Santelmo

Santelmo
Title Santelmo or St. Elmo's Fire
Description Fireball
Gender Male/female
Region Philippines

The Santelmo (St. Elmo's Fire) is a creature of Philippine mythology. The term santelmo is the shortened form of the Tagalog words "Apoy ni San Elmo "-"St. Elmo's fire". To quote:

Tagalogs, Visayans, and other Filipinos call it Santelmo. It is a ball of fire in fields and swamps. It bounces along and rolls away. It changes into a beast with fire in its mouth. Travelers and fishermen follow it at night. They walk and walk till they are tired out. Then they cannot find their way home. They walk into deep mud and thorny bushes. They get dizzy and become insane. They must reverse their clothes to send it away. Then they can find their way home.
— Maximo Ramos[1]

References

  1. ↑ Ramos, Maximo D. (1990). The Creatures of Philippine Lower Mythology (1 edition ed.). CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 9781530389995.
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