The Mohini of the Lonely Road
On a dark road in Sri Lanka, a woman in white stands holding a baby. She asks you to hold the child for a moment. Don't.
What was reported
In Sri Lankan folklore, a mohini is a female spirit, often described as a beautiful woman dressed in white, sometimes with long, loose hair, who appears to men on lonely roads, near streams or under trees at night.
In a well-known version, she carries a baby and asks a passing man to hold it while she does something. Once he takes the child, he can't let go, or the baby grows heavier and heavier, or she reveals her true, frightening face. Tales are told of particular stretches of road where drivers have seen her.
Explanations offered
The mohini resembles other women-in-white legends of South and South-East Asia, such as the churel and pontianak. Folklorists suggest such stories reflect fears of the night, of strangers, and of the spirits of women who died in childbirth. Many Sri Lankans tell them as campfire tales.
- When
- Told for generations
- Where
- Kegalle, Sabaragamuwa, Sri Lanka
- Witnesses
- Sri Lankan 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.
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