In Reunion Island we celebrate each year 'grandmother kal'.There are many stories and assumptions about this legendary figure and grandmother Kal is often referred to as a witch wandering at night to make people get lost. In fact she is said to have been a slave during the age of slavery in Reunion Island and one day the master killed her grandson .She fled and drowned in a chasm which is actually located in my town. From that day on her soul wanders at night looking for children. Indeed her body has never been found. Presumably, she was eaten by a shark. Therefore she has never found her resting place because people have never given her a proper burial as her body has never been found. So in retaliation for the loss of her grandson she wanders at night on a broom dressed in a long, dark dress and tries to attract people into the forest especially children to make them get lost. When she attracts people she utters a stange sound 'tout tout' similar to the sound made by a kind of bird. I heard many stories of people getting lost and it's quite unnerving. I know a man who related this story to me:when he was a child while he was walking throug the forest he saw a little light and this light seemed to attract him so he followed it. He also heard the sound of a strange bird but didn't pay much attention to it. He kept on following the light but couldn't reach it. When he woke up in the morning he realized that he was lost. He found himself in a ravine and was desperate because he knew that nobody would be able to find him. When his family noticed his disappearance they prayed for him for nine days and at the end of the nine days they found him by chance. He told me that the prayers saved him. Many parents refer to grandmother Kal to frighten their children and prevent them from wandering late at night. Also people say that we should never imitate the sound that she makes otherwise she will appear in the shape of a duck. Today on November 31st people dress up as grandmother Kal and go to the beach, especially near the chasm where she is believed to have drowned.