El Cadejo

In El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and across Central America people tell of the Cadejo, a large shaggy dog the size of a calf with eyes that glow like red embers. There are two: the white Cadejo, a kindly spirit that protects travelers, drunkards and night wanderers, following them silently to their door; and the black Cadejo, an evil creature with sulfurous breath and goat's hooves that tries to frighten, mislead or even kill the wayfarer. The two are said to wage fierce battles in the dark, and if the black one wins, the person it stalked falls ill or loses their mind. Whoever stares into its eyes may be bewitched and go days without sleep. Elders advise never to turn and look at it, to pray and keep walking without running. The Cadejo fuses Indigenous Maya beliefs with the Christian imagination of good and evil, and it lives on as a warning for those who travel country roads at night.