The origins of urban legends

Urban legends are modern folklore stories passed down through the years as time goes on the elements of truth and fear. Stories that usually revolve around creepy, unusual, paranormal events that happened to a friend of a friend to make it more believable.

Kuchisake Onna, also known as the silt-mouth woman, is an urban legend dating to the Heian period. She was a beautiful woman who often grabbed attention in her village. When her husband found out about the attention she was getting and the fact that she was being unfaithful, he silted her mouth ear to ear. She died and soon after became the angry spirit named Kuchisake Onna.

 In the late 1970s, a panic arose, with multiple people claiming to encounter Kuchisake Onna. Any encounter with Kuchisake Onna would lead to death. She approached people who were alone and would appear in a trench coat and mask and questioned whether or not she was pretty. If they said no, she would kill them, and if they said yes, she would take off her mask to reveal her disfigured smile and ask the question again, “Am I pretty?” No matter the answer (yes or no) it would lead to death. One way to survive is to answer her questions with a so-so or average to distract her and run away. 

El Silbon, known as The Whistling Man is an urban legend from Los Llanos, Venezuela. It’s about a boy named Pedro, a spoiled child who always throws a fit to get what he wants. He lived with his mother, father, and grandpa.

Pedro and his father were walking in the forest one day when he told his father he wanted a deer. His father went to look, and after he came back empty, so he killed his father and took his guts for his mother to cook. His grandpa whipped his back until it was raw, then rubbed lemons and chill peppers on his back. The grandpa then put his father’s bones in a sack and placed it on his back. Pedro ran into the forest but could not outrun his grandpa’s dog, so they killed him.

His grandfather cursed him to turn into El Silbon. He enters a new home every night and counts the bones in his sack. If someone hears him then no one will be harmed, if he goes unnoticed till dawn, someone will die and will be to his bone collection.

Kuchisake Onna and El Silbón represent the two urban legends that show the fears society has. These fears, horrors, moral lessons, and the supernatural are passed down through generations to instill fear and intrigue. Tales of the unknown and misdeeds are powerful due to their deep understanding of human psychology, despite their evolution and the constant fear of the unknown.

Written by Rigby Scott | Graphic Designed by Rigby Scott 

Published October 15, 2024 | ePathfinder | Feature