Bestiary.us

Dohts are spirits known from the folklore of Assam. They are pitch-black, gaunt, and enormously tall — about 5 or 6 meters (16-20 feet). Their fingers and toes are unnaturally long, as are the claw-like nails that grow from them. They have oily, slippery bodies: it is nearly impossible to grab hold of one of these beings, or to wrestle it down. They have disheveled mops of hair on their heads. Male Dohts always go naked, whereas female Dohts sometimes wear tattered rags.

Like the Baak, a Doht always carries a little round black pouch under its armpit, similar to the kind used to carry betel-leaves. This bag is made of a supernatural net-like cloth.

Dohts live in family groups near mosquito-ridden swamps, ponds, or slow-moving rivers. They love to eat fish, and sometimes steal them out of fishermen’s traps, or even creep along behind a person to silently snatch fish out of his bag. They also eat shellfish and the cocoons of Assam silkworms, which they consider a delicacy.

All Dohts are spiteful towards humans, but to varying degrees. If they encounter someone by chance, they might beat them black and blue, or they might stick them upside down in the mud with their heads buried until they nearly suffocate. Some Dohts refrain from attacking if they see a way to steal some fish. Others are merciless killers, ready to take a human life at the slightest provocation.

Male Dohts are most ruthless and dangerous when they are on their own, away from their families. They are less prone to violence while their wives are watching them.

A thicket of tall bamboo at the water’s edge is often a home to a Doht. If you notice one of these thickets suddenly starting to shake, it is because the Doht that lives inside is trying to scare you away.

Like many other ghosts, Dohts fear fire, iron, and mustard seeds. Anyone who carries any of these things is protected from an attack. Fisher-people sometimes wear steel fish-hooks on threads around their necks to ward off Dohts.

If a person manages to steal a Doht’s magical pouch, he should bury it in a pile of mustard seeds to ensure that the Doht cannot retrieve it. By doing so he can make the Doht his slave. As soon as a Doht loses its pouch it also loses its supernatural powers, and takes the shape of a mortal human who will obey his master’s every command.

Dohts can change their shape and take human form, sometimes even coming to human markets to shop. On these visits male Dohts sometimes abduct human women and mate with them. The half-human children of a Doht have curiously lanky, weak limbs, streaks or marks on their arms, and may have reddish, curly hair.