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Atlas NoctisA nocturnal atlas of folklore
B — partly documented

Lenghelo

Lazio · Central Apennines and the Adriatic
Castelli Romani: Marino, Genzano, Albano, Colli Albani

Lenghelo — an elongated, long-limbed creature that at night dances on the sleeper's belly.

The Lenghelo, an elongated, long-limbed creature, dances on the belly of a sleeper in a house of the Castelli Romani.
Variants and dialect names
Lenghelo, lenghelu. Attested in the Marino expression «Te ballo sopp'a panza comm'u lenghelu!»
What is told
An elongated, long-limbed creature that at night dances on the sleeper's belly. It belongs to the family of the spirits of sleep paralysis.
What it was forthe author’s reading
Explanation of night-time chest pressure, like the twin figures of Romagna, the Garfagnana, Abruzzo and Salento.
Where it is attested
Dialect attestation in the Marino expression, collections of the folklore of Lazio. Giggi Zanazzo, Usi, costumi e pregiudizi del popolo di Roma, 1907-1908, for the context.
Caution
The etymology is transparent and not controversial: from lengo, «elongated». It is one of the few about which there are no doubts.

The grade says how well the entry is documented, not how interesting it is. How the grades are assigned.

In the same area

AMazzamurellothe Marche, Abruzzo, Umbria — Monti Sibillini and inland Abruzzo, with a diffusion reaching as far as SardiniaAPantaficaAbruzzo, the Marche — Inland Abruzzo and the Marche; the belief covers the entire peninsula under different namesALupe menareAbruzzo, Molise — Abruzzo, all four provinces, and MoliseAPantàsemaLazio, Abruzzo, the Marche — Central Apennines: Lazio, Marche, Abruzzo. Documented localities: Jenne (province of Rome), Grotti di Cittaducale (province of Rieti), Torre Cajetani (province of Frosinone), Monti CiminiBLa Sibilla appenninicathe Marche, Umbria — Monti Sibillini, Marche side, comune of Montemonaco (province of Ascoli Piceno): Monte Sibilla (2,173 m) and Lago di PilatoBIl drago della ValnerinaUmbria — Castel San Felice, a hamlet of Sant’Anatolia di Narco (province of Perugia); abbey of Santi Felice e Mauro, on the bank of the river Nera

Related by theme

Entries that share the motif, the phenomenon behind it or the history of their collection — not the geography.

BAmmuntadoreSardinia — The whole of SardiniaAMazapégulEmilia-Romagna — Romagna: Forlì-Cesena, Ravenna, Rimini, with an Apennine coreABuffardelloTuscany, Liguria — Val di Serchio, Garfagnana, Versilia, LunigianaALinchettoTuscany — Lucchesia, Versilia, Garfagnana

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