In Indian folklore, vetalas are spirits that lives in burning grounds and animate dead bodies. They are powerful beings who, if subjugated, can be of great use to humans. They feature prominently in the foklore of the Indian subcontinent.

One of the most beloved and well-known collections of stories featuring a vetala is the Sanskrit work known as the Vetala Panchavimshati, ‘twenty-five tales of the vetala’. The stories tell of the brave king Vikramaditya, who, in a moment of generosity, promised to help a sorcerer perform certain mystical rites. The sorcerer asks the king to fetch a corpse that is hanging on a tree in a burning ground. This corpse, though, is no ordinary corpse, but one possessed by a vetala. The vetala lets the king carry him away, but on the condition that the king must answer the riddles he poses - if the king knows the answer he must speak or have his head shatter into a million pieces, but if he speaks, the vetala flies back to his tree. The twenty-five tales make up the riddles the vetala asks and the king’s replies, till finally the vetala is impressed by the wisdom and valour of the king and helps him to outwit the sorcerer. This work is known as Baital Pachisi in Hindustani.

One of its oldest recensions is found in the 11th century collection of tales by known as the Kathasaritsagara; this version contains twenty-four tales, with the frame story itself making up the twenty-fifth. These stories are in most likelihood drawn from an older collection of stories known as the Brihadkatha, which is now lost. (The Brihadkatha is said to have been written in Paishachi, a language that has now vanished.) Two other important recensions in Sanskrit are by Sivadasa and by Jambhaladatta.

The stories of the Vetala Panchavimshati have been translated into several of the major Indian languages. There are also popular TV shows for children based on these tales and featuring King Vikramaditya and the Vetala.