Trini Folklore: Phantom

• Phantom (n) A folklore character; a very tall, misty white figure who stands at crossroads, and traps those who pass between his legs.
  • Then there were phantom – the headless spectre with extremely long legs that grip his victims in a death squeeze (Ahye 1983:45).
  • Even our mighty phantoms have found themselves confused with the old mas character from the comic strips (Araujo 1984:43).

I stumbled upon the YouTube series below narrating all the folklore personalities from Trinidad. The phantom wasn’t one of the foremost folklore narratives told in Trinidad, and I don’t remember being told this story as a child. My series on other folklore characters from Trinidad such as Papa Bois, Soucouyant, Douen, La Jabless, Mama De Leau and Lagahou is a testament to the importance of oral traditions in Trinidad and Tobago.

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Leave us a comment below of Trini phrases you have heard.

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• Source: Dictionary of the English/Creole of Trinidad & Tobago by Lise Winer.
• Featured Image by the ghostby sultan-alghamdi