Federico Stories

In Chalchuapa, on some special nights, many mysterious people walk along the main street of the town. They walk while carrying candles, and flowers and some of them carry a curious black coffin (figure 1). Figure 1. The Funeral. ¹ The crew stops for a brief moment at the entrance of the town and if any curious person was looking at them, one of the people leaves the event briefly. The person offers them a lighted candle as a souvenir. However, the next morning, the candle had transformed into a human bone! The curious person who received it begins to go silent and gets feverish and dreams about what they had seen until they go crazy and in a couple of days he dies of fright. Be careful if you ever walk in Chalchuapa alone! Inspired by  Hilos Narrativos ’ version. Credits: ¹  Hilos Narrativos

The house is located on the 2 nd South Avenue and 13 th West Street next to Narcisa Castillo’s nursing home and is full of mysterious stories (figure 1). Many people believe it was once a school and a bank, but no one is sure about its past since it’s extremely old. Figure 1. The haunted house.   ¹ Recently, several people assured you that the city hall recently closed all its doors with bricks because some uncommon visitors were performing satanic rituals inside bringing evils from hell. Before the satanic arrived, several people had seen uncountable abnormal shadows rooming around the windows on some specific nights. Some crazy people even tried to spend a night inside until they started to hear crazy frightening screaming coming from nowhere! Everyone ran away for their lives. Everyone who has seen or heard strange things in this house does not recommend anyone to pass after 12 o ’ clock at night since it could be terrifying, and you don’t know who you will meet. Avoid it at...

Long ago, on a farm owned by Mr. Ceferino Mancía in El Congo, some of his workers found a massive rock, and for unknown reasons, decided to move it. They were ecstatic because when they moved it, they noticed an old clay jar underneath it that was full of gold and silver coins! (Figure 1) Figure 1. The jar of El Congo.  ¹ One of the workers saw Mr. Ceferino walking around, ran to him, and told him the great news! The farmer without thinking ran rapidly to collect this treasure and went to his house back. Everyone thought, Mr. Ceferino as the owner was very lucky, and the treasure seemed like a blessing at first glance, and perhaps, he would share a bit with them. Nevertheless, in the following days, the farmer became mysteriously ill and died without any sign. No doctor could comprehend what had happened, and everyone agreed he died of natural death. Hours later, the workers heard the news and decided to bury this cursed treasure one more time, where they found it; th...

Many years ago, the owner of a magnificent mansion went for a sail on a crafted raft near Teopan Island in Coatepeque Lake. Unfortunately, he was dragged by an underground current to the domains of the Goddess Itzqueyé of the Freshwaters. On this day, his life changed forever, and no one saw him alive again. A few months later, he reappeared to the people who took care of his property and inherited it. They were perplexed by what they saw, his legs had lengthened, and his lips had widened, transforming him completely. He only smiled, thanked them for all that they did, said goodbye, and vanished in front of their eyes. They never saw him again. Nowadays, many people agree, that his spirit enchants Coatepeque Lake, and they call it: “The Tabudo.” They describe him as a good spirit who presents himself as a small being to all fishermen, but little by little, it becomes bigger and bigger. Later, he sits in the front of their rafts when they notice something uncommon his legs surpass h...

For almost a century, the Izalco Volcano erupted continuously. There was a constant fear that it would erupt and descend on the skirts wrecking the villages around it. The parish priest of the church of Dolores in 1935, Salvador Castillo, gathered a group of parishioners and undertook with the image of the Immaculate Conception aloft. They organized a procession around. Suddenly, the volcano calmed down, and the lava and smoke did not come out anymore. This moment was considered a miracle of an unprecedented scale by everyone, and on that day, December 10th, 1935, they placed a statue of the Virgin (figure 1) right where the lava altered its course and stopped. Plus, yearly on the same day, many Izalqueños travel a long way, in the morning to the skirts of the silent Izalco Volcano. Later, they join a mass in honor of their Holy Mother for multiple reasons, including faith, and gratefulness to the Virgin for stopping the lava, among others. All these actions continue, even though...

Many moons, when I was just a child and a “good” kid and attended my school in El Salvador, I never stopped doing the mandatory inspection among my classmates. As “good” kids, I had a daily hobby with my friends. We approached trembling with emotion to spy “the underground,” the devil’s treasure hidden location. Something that everybody wanted, but no one had got it! And now, it’s time to go deeper into this adventure. Let’s go! In 1752 in Izalco (figure 1), there was a large excavation near the cabildo of a church. In its background, we could see from a distance, the entrance to two masonry tunnels. Some people said they discovered them while they were taking soil to make clay, this was a gigantic work. Another curious person explored the tunnels “without being able to find the end,” and they thought it was the entry to the hell itself! Figure 1. Izalco Volcano. Around the town, there was a lot of gossip about this. Some midwives intervened, and after discussions and suspicio...

The neighbors of the Cuzcachapa Lagoon in Chalchuapa say that in ancient times, there was a small cave, where the woman of the tamales (figure 1) appeared at midnight. Later, she embarked on her journey to attempt to sell her magical tamales, saying: “Fish Tamales! Tamales! Tamales! Would you enjoy any Mr.?” Figure 1. The tamales woman. ¹ The people who passed by said that at night there was a fire inside a cave, probably to cook something or to get warm from the cold. However, those who came a little closer could perceive an irresistible smell of tamales . Some people, who overcame the fear, tried to enter from the back of the cave just to see the woman, with her back hunched and who came out carrying a heavy pot on her back. This always happened before she left to sell her tamales. There were always people ready in the surroundings, who shouted to her that they wanted to buy her tamales. However, she did not listen to them and just continued her way through the night with...

It was during the times of the Spanish conquest when a group of eight Indians was on a pilgrimage to a town called Sihuatehuacan. These faithful people were carrying a religious statue (figure 1), which was heavy and massive these days. That day the night came earlier than they expected, which forced them to spend the night in an unknown place called Santa Ana in the middle of their journey. Figure 1. Our Lady Saint Anne. ¹ The next day, as soon as the sun rose, the men who carried the statue of the Virgin decided to continue on their way. Otherwise, they would not arrive on time at the church where they had to place it. However, when they tried to lift her off the ground, they realized that there was no human power to move her. They started to ask for help, but no one was able to help them. Suddenly, an old lady suggested to them to erect a chapel there because it was a divine sign of Our Lady Saint Anne that she wanted to stay there. Nowadays, you can find the statu...

In the 1600s, a poor old woman from the Santa Ana Volcano surroundings was expelled from her lands by the Conquistadors. They stole all that she had and laughed about how poor she was and how she looked like a bandari, they said: “You are just a bandari, get out of here and come back to the jungle with your relatives! You cannot even speak Spanish!” While she was walking around the place for days without food or water, she was starving near the lake when she met an elegant white man wearing a black coat, who asked her: “Dear, why are you so lonely? Did anything happen to you?” She was very surprised and thought she was suffering from some hallucinations because she had been in that place for days and never seen anyone and he spoke her language too. She felt some shivers from the presence of that man. However, she answered that she was expelled from her house and lost everything in the hands of some evil Spaniards. The man was thoughtful and for a while gave her a piece of bread fro...

It was 1953 when I was coming back from Chalchuapa to my hometown Santa Ana City. I was driving my new Ford Crestline Sunliner. It was an amazing night, the sky was clear, no cows in the street, only my car and me. As a single and handsome man, I was the king of the dance floor. A few guys had my style and elegance. However, that night I had a terrifying experience that I will remember all my life. Almost halfway to Santa Ana, I saw the most beautiful woman in my life. She was blonde, tall, had blue eyes, and was very sexy. She was walking in the same direction that I was driving. I stopped for a moment and asked: “Are you lost? It’s quite late, do you need a lift?” She smiled and said: “Sure, I’m going to Santa Ana City. I never expected that such a nice guy would stop and give me a lift.” I felt like I was the luckiest man. I started to talk and flirt with her, showing my best skills. She started to giggle and began to seduce me too. It was the most exciting moment in many mo...