A churel, also written as "churail", or rather "chudail" (Devanagari: चुडेल) is a female ghost

Ghost

In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...

 out of Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

 folklore. The spirit is said to be of a low-caste woman who died either in childbirth or during her menstruating

Menstruation

Menstruation is the shedding of the uterine lining . It occurs on a regular basis in sexually reproductive-age females of certain mammal species. This article focuses on human menstruation.-Overview:...

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Churels are most often reported near graveyards or squalid places. Legend says that they hold young men captive until they are elderly, or else make love to them until they become so weak that they die to join the spirit. A churel can be prevented from forming by burying the corpse of any woman who is likely to become one and some families would sprinkle mustard seeds on the grave to ensure that the churel did not visit the old family house. However, in some cases an exorcism has been needed over the burial site.

Appearance

She appears either as a hideous creature with long sagging breasts and unkempt hair, or as a beautiful young woman who can charm any man. Often, her feet are backward, and she has an unnaturally long and thick black tongue; though sometimes she is reported as having no mouth at all.