The Headless Mule
In Brazil's countryside, people say that on Thursday nights a mule with no head gallops through the fields, breathing fire from its neck.
What was reported
The mula sem cabeça, the headless mule, is one of the best-known creatures of Brazilian folklore. It's said to be a woman cursed for loving a priest, who is turned into a mule every Thursday night, and gallops until dawn on Friday.
In place of its head, flames shoot from its neck, and its iron horseshoes strike sparks and clatter loudly. Anyone in its way is trampled. The curse is broken if someone pulls off its bridle.
Explanations offered
The legend came to Brazil from Portugal and Spain and reflects the Church's rules of the colonial era. The clatter of hooves at night and the sound of horses running loose may have kept it alive in rural areas.
- When
- Told for centuries
- Where
- Minas Gerais, 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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