In the folklore of

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

the Lagahoo or Lugarhou is a mythical

shapeshifting In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shapeshifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through unnatural means. The idea of shapeshifting is found in the oldest forms of totemism and shamanism, as well as the oldest existen ...

monster. It is cousin to the French and the Germanic ''

werewolf In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (from Ancient Greek ), is an individual who can shapeshifting, shapeshift into a wolf, or especially in modern film, a Shapeshifting, therianthropic Hybrid beasts in folklore, hybrid wol ...

''. It seems like a normal human by day, but this creature takes on the form of a man with no head, who roams the night with a wooden coffin on its neck. On top of the coffin are three lighted candles and the long loose end of a heavy iron chain, noosed around its waist, trails behind him. Often, it is seen with chains around its neck, which change size. One appendage is said to be turned backwards. It can

shapeshift In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shapeshifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through unnatural means. The idea of shapeshifting is found in the oldest forms of totemism and shamanism, as well as the oldest exist ...

into various animals, including horses, pigs or goats, and said to often take the form of a creature similar to a

centaur A centaur ( ; ; ), occasionally hippocentaur, also called Ixionidae (), is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse that was said to live in the mountains of Thessaly. In one version o ...

; it is also thought to be a blood sucker which is less than particular about its food source, making do with such animals as cows and goats. The Lagahoo also possesses the ability to alter its size from tiny to gigantic in an instant. To kill the Lagahoo one must beat the creature with a stick which has been anointed with

holy water Holy water is water that has been blessed by a member of the clergy or a religious figure, or derived from a well or spring considered holy. The use for cleansing prior to a baptism and spiritual cleansing is common in several religions, from ...

and holy oil for nine days. While beating the demon, it changes into other beasts such as a snarling dog, horse, cat, and pig, a wild bull and thunderous waves of water and finally will disappear into a black mist.

In popular culture

In Wayne Gerard Trotman's science fiction novel, ''Veterans of the Psychic Wars'', Soraya Doyle, a Trinidadian character, repeatedly refers to a shapeshifting alien as a Ligahoo. In the novel ''Kaya Abaniah and the Father of the Forest'' by Wayne Gerard Trotman, a psychotic shapeshifter from another planet has been impersonating several of

’s folkloric characters, including Ligahoo. The Lagahoo of James Christopher Aboud’s 2004 poetry anthology, ''Lagahoo Poems'', is an ageless, restless wanderer who "takes his shape from the wind" and "has no master", except his own hunger and desire. In ''Escape From Silk Cotton Forest'' by Francis Escayg, the Lagahoo are not all evil. They actually want to be part of a peaceful society. However, due to their "different" appearance - in this case they look like canine-humanoids with totally white eyes and can replicate the traits of the species they change into - they take the forms of several local species, goans and douans being the most mentioned Mentioned in the 2015 children's novel "The Jumbies" by Tracey Baptiste.

External links

Caribbean Review of Books, "Here be monsters"

Notes

Trinidad and Tobago folklore Caribbean legendary creatures Shapeshifting {{CentralAm-myth-stub