Caleuche

"The Caleuche" is a mythical ghost ship of the north Chilote mythology and local folklore of the Chiloé Island, in Chile. It is one of the most important myths of the culture of Chile.

According to Chilean legend, the Caleuche is a large ghost ship sailing the seas around Chiloé (a small island off the coast of Chile) at night. The Caleuche is said to be a being who is conscious and sentient. The ship appears as a beautiful and bright white sailing ship, with 3 masts of 5 sails each, always full of lights and with the sounds of a party on board, but quickly disappears again, leaving no evidence of its presence. The ghost ship is also known to be able to navigate under water, just like another well known ghost ship, the Flying Dutchman.

There are various versions of the legend of the Caleuche.

One version claims that it is crewed by the drowned, who are brought to the ship by three Chilote mythological figures, two sisters: the sirena chilota (a type of mermaid) and the Pincoya and their brother, the Pincoy. Once aboard, the dead can resume an existence as if they were alive again.

A similar version of the legend is that the mythical ship appears in the sea of the Chiloé Archipelago where it captivates fishermen and sailors with its enchanting music to enslave them as part of their crew for eternity. These slaves are defined as eternally having a leg folded over their back, similar to the Imbunche of Chilote mythology.

Another common version is that it is the magic ship that the Warlocks of Chiloé use to have parties and transport their goods. It is also used by the warlocks every three months when they go on a journey to improve their magical abilities. The warlocks are only able to reach the ship by summoning caballo marino chilote. This is because Millalobo (the king of the seas) has prohibited any other people from boarding the ship or getting to it by any other means.

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