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Argentinian tree-folk

A great report of high strangeness in Argentina, emerging from Scott Corrales via Greg Bishop. This one is positively humming with resonance, featuring  tropes from faery lore that would appear to stretch all the way from Iceland to South America.

Strange Creatures Seen in San Luis, Argentina

Days ago, the Municipality of Merlo, at the request of local residents, trimmed a hundred-year old eucalyptus that is next to the Leopoldo Lugones Library in Piedra Blanca, on a tight curve by Avenida de los Incas. The large branches obscured visibility for motorists and jeopardized light and telephone wires on windy days.

While the trimming operations took place on the avenue, adjacent to a stream, traffic was interrupted and once restored, locals driving through the area, lighting it with their car headlights, claimed to have seen the strange figures. They reportedly saw “some little men coming out of the amputated tree and walking single file toward the library. Most witnesses did not offer details, but one woman described their clothing as having a brownish hue,” said Cecillia de Gabrele, an employee at the library who fielded several phone calls at her workplace from locals who sought confirmation for what they had seen nearby. However, neither the employee nor her coworkers noticed anything unusual.

Cecilia added that for many years there have been stories of “imp” sightings for many years in that district. “Thats where Aguaribay Street begins, which has abundant native flora, and many claim having seen tiny beings between the branches and shadows.”

Once the trimming operation was over in what some believe may have been the dwelling of these little people, the landscape “was devastating”, according to De Gabriele. The eucalyptus has a reddish wood and after being trimmed, this shade became visible. Faced with the bizarre scene, some have gone as far as to suggest that “the strong coloring gave the impression that the tree was bleeding.”

Here’s the original story in Spanish