Case file · Folklore / legend
Corpo-seco
The corpo-seco ('dry body') is the corpse of a man so wicked that the earth rejected it. It wanders, drying up trees and attacking travellers. Câmara Cascudo recorded it in his 1947 survey, mainly in São Paulo and Minas Gerais.
1947 CE · -23.03, -45.55 · status: legend
The account
The legend is common in the Paraíba valley, where tales tell of a son who beat his mother. The point marks Taubaté in the valley. The year marks Cascudo's survey, not the earliest record.