Nale Ba or Naale Baa (English: "come tomorrow") (

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

: ನಾಳೆ ಬಾ) is a popular folk legend which features prominently in areas across

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. "Naale Baa" has been found written on the doors and walls of the towns and villages for certain years. Villagers write this on walls to prevent the entry of a

malevolent spirit In mythology and folklore, a vengeful ghost or vengeful spirit is said to be the spirit of a dead person who returns from the afterlife to seek revenge for a cruel, unnatural or unjust death. In certain cultures where funeral and burial or crema ...

into their homes. It is believed that malevolent spirits or witches roam at night and take away children. In some variations, people used to believe that a witch or a malevolent spirit roam around the houses and calls out the names of people. If the person replies, he or she is said to die by vomiting blood. In some other variations of the myth, the spirit is believed to be a bridal ghost who roams around the town in search of her husband. She is known to take away the man of the house who is often the sole earning member of the family, therefore bringing bad luck to the entire household. There are also similar legends in states like Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Naale Baa was an urban legend that went viral during the 1990s in

. The myth is "A

witch Witchcraft traditionally means the use of Magic (supernatural), magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In Middle Ages, medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually ...

roams the streets in the night and knocks the door. The witch apparently speaks in voices of your kin so you would be deceived to open the door. If you open it then you will die." So the residents came up with a smart idea of writing "Naale Baa" outside the doors and the walls of their house. So when the ghost reads it and it goes back to come again the next day and the cycle repeats.

Origin

There was a renewed interest in the legend after reports of similar instances occurred same in a village in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

wherein healthy young men began to disappear right under their beds.

Popular culture

The 2018

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

film '' Stree'', starring

Shraddha Kapoor Shraddha Kapoor (born 3 March 1987 or 1989Rajkumar Rao Rajkummar Rao (born Raj Kumar Yadav; 31 August 1984) is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi films. He has appeared in more than 30 films since 2010, and is the recipient of several accolades including a National Film Award, three ...

, is based on the Naale Baa tale from ((marlanahalli)

. Horror and Thriller writer K.Hari Kumar has penned a story inspired from Naale Baa incident in his 2019 book ''India's Most Haunted - Tales of Terrifying Places'' published by HarperCollins India. This concept can also be found in the core thematic plot of the 1990 Kannada movie ''

Nigooda Rahasya ''Nigooda Rahasya'' (Kannada: ನಿಗೂಢ ರಹಸ್ಯ) is a 1990 Indian Kannada suspense thriller film, directed by Perala and produced by Jagadish Malnad and Kashinath Chindupurge. The film stars Shankar Nag, Geetha, Vanitha Vasu a ...

''.

References

{{Urban legends Ghosts Urban legends Asian ghosts Reportedly haunted locations in India Superstitions of India Indian folklore Karnataka folklore Indian legends Indian legendary creatures Hindu legendary creatures Mass excitability in South Asian culture History of Karnataka (1947–present) 1990s in Karnataka