Lagahoo

The Lagahoo — sometimes called "Lugarhoo" or "Loup-Garou" — is the Caribbean's answer to the werewolf, though far more terrifying than its European cousin. This is no simple wolf transformation. The Lagahoo can become anything: a dog, a horse, a goat, a monstrous creature with no earthly name. The only constant is the heavy iron chains it drags behind it, rattling through the empty streets after midnight.

Some say the Lagahoo is a person who has made a deal with the devil — trading their humanity for supernatural power. Others say it is a curse, passed down through bloodlines, activated against the victim's will. The affected person transforms at midnight, losing all human reason, becoming a creature of pure predatory instinct.

In some tellings, the Lagahoo grows larger with each transformation — starting as a dog, becoming a horse, then a monstrous bull-like creature that towers over the treetops. The sound of its chains dragging along the road is the only warning before it appears.

To stop a Lagahoo, you must beat it with a stick that has been blessed by a priest, or drop a set of keys or a handful of sand at a crossroads — the creature is compelled to stop and pick up or count every item before it can continue its hunt.

In "Shadows In The Trade Winds," the Lagahoo explores the duality of human nature — the beast that lives inside every person, and what happens when it is set free.

Known Traits

• ⟡ Changes form at will
• ⟡ Drags iron chains
• ⟡ Active after midnight
• ⟡ Grows larger over time
• ⟡ Compelled to count scattered objects

Protections

• 🛡 Blessed wooden stick
• 🛡 Drop keys or sand at crossroads
• 🛡 Stay indoors after midnight
• 🛡 Blue paint on doorframes (some traditions)

Appears in: Chapters 4, 10