1908 (pub): The Man and the Chonchoñ Woman

The following tale was collected from Jose Maria Lonquitue of Pillanlelcun, Chile, and was first published in 1908.

        A young Mapuche man had a woman he was fond of, and he visited her every night. One day he went to a party and in the night he decided to visit the woman. But she was missing her head! The young man lkeft the house and laid down outside to hide, to "know how her head came." As dawn approached, a huiravo -- a.k.a. 'black crowned night heron,' a bird native to Chile -- came and fluttered around the house, soon disappearing. After a while, the young man entered the house and found the woman completely normal, head and all. After some pleasnat conversation, he excused himself... and never went back, for now he was afraid of her.

        Please note: it's implied by the teller that the party lasted into the late night, and that the woman probably had an expectation that her erstwhile lover would not be visiting that night.