#on that hand we stan the lamprey dude for killing the creep who tried to seduce his gf

[bluberimufim]

Cool and spooky-ish Portuguese legends and mythological creatures because it's nearly Halloween!!

I've been wanting to do this for a while now, because I've felt disconnected from Portuguese culture lately and I'm trying to get into it. So I wanted to share some cool things I found because Portuguese folklore is something no one talks about and I love to share my culture with people! Please be warned that the translations may sound kinda awkward and that this is almost 100% from Wikipedia since Portuguese mythological creatures are a super obscure topic, and the only other big resource I could find was a super expensive book. That being said, the Wikipedia sounds pretty legit because it sounds like it was written by an old person.

Now let's get into some of my favourites!

Werewolf

This is a basic one but I still find it pretty funny. When I visited Cova do Lobisomem (trans.: Werewolf Cave), I learnt that the legend there is that, if you have twelve kids, the eldest son (in the story it was a son, but I don't know what happens if your eldest is a girl) becomes a werewolf and has to go live out in the wilderness. Another closely related legend mentions they have to serve some kind of penitence, but I found nothing on it.

Peeira (or "werewolf fairy")

Known as the "female version of the werewolf" and is able to control wolf packs. Her power seems to be guiding these wolf packs by being a reasonable and more human-like figure in the group, and is described as "lovely and wild" (omg that sounds sooo pretty). Information contradicts in this bit, also saying that she either has feelings for the werewolves or that she lures men into the woods to feed them to her ghost-wolves. A girl becomes a Peeira by being a couple's seventh oldest daughter, or by being called upon by her "predestined/soulmate werewolf".

Bisarma

Ghost of colossal size that can stand over valleys with one foot on each mountain, and sing monotonous tunes in "huge voices" (idk how else to translate it). This mythological creature also shows up in parts of Spain.

Jã

Weaving spirits. If you leave out a bunch of linen and a cake, they'll make you a linen cloth as fine as a hair, but if you forget to leave out the cake, they'll burn the linen. Apparently, people used to claim their ancestors had sheets made by the Jãs.

Zorra Berradeira (trans.: "Screaming Fox")

Shows up in Algarve every 7 years and, when it's not there, it's theorized that it visits other countries. It's a fox spirit that screams all the time but can be heard better at midnight or midday and, if you mock it, it will chase you down until your death.

Velha da Égua Branca (trans.: Old Lady on the White Mare)

Appears in Algarve on full moon nights and makes a lot of noise in the fields with pots and pans. She rides a white mare, wears a white cap with red ribbons that look like lightning, and holds a knife in her left hand. She's been called a "personification of the night".

Homem do Chapéu de Ferro (trans.: Man in the Iron Hat)

Another spirit from Algarve, but evil. He appears at midnight on the sides of roads and fountains, or under olive or fig trees. He's always accompanied by an animal, which is the Devil in disguise: either a black pig, a huge black rooster, or a deer with antlers as tall as a church tower. He has a gigantic frame, is "bronze-coloured" (whatever that means) and wears an iron hat. He'll run away when he sees the Old Lady on the White Mare (oooooh Algarvian connected universe).

Hey, people who live in Algarve, blink twice if you need help with all the supernatural shit because this seems disproportionately hardcore

Okay, this next one is gonna be longer because it's a whole legend with a plot, but I still want to tell it because it's kinda spooky and I love it!!

The Golden Lamprey

On full moon nights, on the banks of the Minho River (northern border with Spain), you can see a very beautiful Moorish girl with golden hair caressing a giant golden lamprey. The girl spends the night combing her hair with a golden comb or singing a sad melody, and the lamprey swims close to her.

According to legend, the lamprey had once been a Portuguese knight, and the girl had been engaged to another man. The two had been sentenced to death for their forbidden romance and had both been cursed - he turned into a fish and she can only gain physical form under the full moon.

There were men who set out in boats to search for the girl, either to seduce her or to steal her fine silk dress, but none ever found her.

Until one night, a young man disappeared after being heard in the tavern, clearly drunk, declaring that he was going to search for the golden-haired Moorish girl. His plan was to make her fall in love with him, sell her comb, and then open an inn where he'd let curious travellers take a look at this supernatural river girl in exchange for large sums of money.

The next day, the lantern he'd set out with was found on some rocks near the river by a few fishers, and his body was found in the water, a bit further ahead. On his neck, there were the marks of small, sharp teeth, similar to the shape of a lamprey's mouth. But what startled the fishers more was the satisfied look on the young man's face. (not posting a pic of a lamprey's mouth bc it feels like it would warrant some kind of content warning but pls do look it up if you're curious, it's horrifying)

There was also another legend of another cursed Moorish girl but on a rock this time that I remembered reading in school, but I genuinely cannot find it. If you know anything about a story named "A Moura do Penedo" (not the cursed snake princess one) pls hit me up, I remember loving that one as a kid. "Cursed Moorish girl" is such a common trope in Portuguese legends that it's almost unsearchable.

And if you want to add anything or correct any of the information I presented, please feel free! This is very much "baby's first dive into Portuguese folklore"

That being said, I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did! There are other less-spooky legends I'd love to share, if you're interested! Happy Halloween/other coinciding spooky holiday!