El Fantasma Malo

El Fantasma Malo is a form of ghost from El Salvador created when someone builds a house and later dies in it. It’s thought that the effort they put into the building is what ties them to it and leads them to refuse to give up the house to anyone else. They often pull down blankets, throws things, hides things, and move around furniture. It’s thought they may hover over sleeping children in the form of a thick mist and make it hard for them to breathe, making them ill. They may also inhale the breath of a child to steal its life force which causes them to become sick and die. These children could only be healed by a priest, though it’s possible El Fantasma Malo could have been used to explain SIDS. It has also been reported breathing on people like a dog, spraying water, and scaring farm animals.

Citations:

Maberry, Jonathan. Vampire Universe: The Dark World of Supernatural Beings That Haunt Us, Hunt Us, and Hunger for Us. United States, Kensington Publishing Corporation, 2006.