Ghosts of Flowers.
Bhûts occasionally take up their abode in flowers, and hence it is dangerous to allow children to smell them. In Kumaun the Betaina tree (Melia sempervivens) is supposed to be infested by Bhûts, and its flowers are never used as offerings to the gods.160 But, on the other hand, as we shall see elsewhere, flowers and fruits are considered scarers of demons. Bhûts, it is believed, do their cooking at noon and evening, so women and children should be cautious about walking at such times, lest they should tread unwittingly upon this ghostly food and incur the resentment of its owners.161 In the same way the Scotch fairies are supposed to be at their meals when rain and sunshine come together. In England, at such times the devil is said to be beating his wife, and in India they call it the “Jackal’s wedding.”162