Something strange and frankly scary, has repeatedly been captured on film in Argentina and Mexico over the last few years. Known as duende, these strange apparitions have long been a part of Latin American folklore, but it is only with the advent of cameras that they have begun to be examined in detail. Are they ghosts? Are they spirits? Or otherworldly entities we know nothing of? Some seem only too real, whilst others have an ethereal quality seen in ghost forms. Read on and watch the clips and decide what you think. Only make sure you have a cushion handy from your leather sofato hide behind…

Folklore

Interestingly, the incidents of duende being captured on film seem to fit in very well with the mythology. It was widely held for years that the goblins would appear when children were hanging around outside, playing ball. Almost all the film captures have been surrounding young people, often playing with a ball. If this is not strange enough in itself, often it was said that the sound of a whistle was heard. So it is in some of these videos.
As to whether the creatures are good or evil, folklore seems divided. Some tales tell of the apparitions luring young girls into the woods, others tell of them leading those who are lost out of the woods. Always they seem preoccupied with young children. So it is in the videos. It’s clear that the folklore is powerful enough to have stuck in the popular consciousness over many centuries, and films like this show how stories become folklore. There is something there that cannot be explained, and is seen by more than one person. The children’s terror is real enough, and it’s hard to fake that sort of alarm convincingly. So maybe those old wives tales were true. Ghosts and goblins do exist.

Famous Capture

The most famous, and some say the creepiest footage to date was taken by a Jose Alvarez in the town of General Guemes, in Argentina. Jose was filming his friends chatting and laughing, when he caught sight of what he thought was a dog in the distance. As he zoomed in on it he saw to his horror a tiny gnome-like creature, with a pointed hat on. The apparition was so real that the boys were traumatized by the sighting. One was admitted to hospital he was so shaken. The creature in the film has never been explained, but it seems to fit precisely the descriptions of the duendes. A few months after this another sighting was reported in Argentina, in Clodomira, almost 200 miles away. The same creature “wearing dark clothes…with a pointy head” appeared to another group of teenagers. This time it made strange noises, like a dog, and ran sideways, like the Alvarez gnome.

Very Real

For the inhabitants of Suncho Corral the gnome apparition caused such alarm that the police called a temporary state of emergency. This duende took to attacking people in the dark, pushing one 14-year-old boy off his bike and punching others. Nothing wafty and ghost-like about that. There were so many complaints about the tiny creature that the police were forced to act, and warn inhabitants to be vigilant, after a young man was beaten unconscious by the creature. This film of was taken by a group of teenagers playing around at night again.

No Explanation

Since the videos surfaced others have been emboldened to speak out, and other sightings have been both reported and filmed. Some of the elf-like apparitions are totally different to the Alverez gnome, appearing tiny and spindly in comparison.

There is always a similar reaction, however. Total shock and terror. The gnome films have been studied by leading experts in the field of film and photography, at the Universidad Nacional de Santiago del Estero, found to be genuine. Older people have just nodded wisely, and murmured ‘duendes…’, whilst the younger generation have become a little more careful about where they play at night…

Do the gnomes count as ghosts? Or are they more likely to be spirits or demons? Certainly they have a more physical real-world manifestation than the average ghost, and might be more akin to poltergeists – people with duende visits to their homes have reported items moved and missing, which would fit in with this. So, you decide. Are they an elaborate hoax, or should you pay more heed to the folklore your grandparents tell you?

This is part one of some of the most popular ghost pictures out there. Some may be fake, but they didn't become popular by not being scary or at least a little bit creepy.