The Ghosts of the Indian Folklore

Mohini: Mohini is an avatar of Lord Vishnu (Hindu Religion) who lured a demon and killed him. Normally, women who end their life on their own are supposed to be loitering with sex urge as mohini's and lure unwary men into trap and kill them. These stories are circulated mostly in Southern part of India. Don't ever try to imagine/think/try to contact a mohini. They are supposed to wear white sarees, wear jasmine flowers, and jingling anklets. They are ghosts and and cause unnatural/freak deaths. Sometimes, they insult and affect the pride of men through someone also need not be afraid, but ignore those thoughts. Request the man you've mentioned to go to a temple nearby and pray that 'mohini' not to disturb him/harm him. It will eventually go away. Ask him to be careful with living mohinis around him.

Shaakini: A lesser known female ghost. It is the ghost of married women who died early in marriage either because of an accident or illness. Some of these are due to dowry harassment and are said to haunt their killers(most often than not, the in-laws). These are considered to be not so dangerous.

Sheekol Buri / Jol-Pishach: They are believed to dwell in the rivers, ponds, and lakes. They are called by different names in different localities of Bengal. Young women, who either committed suicide by drowning due to an unhappy marriage (they might have been jilted by their lovers or abused and harassed by their much older husbands), or who were violently drowned against their will (especially after becoming pregnant with unwanted children), must live out their designated time on earth and come back as such beings. Her main purpose is, however, to lure young men and take them into the depths of said waterways where she would entangle their feet with her long hair and submerge them. Their hair is very long and always wet, and their eyes are with out any iris. Like many fairies, they sometimes do take human lovers. Unfortunately, most of such unions end tragically for the human. As is usually the case, they extract a promise from her mortal lover and when such promise is broken, she reveals herself to be the supernatural creature she is, often taking the life of the human in the process. Their general habitat is water bodies even though they roam around the land/wilderness around the water and are also often seen sitting over trees at the dead of night. The concept of such supernatural beings is similar to that of Rusalka from Slavic mythology.

Nishi: The Nishi (Night Spirit) lures its victim to a secluded area by calling to the person with the voice of a loved one. The Nishi only strikes at night, and once the victim responds to the call of Nishi, s/he becomes hypnotised, follow the voice, and are never seen again. So, it is unknown what happens to them. Some tantrics are said to nurture and conjure the Nishi, in order to use them to harm someone out of spite or revenge. The voice of Nishi (means 'Night') is known as "Nishir Daak" (Call of the Night Spirit). Bengali age old superstition suggests that Sleepwalking phenomenon is also caused by Nishi. According to folklore, the Nishi cannot call out more than twice, and so no one should answer a voice at night until being called at least three times.

Daakini: Another female ghost often mixed up and confused with the Shaakini. This ghost is that of a woman who has died an untimely death which may be for any reason. You can assume that this is a generalized category for the ghost. The specific category would be a Mohini or a Shaakini. A Mohini can be both a Daakini and Mohini, but that's digging a lot into this.

Kutti Chetan(Kutti saithan) They are little mischievous ghosts. People say that these ghosts are those of children who died at early childhood. They seem to have a naughty and mischievous nature that of a child. It is not so dangerous unless a tantrik(warlock or magician) has assumed control over it and converts into a malevolent evil spirit. Often these ghosts are used to lure and control even more the other ghosts.

edit on 5-2-2019 by maddy21 because: (no reason given)

Chudial/Churel - Known elsewhere as a chudail or chudel, this is a ghost in the folklore of India—especially Northern India—which is renowned for its scream. Usually taking the form of a woman, a churel is said to be created when a pregnant woman dies during the festival of Divali, which is the Hindu Festival of Light. Some variations say it occurs when a woman dies during childbirth. Either way, they return to the land of the living as a vampire-like creature, bent on revenge because of their bitterness due to their unborn child’s death. A churel has feet which are flipped 180 degrees, allowing her to walk backwards while she mesmerizes the victim with her eyes. If her gaze is not shunned, usually through a cloth or blanket over one’s own eyes, she will lead the victim to a secluded location and drain them of their blood. A churel’s desired victim is often her own family, for she is angry at not being properly cared for during her pregnancy. If the body is buried with meticulous care and respect, the churel’s bloodlust might also be sated.


Bhulo Bhulo is a ghost who can take shape of any person you may know, talking in his/her voice, behaving like him/her. The purpose of doing so is solely to deceive you, taking you to a lonely place and then, break your neck. The deceased becomes another bhulo and becomes dominant in the place he/she was murdered. Bhulo is a very popular ghost on both sides of Bengal. You may find him in the stories or experiences of grand parents or great grand parents. It has plenty of presence in Bengali folklore and literature also.

Boba: This is the Bengali version of the "Old Hag Syndrome" which is believed to be caused by a supernatural entity called "Boba" (meaning "dumb"/unable to speak). Boba attacks a person by strangling him when the person sleeps in a Supine position/ sleep on back. However, the scientific explanation is believed to be Sleep Paralysis. While a person is having sleep paralysis, he hallucinates in his REM sleep while the brain is functioning but the body is asleep. This actually causes the person to completely unable to move or speak, and results in to hallucinate weird entities such as an old hag (a witch-like demonic being). In Bangladesh, the phenomenon is called "Bobaay Dhora" (meaning "Struck by Boba").

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I only posted some of the famous once as per the folklore which goes on here, and the stories which are still heard in and around the villages. There are dozens of other types of ghosts in the links, but you don't here too much about them. I have had my own personal experience with shadow people, while I was in a sleep paralysis state few years back. But there are others I know who have had the displeasure of meeting Chudail's and Mohini's. I firmly believe that these things are very real as per the amount of bad experiences people have had.

Majority of the souls end up being ghosts when they have violent deaths. I think its important that during our final moments, we should leave this world in peace, to save ourselves and others from torment.

a reply to: maddy21 I appreciate you posting the info. This will be of great help to me in a story that I'm planning on writing.