Popobawa
In modern Swahili folklore and the oral traditions of the Zanzibar archipelago off the coast of Tanzania, the Popobawa is a notorious and terrifying nocturnal shapeshifting entity. Emerging prominently in public consciousness through waves of widespread sightings and collective urban legend across Pemba and Unguja islands, the Popobawa is described as a malicious spirit or bat-like demon that attacks victims in the darkness of night. Its name translates from Swahili as 'bat-wing', derived from its reported capability to assume monstrous winged forms or travel as an unseen, oppressive shadow.