Cadejo
Also called Cadejos, Cadejo Blanco, Cadejo Negro.
In Central American folklore, the Cadejo is a large spectral dog that appears on lonely night roads in a protective white form and a malevolent black form.
At a glance
- Tradition
- Central American folklore
- Region
- Central America (place of origin)
- Trait family
- The Silent-Winged
Near this figure
Traits
Read from the figure's description, which a model wrote. Open "why" for the sentence a trait came from.
Form
- Good twin evil twin spirits
why
Accounts consistently split the Cadejo into two opposed forms.
Behaviour
- Vanishes by dawn
why
it vanishes at dawn or once its charge is safe.
Sight and sound
- Glowing red eyes
why
The core motif is a large, shaggy dog, often described as goat-sized or larger, with glowing red eyes, that stalks travelers, drunks, and other lone wayfarers on rural roads at night, typically making itself known first by the sound of dragging chains or heavy footsteps behind the traveler.
- Chains dragging sound heralds approach
why
The core motif is a large, shaggy dog, often described as goat-sized or larger, with glowing red eyes, that stalks travelers, drunks, and other lone wayfarers on rural roads at night, typically making itself known first by the sound of dragging chains or heavy footsteps behind the traveler.
- Sulfur smell
why
it is often described as smelling of sulfur or decay.
Omens
- Danger in mere glimpse
why
some tellings hold that looking directly into a Cadejo Negro's eyes can bring harm or bad luck.