Case file · Witch trials
The soucouyant
In Trinidad and the French Creole islands the soucouyant is an old woman who sheds her skin at night, hides it in a mortar, and flies as a ball of fire to suck the blood of sleepers.
1947 CE · 10.83, -60.95 · status: legend
The account
Bruises found in the morning were blamed on her. She can be caught by sprinkling rice or sand, which she must count, or by salting her skin so she cannot get back in. Melville and Frances Herskovits recorded the belief in the village of Toco in 'Trinidad Village' (1947). As a flying fireball she doubles as a Caribbean ghost light.