Legends from the Caribbean tell of soucouyants: women who shed skin to fly as balls of fire through night.

A closer look

Caribbean nights carry tales glowing as vividly as the torches along their coasts. The soucouyant—part woman, part fire—slips out of her own skin to dart across the sky like a burning comet. Villagers told of finding the discarded husk and sprinkling it with salt, trapping the spirit mid‑flight until dawn. Such stories blend shudders and wonder, a reminder of how lore protects communities as much as it entertains. Whether real or not, the soucouyant is a warning embodied in flame: beware the night, for not every light in the dark is safe.