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El Comegente

El Comegente/ The People Eater

According to the República Dominicana history at the end of the 18th century there existed an assassin whose crimes were so bloodthirsty he was named the El Comegente or the People Eater.

Interpretation of Come Hombre / Comegente by Artist-Illustrator Ray Wu
Interpretation of Come Hombre / Comegente by Artist-Illustrator Ray Wu

The bloodthirsty criminal El Comegente is said to look like an Indian with long black hair and small features. His body is well proportioned according to his size except for his feet, which were very small.

For a long time the people were terrified of Comegente because his crimes were so atrocious and horrifying. The story is told that he went to Haiti to learn the ways of witchcraft. He could be in many places at one time. He was able to cross the entire country in a night by using supernatural means.

The story says that he killed his victims using some sort of club. He could not be caught once his feet touched the water because when this occurred he immediately disappeared. He always left a putrid and nauseating scent in his wake.

The people had enough. They were tired of being afraid. They decided to band together and search for this assassin. He was finally trapped by a country farmer using a rattan witch basket called bejuco de brujas. The farmer tied up the Comegente and took him to the capital where he was condemned to death and executed.

This is not the humorous One-eyed, one-horned, flyin’ purple people eater creature from the song that Sheb Wooly made famous in 1958. This People Eater is what legends are made of and it is said that he still roams the countryside with club in hand…