“La Carreta Chillona” is one of the most popular Salvadoran legends, in fact, it has been transmitted from generation to generation in the form of stories told by those who have had the opportunity to hear it at midnight. In some places, this legend is known as “Carreta bruja” wich means cart witch.
The squeaky cart steps back, walking at night in the streets of some towns in El Salvador. Its name originated precisely of “shrill” sound that makes When the cart crawls; The people also say that you sometimes chains are heard with the company of bones crawling when it happens and you can hear before seeing it arrive. Some say when it is passing the Earth trembles and others say that who dares to look at her wake up dead the next day.
This cart, usually carries with it human skulls, also this cart hasn’t oxen (there is no one who will guide it), simply is moved by its own, as if some ghost pushes it forward; However, some think that it is a spirit which is responsible for collecting souls who walk in penalty and lead them into the afterlife. Another version says that the cart is driven by a deceased person without a head. Remember that is the best do not take the risk to see it because the consequences could be serious.
The people say that inside of “La Carreta Chillona” are many bones and corpses of people who died decapitated and in midnight these spirits come out of the cemetery of peoples, to walk in the streets with the souls in pain mentioning the names of people who are usually lying, false and hypocritical persons, its like they made a warning that what could be your destination if you don’t change your bad behavior.
The origins of the legend of La Carreta Chillona
Account the history that many years after the Spaniards comes to our lands, suddenly came a man named Terencio Pérez; which was educated by the priest Fray Antolin Oviedo that taught him some things about the country.
When the Priest died, Terencio moved to another town where there was an acquaintance of the priest. This other character was an apothecary who had a kind of Pharmacy which taught him how to cure diseases.
On one occasion Terencio met Indian men called Juan Tepa, which over time both became good friends, but Terencio had always had the purpose of knowing the Indian secrets of plants that cured diseases and then applying them to benefit from the knowledge. Since then, his name was changed from the name of Terencio Pérez of the Trocadera, with the purpose of making his name seem even better and fancy.
The Spanish took advantage of this knowledge and suddenly became rich just with healing diseases of the Spaniards (they didn’t know that all that he had learned was by the Indians knowledge), so much so that at one point a plague affected Indians and “Terencio Pérez de la Trocadera” refused to help them, because they couldn’t pay also he didn’t want that the Spaniards knew that he was a friend of the Indians people.
One night the ghost of Fray Antolín appeared to tell him that he doesn’t have a part in this world because many people had been killed by his guilt and the knowledge that he had learned it wasn’t used to help the people. I that moment the ghost ordered Terencio to build a cart of bones, the bones of those who had died because of he, also he told him that it was going to be a wandering soul who would seek forever a cemetery where those who he had not wanted to help.
Since then he has never seen again…
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