Case file · Folklore / legend
The Invunche of the Quicaví cave
The Invunche (Imbunche) is the deformed guardian of the Chiloé warlocks' cave: a stolen child whose head was twisted backward and one leg bent behind his neck, so that he hops on one foot.
1880 CE · -42.29, -73.36 · status: legend
The account
In Chilote legend the warlocks of the Recta Provincia raised the Invunche on cat's milk and human flesh to guard the entrance of their secret cave near Quicaví. The stories reached a wide audience during the 1880 witchcraft trial, the year used here as the first firm documentation. The figure later entered Chilean literature, notably in José Donoso's novel 'El obsceno pájaro de la noche' (1970).
The sceptical view
No cave matching the descriptions has been found. The Invunche is a figure of the warlock legend, not of witness accounts.