Henkiöauto

Henkiöauto, literally “spirit car” in Finnish, is a term used in folklore and contemporary Finnish storytelling to describe a car believed to be inhabited or guided by a supernatural presence. The word combines henki (“spirit”) and auto (“car”). In traditional Finnish folklore, sightings of a henkiöauto are rare and anecdotal. Stories often place the vehicle at night near crossroads, old farmsteads, or cemeteries, where it may appear without a driver, emit a cold draft, or cause sudden mechanical malfunctions in nearby machinery. The experiences are typically framed as omens of death, warnings of danger, or expressions of grief surrounding a recent loss. Explanations in secular traditions attribute such reports to misperception, trickery, fevered imagination, or weather and lighting effects.

In modern usage, henkiöauto appears in Finnish literature, cinema, and online folklore as a trope to evoke mystery and unease. It is often employed as a metafor for past memories returning or for when a vehicle seems to carry the presence of someone no longer alive. The term is not grounded in scientific evidence; reports of actual autonomous or haunted vehicles remain unverified and are treated as folklore rather than established fact.

See also: Ghost car, Haunted vehicle, Urban legend, Finnish folklore.