Ghosts are an important part of folklore

Folklore

Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...

 in Bengal

Bengal

Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...

. Fairy tales, both old and new often use the concept of ghosts. In modern day Bengali literature as well, references to ghosts may be often found. It is believed that the spirits of those who cannot find peace in the afterlife or die unnatural deaths remain on Earth. The common word for ghosts in Bengali is bhut (Bengali: ভূত).

There are different and distinct types of ghosts in Bengal. Some of the more prominent are:

• Shankchunni: Ghost of a married female usually ware a special kind of bangles in their hands which is a sign of married woman in Bengal. The word "Shankchunni" comes from Shankhachurni (Sanskrit). Shankchunni usually captures the wives of rich men so that they can lead a life of a married woman and can enjoy everything that a married woman usually do. People say that they live in Mango trees.
• Petni: Petni are female ghost usually unmarried. It is a ghost of usually those who committed crimes in life and are cursed to walk the Earth as ghosts. The Petni can be very vicious, and apparently can appear to be almost completely human until they attack. The only distinguishing characteristic of the ghost is the feet – the feet of Petni are backwards.
• Chorachunni: thief ghost, very mischievous and usually the souls of dead thieves.
• Penchapechi: An unusual form of ghost, the Penchapechi take the form of owls and hunt in the Bengali forests. The ghost follows hapless travelers through the woods until they are completely alone before it strikes. Unlike other ghosts, the Penchapechi actually consumes its victims, feeding on their body in an almost vampiric way.
• Mechho: This is a kind of ghost who likes to eat fish. Mechho usually lives near to the village ponds full of fish. Sometimes they steal fish from kitchens in village or from the boats of fisherman.
• Maal: This is a mermaid like creature which dwells in the rivers and lakes of Bangladesh. It drags unsuspecting people into the water, drowning them.
• Nishi: One of the most cruel of ghosts, the Nishi lures its victim to a secluded area by calling to the person with the voice of a loved one. The Nishi only strike at night, and their victims are never seen again, so it is unknown what happens to them. They may become Nishi themselves. According to folklore, the Nishi cannot call out more than twice, and so no one should answer a voice at night until it has called three times.
• Mamdo bhut: Ghosts of Muslims
• Brahmadaitto or Brahmodatti: Ghosts of Brahmin
  Brahmin
  Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
  
   or Brahmo
  Brahmo
  A Brahmo is either an adherent of Brahmoism to the exclusion of all other religions, or a person with at least one Brahmo parent or guardian and who has never denied his faith...
  
   people
• Aleya: Marsh gas apparitions that confuse fishermen, make them lose their bearings and eventually drown
• Skondhokata or Kondhokata: A headless ghost
• Bego Bhoot: This is a ghost of those person who are killed or eaten by the tigers in jungle. Mainly in Sundarban area (in West Bengal, India) which is a Royal Bengal Tiger Sanctuary, the villagers believe in this kind of ghost. These ghost use to frightened the persons who enters into the jungle in serch of Honey, woods and try to put them in front of tigers. Sometimes they do the mimicry of Tigers to terrify the villagers.

In folklore, ghosts are often found in desolate stretches of road or fields around villages, at crematoriums and graveyards, on Ashhyath, Sheora or other similar trees and also in deserted and haunted houses. A curious aspect of female ghosts, petnis, is that their feet are said to be backwards. Ghosts in folk tales are almost always malicious.

Bengal has a galaxy of great writers who have practiced the genre of Ghost Stories. Few of them are Parashuram (Rajshekhar Basu), Sharadindu Bandopadhyay (Baroda Series), Syed Mustafa Siraz (MurariBabu Series), Satyajit Ray, Sunil Gangopadhyay, Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, Gouri De and many more.
In films, ghosts often take appearances and sometimes even is friendly way. For example, in Upendrakishore Ray

Upendrakishore Ray

Upendrokishore Ray , also known as Upendrakishore Raychowdhury was a famous Bengali writer, painter, violin player and composer. He was born on 10 May 1863 in a little village called Moshua in Mymensingh District in Bengal, now in Bangladesh...

's novels and Satyajit Ray

Satyajit Ray

Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...

's film Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne

Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne

Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne , directed by the late Satyajit Ray and based on a story by his grandfather Upendra Kishore Ray, is a popular Bengali children's film. It is sometimes released in the English-speaking world as The Adventures Of Goopy And Bagha...

, ghosts help the protagonists.