El Cuellado
El Cuellado (The Headless One) is a terrifying phantom from Panamanian folklore, said to appear on lonely roads at night as a headless rider on a black horse. The legend is particularly strong in the rural interior of Panama, in regions like Los Santos, Herrera, and Veraguas, where it is told around campfires to warn against staying out after dark. Unlike the European headless horseman legend popularized by Washington Irving, the Panamanian El Cuellado carries its own severed head rather than a jack-o-lantern. It is believed to be the tormented soul of a man who was executed by beheading durin