El Silbon: The Whistler that Predicts Death
An effigy of El Silbon at a theme park in Venezuela. Photo: Wikipedia
According to the legend, El Silbón is the ghost of a young man who, out of revenge, killed his father and fled into the wilderness. The legend states that anyone who hears the whistling sound of El Silbón will die within the next three days.
The Legend of El Silbon
According to the legend of El Silbón, the ghost is said to be the spirit of a young man who, out of revenge, killed his father. The specific details of how the killing took place may vary depending on the version of the legend. Some versions say that the young man killed his father in a fit of rage after discovering that his father had killed his mother, while others say that he killed his father as an act of revenge after his father had killed his lover.
Another version of the legend states that El Silbon was a spoiled child who demanded that his father hunt and kill a deer for him to eat. When his father failed to return from hunting with a deer El Silbon killed him and got his mother to cook up his body for dinner. El Silbon’s mother became suspicious upon tasting the meat and then discovered the body of her husband.
El Sibon’s grandfather ordered him to be tied to a post in the wilderness until his back was destroyed. Once his back was sufficiently injured the grandfather placed lemon juice and chilli in his wounds. He then gave El Silbon a sack containing his father’s bones and cursed him to carry them for all eternity.
The legend states that the spirit of El Silbon, unable to find peace, now roams the Llanos region, hunting down cattle and making a high-pitched whistling sound that can be heard from miles away.
The Whistle of El Silbon
The legend of El Silbón states that the ghost is said to make a high-pitched whistling sound that can be heard from miles away. This whistling sound is said to be a warning of El Sibon's presence and it is said that anyone who hears the whistling sound will die within the next three days.
The whistling sound is often described as a long, drawn-out whistle that starts low and gradually increases in pitch until it reaches a piercing, ear-splitting crescendo. It is said that the sound is so loud and eerie that it can be heard even over the noise of the Llanos' strong winds, thunderstorms, and wild animals.
Some versions of the legend say that the ghost makes the whistle to call out to his father, seeking revenge, while others say that the ghost makes the whistle to lure his victims.
Encounters with El Silbon
A reddit user shared their story about what they believe to have been an encounter with El Silbon. They said:
“For those of you who don't know I consider myself a good Urban Explorer, so me and a good pal of mine decided we would return to an abandoned motel that we've been exploring over spring break.
As we walked onto the property we can easily tell someone had been here before us as one the doors to a room was completely torn off it's hinges. When we went into the room with the door off I felt something wrong, not fear but something was definitely off about this place and we exited the building.
As we try to work our way into another room we hear a loud whistling noise. It went from a high note to a low note back to a high note. Being already paranoid I figured someone else was there. After sneaking around for about 10 minutes we concluded that we were definitely alone.
I did some thinking and even though we were right next to train tracks the whistle was too loud to be coming from it. I believe the whistle is a bad omen so I'll update the story if something happens that's really bad.”
They never shared an update so maybe nothing happened? Or maybe…
Have you ever had an encounter with El Sibon? Share your story in the comments!
If you enjoyed this article you might also be interested in the Lechuza Witch Owl or La Siguanaba.
