Bhoot (bhoota)

There is no single canonical origin myth for bhoots in the supplied materials; rather, the sources present a set of common social and situational causes by which a deceased person may become a bhoot. Principal causes given include violent death, unresolved matters or attachments in life, and the failure of survivors to perform proper funerals. Regional and community interpretations vary, and the category functions as a general classification of the unsettled dead rather than a single mythic genealogy.

The provided sources do not record a consistent physical typology for bhoots. Encyclopedic summaries characterize a bhoot principally as the ghost of a deceased person; beyond that, the supplied material—comprised of a general reference entry and modern media listings—does not supply ethnographic detail or a stable visual description. Popular-media uses of the term (films, radio programs, sound recordings) attest to varied portrayals but are not described in the sources here.

Sources repeatedly characterize bhoots as 'perturbed and restless' and remaining among the living because something hinders their transition. From this follows a general behavioral profile: bhoots linger near places, persons, or circumstances connected to their life or death. The supplied materials do not provide a standardized catalogue of specific supernatural powers (such as possession, physical violence, or shapechanging) or uniform ritual behaviors; such attributes are reported to vary by region and by cultural account.