Peuchen
Also known as: Piuchen, Piuchén
A shapeshifting flying serpent from Chilean forests that drains the blood of livestock from the air.
Pre-colonial Mapuche oral tradition
Southern Chile, Lakes District / Chiloe Island
3-6 ft long (serpent form)
Predatory, vampiric
Folklore
The Lore
The Peuchen is a vampiric flying serpent from Mapuche mythology in southern Chile. It can shapeshift between a winged snake, a large rat, and occasionally a human form. It attacks from above, draining blood from cattle, sheep, and sometimes people without leaving visible wounds. The only defense against a Peuchen is a Machi, a Mapuche shaman. Livestock found mysteriously drained of blood in rural Chile are still sometimes attributed to the Peuchen, particularly in the Lakes District and Chiloe Island.
Similar Real Animals
You might also like
Chupacabra
The blood-draining predator that left livestock drained across Latin America.
Aswang
The Philippines' most feared shapeshifter hides as your neighbor by day and hunts as a beast by night.
Adze
In Togo, a vampire disguised as a glowing firefly slips through locked doors to feed on the sleeping.
Carbunclo
A small, armored creature with a glowing gemstone embedded in its head, spotted in the Andes at twilight.
Cherufe
Inside Chilean volcanoes lives a molten humanoid that demands human sacrifice to stay dormant.
Huallepen
A cow-headed amphibian haunts Chilean marshes, and seeing one means birth defects for the unborn.
Boto
The Amazon's pink river dolphin comes ashore at night disguised as a handsome stranger.
Cuero
It lies flat on the water like a discarded cowhide, until something steps on it.