The Shape Shifter

As mythological and weird beings go, the Popobawa is of fairly recent origin. It is believed to have first shown its nightmarish mug on the Tanzanian island of Pemba which sparked hysteria and panic which ran from Pemba right over to Unguja (main island of the Zanzibar archipelago), and way across to Dar es Salaam and other parts of the East African coast.
The name Popobawa or Popo Bawa is derived from a Swahili name which translates as 'bat-wing'. This name is supposed to have come from a description of the dark shadow made by the spirit and does not to its actual form because as a shapeshifter, its looks are prone to change often. It is said the creature is able to take either human or animal form.

A Popobawa

The Popobawa visits homes during the night (but has been spotted in the day) and some claim it has a strong smelling pungent whiff about it. They are not choosy who they attack, men, women and children have all been victims, and sometimes it preys on the entire household before moving on. These attacks can be a physical assault or it can behave in the same way as poltergeists. The Popobawa is also feared for its sexual assaults and the sodomising of both men and women have been reported. These poor victims are often forced to tell others of their assault, for if they do not they are threatened with more visits.
One of the victims of the attacks in 1995, has related his ordeal to the media. He said; "I could feel it, something pressing on me. I couldn’t imagine what sort of thing was happening to me. You feel as if you are screaming with no voice. It was just like a dream but then I was thinking it was this Popobawa and he had come to do something terrible to me, something sexual. It is worse than what he does to women." Hamad claimed that he did not believe in the Popobawa or other spirits before the attack and suggests that is the reason he was attacked. "I don’t believe in spirits so maybe that’s why it attacked me. Maybe it will attack anybody who doesn’t believe."
The Popobawa apparently becomes extremely angry if its existence is doubted or denied. It 'spoke' to the villagers on Pemba in 1971 through a girl possessed by the vicious creature.
An investigator found in 2007 that the story has its roots in Islam, and according to findings, “holding or reciting the Koran is said to keep the Popobawa at bay, much as the Bible is said to dispel Christian demons."
Naturally there are the skeptics and these claim that these attacks are a result of a hypnogogic hallucination during a 'waking dream'. As for myself I try not to discount anything in this world for like the Bard said, 'there are more things in Heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.' Especially when it meant a stiff boogering. Ouch!