The Cursed Hair
Deep in the heart of Obajere, a village where old ways never die, a legend haunted the people: the tale of Iyabo, the woman with the hair of the dead. They said Iyabo was the village beauty, with hair so long and thick that it swept the ground behind her. But her beauty came with a price, one that would take over fifty lives before it was finally put to rest.
It all began when Iyabo’s mother found a strange man’s hair buried in a bundle near the well, tied with a red ribbon and stained with dried blood. She should have thrown it away, but she took it home, believing it might carry some ancient power. She wove it into her daughter’s hair, thinking it would bring them good fortune. But from that day, Iyabo’s hair began to grow uncontrollably, its texture thickening, its strands twisting around each other in knots too tight to break. Her hair felt alive—almost hungry.
At first, people only whispered. Iyabo’s hair would move strangely in the night, coiling around her bedposts, and sometimes reaching out as if searching for something. The young girl dismissed it as imagination, but one night, her little brother went missing. His bed was empty, save for a single, thick strand of her hair.
Days turned into weeks, and one by one, people in the village vanished. Each time, they found a trail of hair leading back to Iyabo’s house. Her hair now seemed to move on its own, slithering over walls, creeping through windows, and wrapping itself around anything warm and alive. It fed off life itself.
By the time her mother realized what she had unleashed, it was too late. Her hair was no longer just hair; it was a living curse, drawing souls from the bodies it entangled, their screams trapped forever within each strand. No knife, no fire could cut it. The hair grew thicker and darker with every life it claimed, swirling around Iyabo’s form until she became an unmoving prisoner within the very thing that once defined her beauty.
The village elders finally gathered, chanting prayers, and burning herbs. But when they arrived at Iyabo's home, the hair burst through the windows like a tidal wave, wrapping around anyone too close, suffocating them in seconds. Those who survived fled, leaving the village abandoned.
Today, they say if you wander too close to Obajere, you'll feel a faint brush of hair against your ankle. And if you hear the whisper of someone calling your name, don’t turn around. For in the shadows, Iyabo’s hair still searches for its next victim, each strand carrying the screams of the souls it has taken, waiting to pull someone else into its dark, eternal embrace.
The Cursed Hair
Deep in the heart of Obajere, a village where old ways never die, a legend haunted the people: the tale of Iyabo, the woman with the hair of the dead. They said Iyabo was the village beauty, with hair so long and thick that it swept the ground behind her. But her beauty came with a price, one that would take over fifty lives before it was finally put to rest.
It all began when Iyabo’s mother found a strange man’s hair buried in a bundle near the well, tied with a red ribbon and stained with dried blood. She should have thrown it away, but she took it home, believing it might carry some ancient power. She wove it into her daughter’s hair, thinking it would bring them good fortune. But from that day, Iyabo’s hair began to grow uncontrollably, its texture thickening, its strands twisting around each other in knots too tight to break. Her hair felt alive—almost hungry.
At first, people only whispered. Iyabo’s hair would move strangely in the night, coiling around her bedposts, and sometimes reaching out as if searching for something. The young girl dismissed it as imagination, but one night, her little brother went missing. His bed was empty, save for a single, thick strand of her hair.
Days turned into weeks, and one by one, people in the village vanished. Each time, they found a trail of hair leading back to Iyabo’s house. Her hair now seemed to move on its own, slithering over walls, creeping through windows, and wrapping itself around anything warm and alive. It fed off life itself.
By the time her mother realized what she had unleashed, it was too late. Her hair was no longer just hair; it was a living curse, drawing souls from the bodies it entangled, their screams trapped forever within each strand. No knife, no fire could cut it. The hair grew thicker and darker with every life it claimed, swirling around Iyabo’s form until she became an unmoving prisoner within the very thing that once defined her beauty.
The village elders finally gathered, chanting prayers, and burning herbs. But when they arrived at Iyabo's home, the hair burst through the windows like a tidal wave, wrapping around anyone too close, suffocating them in seconds. Those who survived fled, leaving the village abandoned.
Today, they say if you wander too close to Obajere, you'll feel a faint brush of hair against your ankle. And if you hear the whisper of someone calling your name, don’t turn around. For in the shadows, Iyabo’s hair still searches for its next victim, each strand carrying the screams of the souls it has taken, waiting to pull someone else into its dark, eternal embrace.
