The Corpo Seco, the Body the Earth Rejected
In Brazilian folklore, a man so wicked that even the earth refused to rot his body still wanders the countryside, a dried-out corpse that clings to the trees.
What was reported
The corpo seco, 'dry body', is a figure of Brazilian folklore, especially in the interior of São Paulo and Minas Gerais. The legend says it was a man who did terrible things in life, such as mistreating his own mother. When he died, the earth would not accept him: his body wouldn't rot, and the ground spat it out.
Now he wanders as a withered, mummified corpse, haunting roads and woods at night, sometimes clinging to trees, and attacking travellers or drinking the sap of plants.
Explanations offered
The corpo seco is a moral tale, warning that wickedness, especially towards parents, will be punished even after death. It shares features with other 'undead' figures of European and Brazilian tradition, and is still told in rural areas.
- When
- Told for generations
- Where
- Interior of São Paulo state, Brazil
- Witnesses
- Brazilian folklore
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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