Duct Haunter

The Duct Haunter is a famous folktale, told through Libertan space. It is prescribed the status of myth by most, but the story has remained extremely common throughout Libertan history. Predating colonisation itself, the story was first spread onboard the Tokyo colony ship, where it was said to haunt the air and maintenance ducts of the ship. Kidnapping children who wandered alone between decks.
Accounts of the creature vary greatly; some have described it as an amorphous cloud, invisible, or made of many tentacles. Others differ entirely, describing it as like a large rodent of unusual size, or a fat, seal-like creature. The contradicting stories and accounts have made it popular in conspiracy theories about extraterrestrials, alongside the Spires of Fortuna. The Society for Alien Life classifies Duct Haunter accounts as the most prevalent evidence of inexplicable lifeforms in Libertas.
Unusual disappearances onboard space stations are often chalked up to victims of the creature. In the largest stations, such disappearances are not often remarked upon. Victims may simply have departed for another station. On small communities, where every station-sider is known, disappearances have led to chaos, manhunts and eventually closed cold cases. The Symposium authorities maintain that no evidence of the Duct Haunter has ever been found, and usual account for disappearances as kidnappings or unsolved murders.
Some religious communities, especially in the Mid System, consider the story of the Duct Haunter to be truth. To many others, it is just a creepy story told to children.
The Duct Haunter has been influential in pop-culture. The E2.Y789 VR tape The Duct Haunter proved a commercial success but critical failure. Luna Cat's third studio album includes the song Duck Ghost, a comedic reference to the Duct Haunter.