| Headless priest | |
| Grouping: | Ghost |
| Similar Entities: | La Llorona, La Segua |
| Region: | Central America |
In Central American mythology and folklore, the headless priest (Spanish; Castilian: '''el padre sin cabeza''') is the spirit of a Catholic priest who died by beheading. There are multiple competing legends about the ghost that vary by region.
The headless priest is one of several traditional Central American legends about spirits that attack travelers at night. These stories typically serve to teach moral lessons. For example, La Llorona warns mothers against infanticide, while La Segua discourages men from infidelity. Similarly, the headless priest legend serves as a warning against those that would profane against the holy, or "touch God with dirty hands (Spanish; Castilian: tocan a Dios con las manos sucias|link=no)".[1]
According to The Tico Times, the legend of the headless priest has its origin in Catholic guilt. The ghost's appearance as a priest is allegedly representative of a cultural fear of the clerical abuse of authority. The legend may have originated from the period of the Spanish colonization of the Americas, during which some Catholic missionaries were beheaded by indigenous leaders.[2]
Costa Rica has several variations of the myth, depending on the region. In San Ramón, Alajuela Province, the legend goes that in 1845, a priest named Father Luis Francisco Pérez won 40,000 gold coins while gambling. He then traveled to Nicaragua, and entrusted his gold to his brother. Father Pérez was decapitated while in Nicaragua, and when his brother heard of the news he buried the gold and died of grief. It is said that to this day, the headless spirit of the priest guards his gold from any who seek to find it.[3] Some versions of this myth exclude the brother, and say that the priest buried the gold himself and lied about traveling to Nicaragua. In Patarrá, San José Province, the myth tells that the headless priest hides around a church in order to attack and scare sinners into changing their ways.[4] In particular, this version of the ghost is said to have attacked a man who entered the church while drunk.[5] Some variations of the myth have the priest getting killed by God on the steps of the altar while consecrating the host.[6]
In El Salvador, the headless priest is said to either have died before he could confess his final sins, or to have died in a revolt alongside peasants. He is said to enter churches every Friday night in search of his missing head. In Guatemala, legend says that a headless priest haunts abandoned churches, and may be seen at night by traveling arrieros.[7] According to Nicaraguan myths, the spirit was responsible for causing the historical earthquakes and floods of León Viejo, a city founded in the 16th century.[8]