By Marina Kuperman
Central America Travel Expert. about.com
Costa Rica is known around the world for its amazing National Parks, incredibly diverse wildlife and gorgeous beaches. What a lot of people don’t know is that the culture of its people can also be fascinating. One of those aspects that make it so interesting are its ghost stories.
4 Legends of Costa Rica:
1. The Devil from the Stone Bridge
There was once a man that really needed to take his cart across the river, very early in the morning. But after a lot of trying he wasn’t able to do it. So he told the devil that if he built a bridge for him he could have his soul.[post_ads_2]
The devil showed up and accepted the deal. But the man said that he could only have his soul if the bridge was finished before the first morning song of a rooster.
So the devil got started. He was going incredibly fast, the man seeing that he was going to finish right on time he took out one of the roosters in his out of his cart and it sang right on time. So the man left.
This bridge can be found in Canton de Grecia. It is a Stone bridge that, if you pay attention, you will notice a space where one Stone is missing.
2. The Horse Rider in the Fog
This happened many decades ago on a Sunday. Jacinto woke up early that morning, he was happy because he was going to meet with his girlfriend at one of the benches of the plaza. Maria showed up on time and wearing delicate clothes that made her look more beautiful than ever.Maria was also fascinated with how handsome Jacinto looked that day. It was around 5pm and they decided to visit a nearby club where they could chat and dance. At 7:30 they left the place and headed to a cafeteria to get some shakes. It was getting late so they rushed home to be able to make it home before curfew (9pm). They felt very scared when they passed by the cemetery. So Maria started praying.
They kept walking as fast as they could but a few blocks ahead the climate changed. A deep fog appeared and the moon was not visible anymore. When suddenly they started hearing behind them the sound that horses make while walking and the creepy sound of a cow mooing. Maria got so scared that she started crying. That’s when they were finally able to see the silhouette of a horseman floating on the fog. Jacinto took Maria’s hand and started running!
After that night, they told the story to everyone they knew but no one believed it.
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3. El Mico Malo
This character is said to be a small monkey with red eyes and a long tail that ends in an arrow shape. It also has huge nails. Locals say that he is an envoy from the devil to punish those married couples that fight too much.He shows up at night and sits on a tree near the house and if one of the spouses walks nearby he throws himself at them and kills them. a few lucky ones have been able to get saved by people walking by that manage to make the monkey go away by praying.
4. The Headless Pirate
This legend says that Playa de Los Loros, during colonial times, was visited often by Sharp and Dampier. They were pirates that scared everyone in the region. They used the nearby rock located near the shore as a lookout point. One day, Dampier managed to get a large treasure and instead of sharing it with his partner he decided to hide it. To do this, he trusted in one of his crew members who agreed for a small portion of the treasure.They decided to bury it under the rock that they used as lookout point. But Dampier was still scared that the secret would be known by others so he killed this partner. But as he died, he managed to summon the devil who entered his dying body and started screaming HERE!
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When he saw this Dampier ran away, the devil took of the head of the body that he has possessed and started running after him. The pirates were able to leave the place safely, but since then, there is a headless pirate guarding the treasure.
It is said that during the nights when there is full moon, you can still see from the distance a headless body walking around, making creepy sounds.
