Qutrub · Two Shadows Following You at Night

Old Arabic texts mention a creature called the qutrub. At night it follows people who are walking, going wherever they go, keeping pace but never coming close.

It is said to fear iron and light, and the sound of recitation. One it has followed for long sleeps badly all night and cannot keep the eyes open by day.

The herders of the Hajar Mountains have an old remedy: when walking at night, scatter a handful of salt behind you, whether or not anything is there.

Occult Chronicles / Hajar Mountains · United Arab Emirates / Time immemorial