Chagrin (or Cagrino)
An evil spirit believed in by European Gypsies. It was said
to have the form of a hedgehog, to be yellow in color, and to
be about a foot and a half in length. Heinrich von Wlislocki stated
I am certain, that this creature is none other than the
equally demoniac being called Harginn, still believed in by the
inhabitants of Northwestern India. Horses were the special
prey of the Chagrin, who rode them into a state of exhaustion,
like the Guecubu of Chile.
When horses appeared to be sick and weary, with tangled
manes and bathed in sweat, they were believed to have been attacked
by chagrin during the night. When this was observed,
they were tethered to a stake that had been rubbed with garlic
The Cereologist Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology 5th Ed.
266
juice, then a red thread was laid on the ground in the form of
a cross, or else some of the hair of the animal was mixed with
salt, meal, and the blood of a bat and cooked to bread, with
which the hoof of the horse was smeared. The empty vessel containing
the mixture was put in the trunk of a high tree while
these words were uttered
Tarry, pipkin, in this tree,
Till such time as full ye be
