El Silbón: Whistling Man of Venezuela and Columbia

Oct 18

Along the grassland plains known as Los Llanos in Venezuela and Columbia, legends say a cursed soul walks at night carrying a bag filled with the bones of his victims. If you’re ever out there and hear someone whistling, run.

For if El Silbón gets you, your soul will be cursed to walk along the plains searching for your bones.

El Silbon display Venezuela — Display of El Silbon in Venezuelan theme park

The Legend of El Silbón

Though there are multiple versions of how El Silbón came to be, the most common origin revolves around a young spoiled teen who took his anger out on his father.

Long ago, as far back as the 18th century, a small family lived along Los Llanos. The family consisted of a mother and father, their teenage son, and the boy’s grandfather who was said to have strict family values. Being the only child, the boy was pampered every moment of his life and became a spoiled brat who always got what he wanted.

Search for A Father

One summer night, the boy demanded venison for dinner so his father grabbed his hunting rifle and set out to kill a deer. Night fell and the boy’s father hadn’t returned. Growing angry, the boy questioned his mother who suggested he go out and find him.

Now furious, the boy set out carrying a sack and whistling as he walked. A short time later he found his father on his way back home empty-handed. His father apologized but the boy, in a blind rage, attacked his father knocking him to the ground and stabbing him with a hunting knife.

The boy disemboweled his father and cut away at the meat on his body. Satisfied with his kill, the boy filled a sack with his father’s bones and another with the meat he wanted to eat. At home, the boy gave his mother the meat to cook and said his father would return soon.

Carrying His Sins

As she cooked the meat, the mother grew suspicious and questioned her son again. He finally admitted what he had done and she immediately told the boy’s grandfather. Without saying a word, the grandfather grabbed the boy, dragged him to a tree outside, and tied him to it.

The grandfather pulled out a whip and struck the boy over and over, tearing apart the flesh on his back. After untying the boy, he held him down as he threw hot pepper and poured alcohol on his wounds causing the boy to shriek in pain. The grandfather cursed the boy, telling him he would wander the plains for all eternity carrying his sins on his back.

As the boy lay dying, the grandfather had one final punishment. He released two rabid dogs and directed them to attack his grandson. The dogs ripped the child apart piece by piece until the boy no longer breathed.

Sightings of El Silbon

Since the day the boy died, many who wander the plains can hear his whistling echoing throughout the night. It’s said that the boy’s cursed soul wanders the plains looking for victims to add to his bag of bones. if you hear the whistling close by, then you’re safe but if the whistling sounds far, then El Silbón is right behind you.

Those who have seen El Silbón say he has grown to upwards of 6 meters or 19 feet in length and walks along the treetops of the forest. Others say he emerges from a long shadow that slowly catches up to you as it whistles.

Regardless of where he emerges, he always looks the same. He has a tall emaciated physique, usually wearing a straw hat, often times he’ll have chunks of his flesh ripped away or hanging off, and he’ll always be carrying a sack filled with bones that creak as he walks.

Most legends say El Silbón targets womanizers, sinners, and drunkards with him being especially cruel to those who are drunk. If El Silbón catches someone drunk, he’ll cut a hole in their stomach and suck out all the alcohol. He’ll then reach in and remove his victim’s bones one by one from the same hole.

If this happens, the victim's soul becomes cursed and can no longer pass on to the other side. They are cursed for all eternity to wander the plains looking for El Silbón in order to get their bones back.

In order to avoid El Silbón, it’s said he’ll stay away from barking dogs, the cracks of a whip, and chili pepper as they remind him of the pain he suffered in life.

Harbinger of Doom

Other legends say El Silbón will sometimes wander into someone's house or sit outside where he’ll empty his bag and count each bone as he whistles. If more than one person in the household hears the whistles, then everyone is safe but if only one person hears it, then they will be dead by the morning.

As the legends have evolved, some stories claim that El Silbón is harmless during the drought season in Venezuela. Spotting him sitting on the trees during a drought means the drought will continue for several more weeks. But, if rain does come, then you know El Silbón is out looking for a hunt.

Other Versions

There are plenty of variations to the legend of El Silbón, some change only minor things like the rabid dog was actually a demonic dog that the grandfather cursed upon the boy. Another minor change says it was his grandmother, not his mother that became suspicious.

One version of the widespread legend says the boy was a young man who was engaged to be married. One summer night, he brought his fiance (in some versions it’s his wife) to meet his parents and while he was out, his father raped his fiance. Other variations say the father was beating her or killing her.

Upon learning what his father had done, the young man killed his father without a second thought. The legend then plays out like the previous versions where the grandfather whips, kills, and curses him.

Yet another variation says that the boy had a brother named Juan, it’s unclear why Juan is the only one who gets a name. In this version, Juan is the one who cursed his brother to wander the plains and is the one who let a dog loose to chase him for all eternity.

In this version, the boy isn’t killed but just cursed to wander the earth, if he stops the dog bite at his feet forcing him to continue walking.

Finally, there’s another version of El Silbón’s origins that is entirely different. This one claims El Silbón was just a young man who died of loneliness and wanders the Earth looking for a companion. His constant whistles are a way to attract others to his location.

But Did it Happen?

The stories of El Silbón are just myths and there is no basis in fact. A usual dead giveaway to this is the lack of names or any other details that could be investigated. Another big hint that it’s all made up is the huge variation in the legend and the time period in which it occurred.

While some say the monster of El Silbón goes back up to 300 years, there’s really no actual evidence of the story appearing until the mid-19th century. In 1966 Venezuelan poet/writer, Damaso Delgado wrote the radio play entitled “LA LEYENDA DEL SILBÓN”. (The Legend of The Whister)

It was performed on the radio the following year where it was an immediate success and gained national attention. Damaso Delgado’s radio play was an entirely fictional account, although he has claimed to have come face-to-face with El Silbón at one point.

As the years went on and the story changed based on who was telling it, you can see where changes were added to the story to teach lessons. Where originally the lesson was ‘don’t be spoiled’ we now had; no wandering around in the dark, no drinking heavily, and no womanizing.

In the end, El Silbón never existed, his story was made to teach lessons and gained national attention in Venezuela following an entertaining radio play. So feel free to walk through the plains without worrying about El Silbón, because he’s not real… but then again, I could be wrong.