The Huallepen: A Cryptid That Hates Life Itself

A man watching a nature documentary about the Carboniferous period suddenly realized the scientists had gotten it all wrong. The ferns weren't that color. The beetles weren't that shape. He knew this with absolute certainty—and he had no idea why, because he had never been interested in paleontology. Then it hit him: in a past life, he had been a tree. Specifically, a Lepidodendron, one of those giant, bumpy trees that towered 160 feet over the Carboniferous swamps. He described the memory as "the coziest day" that went on for what felt like forever, just standing by the water, watching everything go about its business. The story, posted online by someone named Pixie Play, is the kind of reincarnation account that host Jason Carpenter finds compelling even though he doesn't believe reincarnation is the norm. But it also serves as a warm-up for something far darker—a creature from Chilean folklore that represents the opposite of that peaceful arboreal existence: a being that hates life so much it will crawl into a pregnant woman's dreams to destroy her unborn child.

The Huallepen: Born from a Water Spirit and Livestock