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Sassabonsam-

Sassabonsam or Asabonsam is a vampire-like creature from Ashanti people folklore of Ghana. It is described as a giant bat with head of a fox, with its body covered with red fur and iron teeth and iron hooks in its feet and wings. It is known to eat fruit as well to steal people from above and carry them away.

Sassabonsam is also known as a type of Ogre from the tales of the Tschwi and Ashanti people of West Africa. This Sassabonsam is described as being a very tall and thin human with straight hair, red skin and bloodshot eyes. They have incredibly long legs and feet that point in both directions.

This creature lives in trees while dangling their limbs from the branches, at first they look like roots of a Banyan tree growing out of the tree. However when any unwary traveller walks underneath them, they are swept up by the feet of the Sassabonsam to become prisoners of these creatures. Although some are agile enough to escape these creatures most are killed as the Sassabonsam suck them dry of blood and wipe any remains of blood on the ground. This constant killing of people leaves the bare ground a dark red colour underneath the tree.

Female version of this creature called Shamantin.

Theories[]

Madagascan Flying Fox Batnap

The Madagascan flying fox (Pteropus rufus), a possible explanation for the creature.

Chances are, given their description, that they are simply a species of flying fox with superstition and myth tacked onto them. While flying foxes are not known to inhabit mainland Africa, it is possible that an unknown group does, either having naturally evolved there or on some form of small migratory pattern, or that they arrived in Ghana by accident, perhaps being blown over by a storm. Even so, they would have had to cross the entire continent of Africa to arrive in Ghana, as the only place in Africa to find such megachiroptera bats is in the islands off Eastern Africa.

With this in mind, the large size, fox-like head, red fur, fruit eating habits and their hanging upside-down from trees are all immediately explained away, while the idea of them attacking people would likely stem from people's fear of its size in general, which could easily frighten someone should one fly by them. The red coloration under trees they inhabit presumably would be the ground being stained by their guano.


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