Although the belief in ghosts is common to cultures around the world in the West and especially in the Americas, this belief was strongly influenced by the traditions of European folklore that have come to the new world on board ships of Portuguese settlers, Spanish, French, Dutch and English. Thus, the ghosts of the Old World emprestaram much of its modus operandi, the way you manifest, syncretizing to the ghosts that have haunted the native populations on American soil, rather than in the eastern colonies, where civilizations have established and had developed traditions firmed and documented as old as countries such as China, India, Japan

There are many ethnic groups in South America mainly scattered in the territories of Peu, Bolivia, Ecuador [Kichwa], Colombia [Ingas] and Argentina. Historically, their ancestors were the Incas, the popular movies, and Huancas Cañaris. Among their beliefs in the supernatural, strongly influenced by Christianity Catholic Jesuits, are the "Condemned". When someone dies of "good death", before leaving this world, the soul wanders for five days in places where they suffered and was happy. She wears a white robe and not put your feet on the ground. Expiry of that period, wash your clothes, as it must be completely clean for up to heaven. However, the situation is different if the death was tragic, as suicide, accident, when the dead load faults, such as incest, greed, lying, or committed crimes. These are rejected by God and condemned to spend time wandering among the living. There are those who left hidden money and come back to say where the treasure is hiding because wealth and take the secret to the grave is considered an anti-social act.

Where appropriate, the penalty will be different: those who kill for love, are only received in heaven when the time comes that was scheduled for his death. The thieves, they have to repay in some way, the result of theft. But those who died violently are the worst cases, because the violence will revive until they can get salvation by God's mercy. These are lost souls who inhabit caves and cemeteries where they scream and moan in terrible agony, tormented by demons that keep them chained. They take the forms of animals or appear dressed in black robes.Eventually freed by his captors demonic haunted cities in parades, processions, but also wanders alone, hiding her face cadaverous not be recognized. They are described as shades.

Those convicted more terrible, try to drag living his misfortune. They want their souls that they believe can serve as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the demons and thus achieve liberation. The incestuous, haunts his victim and / or partner. In some cases, try to eat the head because there is the seat of the soul. To get rid of these lost souls can be resorted to prayer, holding a crucifix, for Jesus calling or asking the intervention of the Virgin Mary. Some objects also serve as protection: the wool of llamas, colorful stripes, salt, the song of the bunch [horn trumpet, horn] and also the presence of children [as in the legend below]. But if the intention is to save the soul of the condemned, then you should definitely celebrate mass.


There was a woman who lived alone. she spun day and night to earn their livelihood. In one of those nights of work, it was midnight when he heard knocking on your door and inadvertently opened it they encounter a man who said, "Madam, please, keep these candles to me that tomorrow at this same hours, come back to pick them up. " Despite the strangeness of the request, she agreed. He closed the door and retreating to the house, in the light of the lamp, saw that the candles had been transformed into human bones. Playing away objects macabre and full of fear, the next day, went to seek the cure of the parish who reported the incident. The priest told him he had done badly in answering the door at such a late hour of the night and there was no other choice but to hope for the return of the ghost, it was a ghost, the soul of another world, a convict who, indeed, steal you would life to return to fetch the bones, bones that she had to recover it would be necessary to restore them. However, to save himself, that was enough to answer the door was not alone, but together with six children: three boys and three girls. So did the woman using the neighborhood, gathered the children and waited. At the appointed hour, knocked at the door. He was convicted and she, surrounded by infants, delivered the bones. Displeased, the spectrum said, "Ah, so you know! Thanks to these children because without them I'd eat you!" He vanished before the eyes of all. [Candles they saw bones in the legends of ghosts is a recurring theme of Brazilian folklore as will be seen in the "Brazil"]


Maau: akin to Bigfoot, this version, the body of the Tupi-Guarani is "the soul of [Indian men and women too old and wise in witchcraft, who walk the night, jumping on one leg and screaming like Matinta-Pereira , an ominous bird "[Donato, Hernani, 1981: Dictionary of Mythology, São Paulo: Culrix]. The SACI, better known among the ghosts, belongs to the category of "delighted" and not the ghosts.

Iwanch: Indians Aguaruna [Peru, trunk Jivaros, who heads shrink] believe that all human beings, men, animals, plants, rocks, mountains, objects, etc.. Have a soul to which call wakan. When a child dies mothers throw their outdoor clothes [the children] to the [daughter] can capture the wakan's clothing and thereby protect themselves from the cold in the afterlife. The wakan human, with the death of the body, becomes the Iwanch and may have different purposes depending on the person.

Some spirits take a horrible humanoid form: disturbed, gluttonous, cowardly and unintelligent. It is the first step in existence in the post-mortem, the Dekas Iwanch, which last as long as life is over [much like the shells, the astral body of impure Western and Eastern occult]. Then turns into a blue butterfly [Iwanch Wampage] that rises above the clouds [Yújagkim] disappearing.

The souls of the wicked are doomed to drag on forever in the bottom of the rocky cliffs. These spirits are condemned to haunt the living, kidnap them, beat them to the faint, leaving them half-dead. The only form of protection is to recite a magic formula, called, anen, amazing these haunts: "You who have taken the form of an evil spirit, do not take my soul, remember the time when you had a body ─ and you said" I will see my wife. "I can not talk like that .... I'm like a nail attached to the meat. So my soul is attached to my body ... But you no longer can talk so your body because you lost in the distance - you forever.

Emesek: it is a harmful spirit, avenger of a dead enemy that continues, as a ghost, fighting against the rival believes debtor. The Emesek want to settle accounts and can disrupt this process for years. Only by magic you can not only manage this Moreover adversary but also enslave him, forcing him to provide services that promote material prosperity and paw family who managed to win it.