Preta

Preta is a spirit (hungry Ghost) described in South Asian lore: gaunt and elongated, more shadow than body, marked by a tiny, pinhole mouth and an ever-empty belly. Smell: a clinging, sour tang of stale rice, incense gone to dust, and damp earth. Sound: thin, paper-like sighs and hollow throat-scrapes at dusk, like wind through an empty pot. Temperature: a sudden, bone-deep chill that gathers at thresholds and shrine corners. Field notes: sightings are often at the edges of feasts, near household shrines, or along lanes where loss and regret linger—an entity defined by longing rather than aggression.