Al Basti

Al Basti or Al Kardai is an ancient female spirit, the personification of guilt, found in folklore throughout the Caucasus mountains, with origins going as far back as Sumerian mythology.

In Caucasus and Middle Eastern Folklore

In Sumerian Folklore

A variation of the Al Basti myth stretches back into Sumerian times as one of the names given to Lilith, the Biblical first wife of Adam, cast out of Paradise for her willfulness and independence.

In Turkish Folklore

In Turkish folklore Al Basti has been often confused as both a Mare, a Succubus, as well as any number of Middle Eastern female spirits which are told to enter a man's erotic dreams. However, the difference in the Al Basti legends is that she not a sexual spirit, rather she visits those “who have guilty souls” and “come from families that have committed bloody crimes that have gone unpunished.”

According to scholar Özhan Öztürk those who Al Basti visits are said to wake up in “an intense fever ... She is also known to steal horses, who are......
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