El Silbón

Basic information

• El Silbón is a legend that comes from the Llanos region of South America, but is most popular in Venezuela and Colombia. 

• El Silbón is described a a very tall, very skinny man, often depicted wearing a hat and carrying a sack on his back.

• Some say the origin of the story is based on a man named Joaquin Flores, who was supposedly a  spoiled son who killed his own father.

• El Silbón signature whistle is A, B, C, D, E, F, G, with the following scale A, B, C, D ascending and E, F, G, A descending. 

• If you hear the whistle far away, it means that he is just next to you, and if you hear the whistle close by, it means that he is far away, and that the only way to escape alive from him is to say out loud the name of the dog Tureco, make the sound of a dog barking, snap a whip or show him a chili pepper.

• During heavy rainy nights, The Whistle Man sometimes walks away from the roads and visits the houses of the people to wait under the roof of the front yard of a house for the rain shower to stop, tossing his bag, and with lots of concentration starts counting one by one the bones of his victims, including his father’s. If any member of the house hears to the sound of the bones clacking while the man is counting them, nothing happens, but if no one in the house hears to the clacking sound, the next morning one member of the family will never wake up.

The story

Version 1 (Mainly popular in Venezuela)

There once lived a poor family in a small town. The family consisted of a mother, father, son, and grandfather. Being an only child, the con was very spoiled and self centered. One day, he asks his father to bring home venison for dinner that night. Because the family was poor, the father tells his son they cannot afford to buy venison. The son tells his father that he should go out hunting, kill a deer, and bring it home. The father agrees to please his son. He goes out hunting all day, but never comes across a deer. He comes home instead with some rabbits for the stew his wife was making for dinner. When the father arrives home, his son sees that his father did not bring home venison and becomes enraged. In his rage, he kills his father and cuts him up. When the boy's mother arrives home to cook the stew, the son gives her the meat and says that his father brought home venison and said they should add it to the stew. The mother agrees and adds the meat to the stew. Later that night when eating dinner, the mother asks her son where his father is. The son replies he had to go to a nearby town on a work errand. While eating, the mother notes that the meat in the stew does not taste like any venison she has ever had. She takes another bite, but sees something suspicious in the stew ans realizes, horrified, that she has cooked her husband for dinner. The mother faints, and the grandfather asks the son what he had done. The son was not apologetic at all. As a result, the grandfather drags the son outside, and ties him to a pole. He then whips the son's back, and pours alcohol  and puts chile powder in his wounds. When finished, he unties the son and forces him to carry a sack of his father's bones on his back. The boy then tries to run, but his grandfather sends his dogs after him. The dogs quickly catch up with the son and attack him.  As the son dies, the grandfather curses him. The son then becomes El Silbón, roaming the grasslands for all eternity. 

Version 2 (Mainly popular in Colombia)

There once were two feuding families, the Flores family and the Ramirez family. One day, Cecilia Flores and Pedro Ramirez bumped into each other at the market. The two knew it was wrong, but they instantly fell in love. They kept their relationship a secret from their families because they know neither family would ever accept the other. Months later, Cecilia and Pedro snuck off to a nearby farm to see each other. Little did they know, Pedro's dad had been suspicious of him for a long time and followed Pedro to the farm. He saw Pedro with Cecilia and decided to take care of the situation. He comes out of hiding, scaring Pedro and Cecilia. Pedro begs his father to leave them be, but Pedro's father does not listen. Instead, he attacks Cecilia and ends her life, claiming that he will not let her ruin his boy. Blinded by rage for what his father has done, Pedro then kills his own father. He then realizes what he has done, and runs home to beg forgiveness from his mother. His mother is compassionate and commands him to tell no one else.  Overhearing his confession, Pedro's grandfather decides to  punish Pedro no only for having a relationship with Cecilia, but also for killing his father. The rest of the story is the same as the first version.