Case file · Witch trials
La Calchona
La Calchona is a woman of central Chilean folklore who used magic creams to turn herself into a woolly black animal at night, until her husband threw the creams away and left her trapped in animal form.
1915 CE · -35.00, -71.20 · status: legend
The account
She is said to haunt country roads begging travellers for food. The legend was collected by Chilean folklorists in the early 20th century, such as Julio Vicuña Cifuentes (1915; the year is approximate). The pin marks the Maule countryside.
The sceptical view
A folk legend with parallels to European witch-transformation tales.