El Silbón

A towering, gaunt figure stalks the vast plains of the Llanos region in South America, carrying a sack filled with the bones of his victims —whistling a chilling tune as he roams. El Silbón, or "The Whistler," is a vengeful, malevolent spirit, and hearing his eerie whistle could mean it's already too late. But what makes this fearsome entity even more terrifying is his tragic and gruesome past, which transformed him into the monster he is today.

El Silbón, also known as "El Sin Fin" (The Endless), stands over three meters tall with elongated limbs, an emaciated body, and a sack slung over his back. His ghostly presence is more than just a myth; he is a physical manifestation of vengeance and punishment, cursed by his grandfather for murdering his own father.

Roaming the plains of Los Llanos, a region nestled between the Andes mountains and the Amazon rainforest, El Silbón’s cursed existence is as much a part of the land as the sprawling grasslands themselves.

To truly understand the essence of El Silbón, I reached out to Argentinian film director and monster enthusiast Juan Fernández Gebauer, who worked on Fantasmagorias, a beautifully illustrated HBO series about Latin American myths and legends. Juan, who has spent time in Colombia, shared insights about the legend and its deeper cultural significance.

According to the director “El Silbón is a spirit from the Los Llanos region. He’s the tortured soul of a young man who killed his father. Cursed by such an action, he wanders the plains carrying his father’s bones in a sack, whistling a melancholic tune, which is where his name comes from.”

Though the core of the story remains the same, the reason El Silbón killed his father varies depending on the version told. In one version, a spoiled and angry son kills his father after the man fails to hunt a deer the boy wanted to eat. In another, the boy murders his father after the father kills a woman he loved, a prostitute.

Yet, in different retellings, the father’s actions range from seducing his daughter-in-law to murder driven by rumors about the wife’s promiscuity. Regardless of the exact cause, one thing remains constant: after the killing, the boy's grandfather curses him, tortures him, and sends him into the wild, where he becomes the Whistler.

In one of the interviews, the director said that it was definitely agreeable that after witnessing the murder, the grandfather cursed the boy, whipped him, doused his wounds in Aguardiente (a local liquor), and released him to be torn apart by hungry dogs. From that moment on, El Silbón began his cursed journey.

El Silbón’s vengeance is targeted at specific victims—those he believes represent the same flaws that led to his father’s death: womanizers, drunks, and cheaters. However, no one is truly safe, as innocent bystanders may also fall victim to his wrath. His approach is often silent, and the first warning of his presence is a haunting whistle.

According to one story from Venezuela, a rancher’s party becomes the scene of El Silbón’s eerie intervention. A man, warned of the dangers of traveling alone at night, insists on going anyway. As he rides through the plains, his horse stops suddenly, spooked by a chilling whistle growing louder and closer.

After falling from his horse, the man sees the towering silhouette of El Silbón, whose elongated limbs are too tall to make out a face. The creature beats the man senseless, and though the man survives, he learns just how lucky he was—most victims do not.

The Whistler’s whistle holds a creepy characteristic: when the whistle is heard up close, it means you’re safe. But the further away it sounds, the closer El Silbón truly is. His violence is especially cruel toward drunks—he is said to suck the alcohol from their stomachs, leaving them hollow, before removing their bones and taking them with him. His victims are condemned to never rest peacefully, as their bones are now part of his cursed existence.

To protect yourself from El Silbón’s wrath, it’s said that one must keep a dog nearby, as he is repelled by these animals who once tore him apart.

The origins of El Silbón's legend date back to the 19th century, likely inspired by a man named Joaquín Flores, who is thought to have committed a crime similar to El Silbón’s tale around 1850. His crime, and the rare occurrence of such events at the time, made it a cautionary story that locals used to dissuade others from repeating such horrific acts.

The Llanos region, once home to nomadic indigenous groups like the Guahibo, was dramatically changed after the Spanish introduced cattle in 1548, transforming the land into a cattle-ranching hub. By the 19th century, tensions rose against Spanish rule, and the Llaneros—the people working the ranches—joined Simón Bolívar's forces in the Venezuelan War of Independence. Their role in the war and the devastation brought on by the fight for independence are reflected in the shape and story of El Silbón. The creature’s distinctive hat is even said to resemble that worn by ranchers of the region.

Since then, El Silbón’s legend has lived on in various forms of popular culture. His story is commemorated every year at the Festival Internacional de Música Llanera "El Silbón", and statues, horror movies, and even political speeches have referenced the Whistler. Despite this cultural shift, the story remains a haunting part of the Llanos region’s folklore, continuing to shape the identities of its people.

El Silbón remains a powerful and eerie figure in the folklore of South America, a constant reminder of the dark forces that shape both the land and its people’s fears.