Otherwise known as Caridad’s Dark Side Demon Monday!
We’re launching a whole new series of blogs here at the Danger Women Writing for our Dangerous Readers. Check back each day for a new theme and Dangerous Woman writer sharing insights on all kinds of topics.
For my turn at the plate, I’ll be offering up thoughts and insights on demon lore and some of the more interesting things happening with the creatures that go bump in the night.
Many readers wonder how paranormal writers manage to come up with their ideas. Sometimes you develop totally new creatures and later on during another Dark Side Demon Monday I’ll talk about how I went about creating the mystical beings that will stream to the Jersey Shore in Books 3 and 4 of the SINS series (which will be renamed the SIN HUNTERS series).
Sometimes you look at existing mythologies and tweak them to fit the needs of your story. That’s what I did in DEVOTION CALLS when I introduced a slightly different kind of vampire — a chupacabra.
Chupacabra (or chupacabras) means “goat sucker” in Spanish, but the creature has become quite well known throughout the United States and the rest of the Americas.
The first attacks attributed to chupacabras began in the early 1990s in Puerto Rico so the legend is actually not all that old. Additional sightings of the animal began to appear in other parts of South America as well as the American Southwest.
Farmers reported attacks on various livestock, but the animals were not eaten or taken to another location for dinner. The reports indicated that the animals were killed by being drained of blood through two small incisions, much like a vampire.
One theory as to the origin of the chupacabra is that it’s an alien pet that escaped. Another is that it’s either an alien genetics experiment that got loose or a human genetics experiment. Finally, others believe that the chupacabra is merely a coyote that has a skin disease, accounting for the lack of hair and strange coloration on those animals which have been found and called chupacabras.
Witnesses describe the chupacabra as being anywhere from 4 to 6 feet tall when upright, with green/gray scales. The beast has quills along its head and neck, possibly a long tail and clawed fingers. In addition, it has large glassy eyes that can be reddish in color. Way different than the supposed creatures being found in various areas of Texas!
Regardless of whether or not chupacabras really exist, the creatures have managed to embed themselves in our folklore and have even been written about in songs!
For more information on the chupacabra, you can click on one of the links below.
Encounters with Chupacabras
Texas Mystery: Defective Coyote or Chupacabra?
Watch the Monsterquest Television Program on the Chupabacra!
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Being from Texas, I can tell you that the Chupacabras do make the news/papers. Not sure if they’re real, but it does make interesting reading.
Especially if you’re someone how loves all things paranormal.
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I love the Chupacabra! Back in the day, I was a huge fan of The X-Files, and I remember they hunted one.
Oh, Mulder, I would have followed you on any hunt.
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Caridad,
I hold a warm space in my heart for the chupacabra. My husband and I lived in Tucson through the 1990s and watched the lore grow. We use him as a boogieman threat now (but only for our less-sensitive child who gets that it’s a joke
I love the pictures. I’ve never been able to form a proper, consistent mental image of him yet–Chupy hasn’t yet achieved iconic status.
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Not yet, but he’s getting there. What surprised me when I researched the mythology was that it was such a relatively new legend.
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This is really fantastic, Caridad. It was so interesting reading it. I hope you’ll continue to share even more on the subject of myths.
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I don’t want the chupacabra to be only a hairless coyote. I want there to be a real monster somewhere. Japan has Godzilla and all we can some up with is a bald coyote?
Oh, please, next stop–the Jersey Devil! The only monster in our home state–could lick any chupacabra in a fight for sure.
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That’s some big bat :>)