The Piuchén
In Chilean folklore, a winged serpent that whistles like a bird is said to haunt the caves and forests.
What was reported
The piuchén is a creature of Mapuche and Chilote folklore in southern Chile, usually described as a large flying serpent, sometimes with bat-like wings or feathers, that lives in caves and hollow trees and makes a whistling cry.
It was blamed when livestock sickened, and its stare was said to paralyse. Similar stories appear elsewhere in Chile under other names.
Explanations offered
Folklorists suggest the legend may draw on vampire bats, which do feed on livestock in parts of South America, and on owls and other night birds. In later years the piuchén was sometimes linked to the chupacabra stories of the 1990s.
- When
- Told in Chilean folklore
- Where
- Southern Chile
- Witnesses
- Mapuche and Chilote tradition
- 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.