Headless priest

In Central American mythology and folklore, the headless priest (el padre sin cabeza) is the spirit of a Catholic priest that died by beheading. There are multiple competing legends about the ghost that vary by region.

Context
The headless priest is one of various ghosts in Central American culture that attack travelers at night. These stories serve to teach moral lessons; for example, La Llorona warns mothers against infanticide while La Segua discourages men from infidelity. Similarly, the headless priest legend serves as a warning against those that would profane against the holy, or "touch God with dirty hands".

It has been suggested that the legend of the headless priest originates from Catholic guilt, and that the ghost's appearance as a priest is representative of a cultural fear of the clerical abuse of authority. The legend originates from the period of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. During this period, many Catholic missionaries were executed by indigenous leaders, which may have lead to the myth's origin.

Costa Rica
Costa Rica has various versions of the myth. In San Ramón the legend goes that in 1845, a priest named Father Luis Francisco Pérez won forty-thousand gold coins while gambling. He then travelled to Nicaragua, and entrusted his gold to his brother. Father Pérez was decapitated while in Nicaragua, and when his brother heard of the news he buried the gold and died of grief. It is said that to this day, the headless spirit of the priest guards his gold from any who seek to find it. Some versions of this myth exclude the brother, and say that the priest buried the gold himself and lied about traveling to Nicaragua.

In Patarrá, the myth tells that the headless priest hides around a church in order to attack and scare sinners into changing their ways. In particular, this version of the ghost is said to have attacked a man who entered the church while drunk. Some versions of the myth say that the priest was killed by God on the steps of the altar while consecrating the host.

El Salvador
In El Salvador, the headless priest is said to either have died before he could confess his final sins, or to have died in a revolt alongside peasants. He is said to enter churches every Friday night in search of his missing head.

Guatemala
In Guatemala, legend says that a headless priest haunts abandoned churches, and may be seen at night by travelling arrieros.

Nicaragua
Nicaraguan myths say that the spirit is responsible for causing the historical earthquakes of León Viejo.