The Ghoul of Liwa · Footprints at the Edge of the Oasis

Beyond the Liwa Oasis lie sand dunes without end. The old people say the desert holds a ghoul that lives near graveyards and turns into a woman or a gazelle to draw people off the road.

The way to know it is by the tracks: its footprints are a camel’s, but after two steps they become a person’s.

So the rules for entering the sand are specific — do not walk the night alone, do not leave food outside the camp, and if you hear a woman crying, do not go looking.

Folklore / Liwa · United Arab Emirates / Time immemorial