Caleuche - in Fiction and Art

In Fiction and Art

In Alastair Reynolds's Chasm City, Caleuche is the name given to a ship trailing behind a flotilla of colony ships that is not supposed to be there and never responds to communication attempts. When the protagonist takes a shuttle to visit the ghost ship he discovers that it is really a space-faring alien creature that has assumed the appearance of one of the flotilla ships and is trying to hide amongst them from its own enemy. The Caleuche has also been featured in a novel and an upcoming film by the Chilean writer Madeleine Petit called the "Caleuche", in which the legend of the ship has been adapted. The aim of both the book and the film is to make the legend known world-wide. Another film featuring the Caleuche is "The Ship of Fools". In 2003, the Six Magics, a heavy metal group of Chilean origin, made a song about this ship, called Caleuche(The Flying Dutchman in the album titled "Secrets of an Island". The Caleuche has also been featured in local Chilean art, with poets, writers, sculptors, musicians, and painters producing many works in dedication to this mysterious ship. Unfortunately, most of this work stays at the local level and does not gain much recognition.