In Hindu folklore, Masan is a vampiric spirit which feeds off of children and exists to terrify them. The Masan itself is the ghost of a child. Its shadow would cause children to slowly wither away. Masan is the male name of this spirit and Masani is the female name of this spirit in some accounts. It is attracted to the water kept on hand to extinguish cooking fires or to the act of extinguishing a lamp's flame by using one's fingers. In other accounts, Masan is the ghost of a female child who has the characteristics described above, while Masani is a Hindu spirit which hangs out around funeral pyres, attacking anyone who passes by them.