Revenge of the Spirit Gods

As reported in the Correio newspaper, Salvador, Bahia, September 03, 2023

“The once renowned Ellegance hotel is no more. Smouldering embers are all that remain of this cherished establishment, the fifth local hotel in the last fortnight to have been destroyed by unexplained fire in the vicinity of the Lagoa do Abaeté, a popular tourist destination. Fire crews rushed to the scene but struggled to contain a blaze that burnt with a peculiarly intense white heat and threatened to engulf surrounding buildings. Locals insist that the fires and the  frequency of uncanny phenomena in the neighbourhood, including numerous disappearances, are directly linked to the sad deterioration of the once majestic lagoon, the birthplace of several indigenous and Afro-Brasilian legends. Listen closely, it is said, and you can detect the anguished voice of a Morubixaba chief kidnapped and drowned by the ‘Mother of the water,’ Uira. Closer still and you can hear sacred atabaque percussive rhythms accompanied by the songs of the mermaid queen, Janaína. It is also where the forest dwelling Carajás, a normally peaceful homonym, transforms into a leopard and drags its trespasser victims into the murky depths. Like so many other idyllic places along the coast, contemporary mass tourism has all but destroyed this once enchanted place. Now home to feral dogs and monstrous insects, its majestic palms are no more than rotten stumps, the iridescent white sand an oily grey, and its glittering waters lie fetid and dying. This is why many locals talk of the revenge of the spirit gods, who, in righteous anger against deforestation, pollution and the desecration of ancient memories, rose from the waters and embarked on a campaign of kidnap, murder and arson. Immediately before the fires, there were reports of screams, loud splashes and sightings of strange beings dragging human figures into the boiling water.”