The Cherufe is a gigantic, anthropophagous creature in the Mapuche mythology; of the South American culture, in Chile.

The Cherufe is an evil creature humanoid of rock and magma. It is said that Cherufe inhabit the magma pools found deep within Chilean volcanoes and are the source of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Cherufe are also said to be the source of magicians ardent stones (meteorites and volcanic stones) that cause damage in volcanic regions.

The only way to abate the Cherufe's appetite for destruction was to satiate the beast's taste for human flesh by throwing a sacrificial victim into the bowels of its volcanic home. Much like the European dragon, the Cherufe's preferred delicacy came in the form of virginal maidens.

Legend has it that once the Cherufe was finished consuming the more delicate portions of its victims, it would delight in a macabre game in which it would ignite the disembodied heads of the young girls who were sacrificed to it, and hurtle them from the mouth of its volcanic home.