Summary
El Chupacabra is a mysterious beast from Puerto Rican folklore. The name translates to 'goat sucker' in Spanish, so called because of the way it all the blood from goats and other livestock, as well as household pets. It is said to have grey or green skin, fangs, red or black beady eyes, and spinal quills. It is bipedal at a height of around four to five feet, and has the ability to fly.
Location
Originated in Puerto Rico in the township of Canóvanas, followed by numerous sightings in the United States and Mexico.
Description
There are several variations of what people believe the Chupacabra to look like. The current theory is that it is a bipedal creature around four to five feet tall, with grey or green coloured skin, red or black beady eyes, and spinal quills down its back which it uses to fly. Some believes it to be a half-man, half-beast vampire, while still others say it is similar to a panther with red eyes and the tongue of a snake. Another version is that it hops like a kangaroo and smells like sulfur.
History
The name originated from the creature's earliest attacks, where goats are found with puncture wounds on their necks and most of their blood drained. There are also reports of certain organs missing from the victims, yet no visible means of extraction was found on the bodies. Since then, the Chupacabras has been blamed in the deaths of over 2000 animals ranging from other livestock to household pets. However, human attacks have yet to be reported.
Although there are sightings of the Chupacabra for nearly half a century, the first official report from Puerto Rico in 1994 sparked worldwide recognition for the creature in the past several years. Through the Spanish-speaking media, the story traveled through Mexico and the United States, leading to sightings of the beast in several cities including Miami, New York, San Antonio, Cambridge, and San Francisco.
Media Connections
The media coverage of this legendary creature has turned it into a sort of cultural icon in what is best described as "Chupacabramania". In cities where it has been sighted, sales of T-shirts and other merchandises blossomed. Numerous Internet sites on the Chupacabra sprung up across the web. There are even songs dedicated to the beast playing on local Spanish radio stations, with titles such as "Goat Busters" and "Chupacalafragalisticexpialidocious.'' Currently, Alchemy Films is working on an upcoming feature film project entitled "Chupacabras!".
Interesting Facts
Summary
The 'official demon' of New Jersey since the 1930s, there has been over thirty variations of this legend that has developed over time. It's description ranges from a feathered animal with the head of a ram to a flying lion to a green upright monster. The Jersey Devil is blamed for all unexplained animal deaths in the Jersey Pine Barrens and surrounding areas, mysterious footprints, and strange cries in the night. There are several new sightings of the beast reported every year.
Location
The Jersey Pine Barrens and surrounding areas.
Description
The Jersey Devil's status of the official demon on New Jersey has sustained its existence among the local residents because of their wish to maintain their regional symbol. As a result, there are over thirty different descriptions of the Devil because all mysterious or unknown appearances are deemed the Jersey Devil. Besides, the 'devil' concept is vague enough a description to include almost anything. The legend has also changed and adapted to the passing of time in order to stay current.
Most of the sightings are of a winged creature with a ram or bull's head, which is similar to the traditional image of the horned devil. During 1830 and 1840, when numerous livestock died mysteriously, the blame was laid on the Devil, who became an invisible beast capable of killing even those animals in highly secured areas. It then became a winged creature with a bird's body and the head of a ram that leaves strange footprints in the snow. Then it changed to a flying lion in the early 1900's, and a half-man, half-beast in 1932.
In wake of the Roswell Crash of 1947, the devil became a "green, clearly male, upright monsters". Later in the 1950s, the Jersey Devil took on the appearance of a "seven feet tall, faceless hairy creature, or a cross between a Tasmanian devil and a human being.
History
There are various versions of the origin of the Jersey Devil, but they are all evolved around the name Leeds. Therefore, the original name for this creature is the Leeds Devil, which is still used in certain areas.
The most popular tale took place in 1735 where the 13th pregnancy of a Mrs. Leeds was said to have led to the birth of a devil child who flew away up her chimney. Local records vaguely supports the idea that a thirteenth child in a family named Leeds disappeared. Some believed that Mother Leeds was a witch and the child's father was the devil. The child was described to have hooves, the head of a horse, bat wings, and a forked tail.
Another version tells of a Mrs. Shrouds of Leeds Point who wished her next child to be a devil, and gave birth to a misshapen and deformed child who also escaped up a chimney. Other stories that took place at Leeds Point includes the one which tells of a young girl who was cursed by the townspeople for falling in love with a British soldier during the Revolutionary War and as a result, gave birth to a devil child.
Since then, numerous New Jersey residents have earnestly reported sightings of the demon for the last two hundred years.
Interesting Facts
Summary
The Windigo is a terrible spirit of cannibalism that haunts the Algonkian-speaking Indians of Canada that can take both physical and mental forms. It is a half-phantom, half-beast that lives in the forests and preys on human beings, especially children. It can also take the form of a mental disorder that causes its victim to become a zombie that performs acts of cannibalism.
Location
The Windigo is a creature of the Algonkian people, which including the Micmac, Montagnais-Naskapi, Algonkin, Ojibwa, Cree, and the Blackfoot. The tribes live on reserves in the Maritimes, the Northwest Territories, and the northern regions of Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. The Windigo haunts the forests and tundra in the triangular domain reaching from the Atlantic Ocean in the east, to the Rocky Mountains in the west, and to the Arctic Ocean to the north.
Description
There are many descriptions of the Windigo, but very few illustrations. The Windigo is the feared personification of both physical and spiritual famine. It can take the form of a half-phantom, half-beast that roams the forest, or a personality disorder or mental illness that causes its victim to become crazed and perform acts of cannibalism.
It can feast on flesh and blood, it can change shape at will, and it can scare its victims to death with a single look. It can strike such terror into a person that he would be rendered into a cannibalistic zombie void of all personality and individuality.
The Windigo has been described as an evil spirit, a ten-foot tall demon with an enormous head, gigantic teeth in a twisted mouth, beady eyes, and supernatural strength and speed. It moves faster than the human eye could follow, and can blend into the trees and winds. It may also be a human cannibal, for to come into the presence of an Windigo will trigger the transformation into one. To be bitten by one and to dream of one would also lead to the transformation. Unlike the transformation of vampires and werewolves, the curse of the Windigo is irreversible.
History
The name is derived from the Algonkian root word witiku, and means 'evil spirit' and 'cannibal'. Its pronunciation varies from tribe to tribe, as are its spelling, but 'Windigo' is the most common way, followed by 'Wendigo'. Other spellings include:
The Windigo dates back to the earliest of Indian legends, where it is described as a phantom of hunger that stalks the forests, hunting for lone Indians to eat. It is a creature of the Algonkian people's experience and imagination. Its origin spawned from the fear and disgust of cannibalism. This act is seen to be so horrid that persons who commit it can only be explained by possession of a supernatural evil, for it is inconceivable that a healthy man, with full control of his mental facilities, will eat the flesh of his fellows by choice or by desire.
Like most legends, the Windigo is also an explanation for the unknown, an entity drawn from the depths of the dark and mysterious forests.
Interesting Facts
The Wendigo Trout
In 1954, fish-breeders, with the help of the Ontario Department of Lands and Forest, produced a hybrid by crossing the speckled trout with the lake trout in order to combat the damages done by sea lamprey in the Great Lakes. They named the new fish 'Splake', but others dubbed it the Wendigo Trout because they felt that the original name sounded too harsh. It is even more appropriate because the purpose of the new trout was to attack the sea lamprey, and cannibalize it.
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