La Patasola
In Colombian forests, a one-legged woman is said to lure lonely men deep into the trees, then show her true face.
What was reported
La Patasola, 'one foot', is a legend of the forests and mountains of Colombia. She appears to hunters, loggers and miners working far from home as a beautiful woman, sometimes in the likeness of someone they love.
Once she has led them deep into the forest, she shows her true form: a creature with one leg, great fangs and wild hair, who attacks them. Stories say she can be kept away with prayers, or by the smell of tobacco.
Explanations offered
Folklorists see her as a warning against straying far from home, and as a guardian of the forest who punishes those who harm it. Some versions give her a tragic human past. She's one of several forest spirits in Colombian tradition.
- When
- Told for generations
- Where
- Antioquia, Colombia
- Witnesses
- Hunters, loggers and miners in Colombia
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.