We have our myths, legends and fables in Egypt, we just don’t know how to use them right. We seldom get a proper horror film or thriller novel inspired by our horrifying bedtime stories, of which we have many. The reason why so many Egyptians aren’t easily spooked is because when compared to our legends, Dracula seems just like a misunderstood, burdened man. Our bad guys are evil for the sake of being evil! That is why we think this year, you should take your Halloween costume to the next level and go Egyptian. Here’s a list of the best Egyptian scary characters and how to achieve their look.
Abu Regl Masloukha
The bane of our existence as children and apparently all our mothers’ best friend! Any mother worth her Pyrex set knows that if her little one misbehaves, she can fix that in seconds by threatening to bring Abu Regl Masloukha to teach little Mido some manners. The actual legend has never been confirmed, but a little research shows that most people say pretty much the same thing about him: his left leg is the injured one, h e might take your leg because he’s so angry he lost his, and he’s unstoppable.
Ghouls/Ummena El Ghoula
Ghouls are Arabian mythological creatures that have been used in pop culture all over the world; from Batman’s Ra’s Al Ghul to the anime Tokyo Ghoul. A ghoul is basically a monster and/or a demon, sometimes even confused with zombies. In the Egyptian stories our mothers loved to tell us so much, they would take girls – sometimes even entire families – away, and they would even drink blood and cannibalize their victims. They could be giants, increasing their intimidation skills tenfold, or they could be cunning Djinn Wizards.
El Naddaha
This one is heavily influenced by the Sirens from Greek Mythology, only with a very Egyptian Twist. Like the Sirens, El Naddaha is a beautiful woman who lures unsuspecting men by calling out their names softly. Her voice mesmerizes them and has them uncontrollably walking towards her, and their deaths. El Naddaha is said to be some sort of Djinn that either kills those men and/or takes them as husbands in the underworld. Some say the origins of the myth came from the fact that plenty of men used to work in the fields at night alone and it drove them mad.
Black Cat
This one is for those of you who want a more traditional costume, yet want to stay true to their roots. Dress up like the object of one of the most irrational fears Egyptians have ever had: a black cat. For centuries it was believed that black cats were either possessed by a Djinn or the Devil, or a shape-shifting Djinn or Devil. So you can be both cute and scary!
Satan
Not the regular cartoonish version of Satan we always see at parties, no. Dress up as Satan in our most famous horror story, the one with the goat’s legs. As one of the many versions of the story goes, a man finds a beautiful woman and naturally starts talking to her, only to realize that Oh no! Her legs are goat legs! He runs in terror, finds an old man and tells him the whole story. When he is done the old man snickers and says “Did her leg look like this?” and the man, as well as everyone else who may or may not have peed a little, find out that the man also has goat legs. Goats and rams have always – for some odd reason – represented Satan himself in pop culture. And so our assumption is, this story is basically about a man being trolled by Lucifer.
Um El Sho’our
When we first heard about that one, we thought she would be another seductress, luring men with her long flowing hair. We couldn’t have been more wrong. Umm El Sho’our has ugly, dirty, freakishly long hair and fingernails. She lives in and/or around fresh water and takes a sacrificial bride or groom.
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