Don't Whistle at Night: A Canadian Superstition

One legend shared by cultures from all over the world contends that it is unwise to whistle at night. In this video, we take a look at several versions of this strange universal folktale native to Canada.

0:00:00 – A Universal Folktale
0:03:04 - An Imported Legend
0:03:54 - A Native Canadian Custom

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[TexasRed]

Whistling at night gives away your location to your enemies or predators because the sound travels far, especially on cool nights without many animal noises.

[Clockworkonthewindow]

I was whistling the other night walking home in Peterborough Canada and happened to look up and see an owl staring at me in a tree. we just looked at each other for like 5 minutes then it flew away right over me. something about the way it stared at me through the dark branches was pretty creepy for sure.

[locustfire]

My parents always told me never whistle at night, and yes, they always said it's because the bad spirits will get you

[matthewirizarry]

I am a compulsive whistler. I literally dont even realize i am doing it half the time. I whistle at night all the time, and frequently whistle creepy tunes and can modulate the sound with my throat, not just my tongue. I can make a second tone under the whistle and create a kind of buzzing whistle people think sounds weird.
I was walking my dogs at night through my neighborhood, i have a big husky and a small chi-pom, whistling as i usually do. I was walking through the backalleys with no lights just enjoying the night air and whistling creepy tunes with my buzzing style. There was a house with a garage on the back facing the alley flanked by 8 foot wood fence. As i got close i realized there were people in the garage and it was open. I could smell marijuana and as i got closer i heard them talking about my whistling in hushed tones. "What the hell is that? Its freaking me out." Or something along those lines. I kept on whistling and followed behind my dogs. When i got close enough i saw a flashlight turn on and beam down the driveway. My husky went to investigate the light and stopped right in the beam and stared at them (he is old, going blind, and has crazy eyes, complete sweet heart though). For an instant there was absolute silence and then the sound of people fumbling over stuff as they ran back into the house. By the time i caught up to my dog the garage door was already mostly closed so they never saw me.
The next day i saw posts on the nextdoor app and the local facebook group about a skinwalker sighting. They described hearing an unsettling droning whistle and then saw a "giant mangy wolf with dead eyes" walk out if the darkness from where they heard the sound. It is the highlight of my whistling career.

[FlitzWrld]

As someone who doesn’t know how to whistle I see this as an absolute win👍

[joec.]

My grandfather used to say that whistling in out wilderness areas, especially if you are alone, can summon a Wendigo. I used to ask him to explain more, but he would never go into details.

[ResidentWeevil]

As a indigenous Blackfoot myself, it's been ingrained in my mind never to whistle at night because the Wicked One hears it more clearer at night.

[damnitimp]

in the philippines, its not only whistling. We're strictly reminded not to clap or make knocking sounds at night. especially 12am to 5am. It has something to do with a repeater. A repeater is a ghost who will mock u by copying the sound ur making. we're also required to say “tabi-tabi po” meaning “excuse me or may i pass” whenever we visit foreign places like provinces or another house in general. tabi tabi po is a respectful greeting towards the spirits who lives in the place/land of which youre newly visiting. its a kind of signal that means you dont mean to disturb them or hurt them. you just want to continue on your way or journey

[D.]

I’m from India, my mother used to tell me that during her childhood when they used to live in a village, the elders would tell kids that we must not whistle after sunset as it attracts snakes.

[nathansharma]

My grandma in a small jungle village in Fiji told us when we visited to never whistle at night because something might whistle back at you. To not sing while walking at night because something might sing along with you and never to wear perfume at night since it could attract something.

I think allot of these translate across cultures and regions for primitive reasons that have been passed down for centuries.

[zaja]

I like to think this myth goes back to our distant past: whistling could alert any nocturnal predators of our presence; therefore, keeping quiet is wise when you are in a potentially hostile environment at night.

[andreweden]

Trust me, it's definitely not just a Canadian superstition.😁 There's a reason that we here in the United States always say "never whistle past the graveyard"!

[henryfonseca]

I'm from South Texas born in 83, Know from living in Gonzales County. Know all about the Lechusa, from Experience. Family member encounters. That are all too real. Was apart of one I will never forget. It was the early 90s, I actually seen the wing span of a lechusa swoop above our home, when one chased a family member to our home, one night. My uncle was leaving a house party when he told the story, while catching his breath. When he ran inside, he told us what happened? He whistled at one that he attracted. It was in a huge pecan tree, outside of a church that was down the street from where we lived. I will never forget that. We all huddled inside cut the lights off in the house. As this thing threw stones on our tin roof. Taunting us to come back outside. Which none of us did. We all called it a night after that. True story. My uncle actually pulled a pistol he had an shot at this thing, that did nothing but piss it off an made it chase him, we lived off a gravel road, we had a screen door in front of our main door, partially open is when we heard the shots from down the road, then heard my uncle's foot falls from hitting the gravel running towards our house, yelling for us to open the door. That's when we ran to the porch to see this thing chase him inside. That wing span was clearly as wide as our home.

[Shubham-wqvu]

I went through an incident. I was whistling while riding a bike around 12 am. Then a small whistle voice came very near to my ears. I thought somebody was whistling roadside. But there was no one. I was very sure about the whistle near my ears. It was terrifying experience...

[justinr.]

I have horses and i live by a swamp. One night i went to the barn and i fed the horses and was petting them, i whistled a little and thought nothing of it but about 10 seconds later or so the horses just started panicking and every frog and every cricket and all the sounds of the swamp just went silent. I was very scared because the night time went from being vibrant and alive to totally dead and silent. I quicky went towards the house with no problems but the whole walk up to the house i felt watched.

[SirianXM]

I always thought whistling during my night walks might ward off wildlife, but apparently I might be inviting demonic & otherworldly forces to feast on my unwitting soul...

[staceyn]

Grew up in a small town in Indiana, ~3500 residents. We had a couple real characters who wandered all over town. Robert was my favorite, I don't know his story, but he walked all around town at all hours and he always whistled. He was an incredibly talented whistler, classical music mostly. You could hear him coming for blocks. I loved lying in bed listening to him. It was eerie and beautiful. I wonder if any of the peoples of Indiana had the no whistling folklore...edit: just remembered he often pulled a blue wagon, the metal kind kids had.

[icescrew]

While living on the Warm Springs Reservation in Oregon, i was a wildland Firefighter. The tribal folk advised seriously to never whistle in the night. After seeing what a Sasquatch did to an Elders truck with rocks like bowling balls one night, i got their point.

[gurrensask]

In my hometown; an island in the Philippines, elders told me that whistling at night atracts whistling giants called mancho. According to them they're giants as tall as coconut tree(10-15meters ig) Invisible to naked eyes. Everytime they walk they bring gust of wind. As elders say whistlin' will confuse them that one of their people is calling them it may lead by them flattening you or destroy your home with a gust of strong wind.

[vandavang]

superstitions are like tiny portals back to early days of human civilization. very neat things.