Guia de Paraty

The Headless Mule of Ilha do Araújo

On Ilha do Araújo, a local version of the Headless Mule is tied to a large pau-d’alho tree, a circle of stones, and the mysterious Pedra do Espelho.

Category
Supernatural creature / Folklore
Location
Ilha do Araújo, Paraty Bay
  • Headless Mule
  • Recorded oral tradition

The legend

Residents of Ilha do Araújo tell of a large pau-d’alho tree, called a “podário” in the account collected in the community. A circle of stones surrounds it and includes Pedra do Espelho, the Mirror Stone. Anyone who crosses the circle at midnight under a full moon may see the Headless Mule, said to be trapped there. The stone is also described as a portal: whoever passes through it cannot return.

Versions and context

The story was collected in 2024 from children on Ilha do Araújo and confirmed by an older island resident and a teacher who had worked in the community. Another version circulates in Pouso da Cajaíba, where two mules race across the beach from opposite directions and collide in the middle. The national myth thus takes on landmarks from Paraty’s coastal landscape.

Associated places

The places below appear in this version of the story.

  • Ilha do Araújo
  • Pedra do Espelho
  • Pouso da Cajaíba — related version

Sources consulted

The sources below record the oral tradition and its context.

  • Lendas de Paraty Project — Paulo Gustavo Law/SECEC-RJ, 2024
  • Lendas de Paraty Fanzine — community accounts

Monthly update

September 10, 2026.

A headless mule with flames rising from its neck stands inside a stone circle beneath a large tree on Ilha do Araújo.
In the Ilha do Araújo version, the Headless Mule is bound to the Pedra do Espelho stone circle, where it is said to appear at midnight under a full moon.
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Nearby places

Distance is approximate and measured in a straight line.

Pindorama

Restaurants

Brazilian Signature Gastronomy

1.7 km

Approximate location