death. Boba is the Bengali version of the Sleep Paralysis. Boba attacks a person by strangling him when the person sleeps on his back. But the scientific explanation is believed to be Sleep Paralysis. While a person is having sleep paralysis, then his brain is functioning but the body is asleep that causes the person to completely unable to move or speak, resulting in to hallucinate weird and supernatural entities, a witch-like demonic being. This phenomenon is called "Bobaay Dhora" in Bangladesh.

Nale Ba

In English, Nale Ba means "come tomorrow". It is a popular folk legend, which is very popular in areas across Karnataka, with people believing that there is a witch who walks the streets visiting people's homes and knocks on their doors. According to various stories, the spirit is believed to be a bridal ghost who roams around the town in search of her husband. The witch speaks clearly in the tempting voice so you would be deceived to open the door. But if you open the door then you will die, so you have to write 'nale ba' i.e 'come tomorrow' on the front door of your house. So when the ghost reads it and it goes back to come again the next day and repeats the cycle. The 2018 Bollywood film Stree is based on the tale of Nale Ba.

---