Vengeful spirit
 The spirit of the vengeful priest Raigo returns as a rat plague and destroys the Mii Temple. T. Yoshitoshi 1891
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| Grouping | Legendary creature |
|---|---|
| Sub grouping | Ghost, undead |
| Similar creatures | Revenant |
| Other name(s) | Vengeful spirit |
| Region | The Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa |
In mythology and folklore, a vengeful ghost or vengeful spirit is said to be the spirit of a deceased person who returns from the afterlife to seek revenge for a cruel, unnatural or unjust death. In certain cultures where funeral and burial or cremation ceremonies are important, such vengeful spirits may also be considered as unhappy ghosts of individuals who have not been given a proper funeral.
The concept of a vengeful ghost seeking retribution as a spirit for harm that it endured as a living person goes back to ancient times and is part of many cultures. According to such legends and beliefs, these kind of ghosts are dangerous and feared for they often have the ability to kill and inflict pain, roaming the world of the living as restless spirits, seeking to have their grievances redressed. They may not be satisfied until they have succeeded in punishing either their tormentors who made their life bitter, or, their murderers. They usually return to the world of the dead after justice is done, but in some cases may remain unappeased.
In certain cultures vengeful ghosts are mostly female, said to be women that were unjustly treated during their lifetime. Such women or girls may have died in despair or the suffering they endured may have ended up in early death caused by the ill-treatment or torture they were subject to.
Exorcisms and appeasement are among the religious and social customs practiced by various cultures in relation to the vengeful ghost. The northern Aché people group in Paraguay cremated old people thought to harbor dangerous vengeful spirits instead of giving them a customary burial. In cases where the person has been killed and the body disposed of unceremoniously, the cadaver may be exhumed and reburied according to the proper funerary rituals in order to appease the spirit. Others have been known to salt and burn their body, the place where they were killed or the instrument that they were killed with.
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Wikipedia