Soucouyant: The Fireball Witch

The Skin Shedder

The Soucouyant (also known as Ole Higue in Guyana) is the vampire of the Caribbean. By day, she appears as a reclusive, grumpy old woman living on the edge of the village. But this "woman" is just a suit. At midnight, she performs a dark ritual, peeling off her wrinkled human skin to reveal the spirit of pure fire beneath. She places the skin in a mortar filled with special water to keep it moist.

The Fireball

Once skinless, she ignites. She transforms into a ball of blue flame or a comet. She flies through the night sky, seeking a victim. She can enter any home through a keyhole, a crack in the wall, or beneath a door. She sucks the blood of the sleeping, leaving behind blue or black bruises. She does not kill instantly. She drains the victim slowly night after night.

The Weakness

The Soucouyant is powerful, but she has a fatal flaw: She needs her skin. She must put it back on before dawn, or the sunlight will kill her. To defeat her, you must find her mortar while she is out feeding. Take the skin and rub the inside with hot pepper (Scotch Bonnet), coarse salt, and lime juice. When she returns, the spices will burn her raw flesh. She will be unable to put the skin on, screaming and dancing in agony until the sun rises to destroy her.

The Rice Trick

Like many spirits, the Soucouyant has OCD (compulsion to count). If you scatter rice or sand at her doorstep, she is compelled to count every grain before she can enter. If you scatter enough, the sun will rise before she finishes counting.

The Final Warning

If you see a blue light streaking across the sky in Trinidad, it is not a shooting star. If you wake up with unexplainable bruises, check your neighbors, and buy some salt.