Ghosts in Bengali culture

Ghosts are an important part of folklore in Bengal. Fairy tales, both old and new often use the concept of ghosts. In modern day Bengali literature as well, references to ghosts may be often found. It is believed that the spirits of those who cannot find peace in the afterlife or die unnatural deaths remain on Earth. The common word for ghosts in Bengali is bhut (Bengali: ভূত).

There are different and distinct types of ghosts in Bengal. Some of the more prominent are:

• Shankchunni: Female ghost
• Petni: Female ghost
• Chorachunni:
• Penchapechi:
• Nishi: At night calls people out by name from their home, never to be returned again
• Mamdo bhut: Ghosts of Muslims
• Brahmadaitto or Brahmodatti: Ghosts of Brahmin or Brahmo people
• Aleya: Marsh gas apparitions that confuse fishermen, make then lose thier barings and eventually drown
• Skondhokata or Kondhokata: A headless ghost

In folklore, ghosts are often found in desolate stretches of road or fields around villages, at crematoriums and graveyards, on Ashhyath or Sheora trees. These ghosts are often shown to be fond of fish and are attracted to the smell of fish. A curious aspect of female ghosts, petnis, is that their feet are said to be backwards. Ghosts in folk tales are almost always malicious. In modern stories and films, ghosts often take on more firendly appearences. For example, in Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay's novels and the film Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, ghosts help the protagonists.