GuHuo, a mythological monster

GuHuo is a mythological monster from Chinese folktales, Classic of Mountains and Rivers. This monster was transformed from a woman who died because of giving birth. She was so grieving for her lost baby that even after she died she carried the dead baby crying at midnight. Then she donned the feather to become a bird monster and when taking off the feather she was back to her human form. Losing her baby, she took other baby birds or babies as her own. People didn’t put children’s clothes outside at night, because they were afraid that Guhuo would take the clothes as a cue to find and come to get their babies.