The Mechho Bhoot, the Ghost Who Steals Fish
In Bengali folklore, a ghost with a great love of fish follows fishermen home at dusk, and creeps into kitchens to steal the catch.
What was reported
The mechho bhoot is a ghost of Bengali folklore, in Bangladesh and West Bengal. Its one passion is fish. It haunts ponds and riverbanks, follows fishermen as they walk home at dusk with their catch, and asks, in a nasal voice, for a share. Sometimes it sneaks into kitchens to steal fish.
People said that carrying fish home alone after dark was risky, and that if the ghost asked, it was best to give it what it wanted.
Explanations offered
The mechho bhoot is one of a large family of ghosts in Bengali folklore, many of them more comic than frightening, and it appears in children's stories and comics. Fish is central to Bengali food and culture, so a fish-stealing ghost is an especially Bengali idea.
- When
- Told for generations
- Where
- Rural Bangladesh
- Witnesses
- Bengali folklore
- Status
- Folklore
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.
More from Bangladesh