Hello all, have you written about the Chupacabra yet? I have and it was a lot of fun, researching this elusive and dangerous creature. This beast is the focus in my short story "Welcome to Anna." Once fantasy tale in my anthology, "Loves, Myths, and Monsters." Please do leave comments. Thank you.
The chupacabra, meaning "goat-sucker" is a legendary cryptic rumored to inhabit the Caribbean (chiefly Puerto Rico), Central and South America, North America (chiefly Mexico and southern United States). The name comes from the animal's reported habit of attacking and drinking the blood of livestock, especially goats, while leaving strange uncture marks in the animals neck.
How the chupacabra come about is also made of countless myths and legends. In my fantasy anthology, “Loves, Myths, and Monsters,” one tale entitled “Welcome to Anna,” describes the creature originating from South America thousands of years ago. There was a jungle god, who killed a female coyote when she attacked him. Afterward, the jungle god realized she had a puppy. Since he had no wife, he cast a spell over the puppy transforming it into a human mate.
Over time the wife gave the jungle god three sons, but when they became men they also wanted wives, because their mother was the only woman at that time. The jungle god said to the three brothers, ‘The one of you who designs the perfect woman will be made Chief and given a wife. He will become the producer of mankind.”
So the oldest brother, named Lujuree, molded a woman from clay, but when it began to rain and the clay washed away. Then the middle brother, called Kujuli, molded a woman from wax, but she melted in the jungle sun. Then the youngest brother, Mopo, made a woman from wood and his father loved it so much, he made the youngest brother the Chief. That enraged Lujuree and Kujuli, so they killed Mopo.
For their punishment, their father cursed them for eternity. He turned the first brother into a coyote, an animal scavenging for rats and snakes, so all the people would hate it, then he sealed the second brother’s soul inside the same animal so the two souls would struggle continuously for dominance. During the full moon, the second brother becomes very strong, using the moon’s mystical powers, and the coyote turns into a hideous, blood-thirsty creature, roaming the night and sucking the blood from its victims. So the brothers are now either a chupacabra or a coyote, and they are feared and hunted no matter what shape they take. But it’s just a legend?
Physical descriptions of the creature are as colorful as a rainbow. It is reportedly a heavy creature, anywhere from the size of a small bear, to nine feet tall, with a row of spines reaching from the neck to the base of the tail. Some individuals claiming to have witness livestock attacks, described the creature as having large ears, whiskers, a long tail, and about the size of a house cat. Others described the creature as a “four-legged Dracula and a scrawny, scraggly thing.”
In “Welcome to Anna,” the chupacabra is enormous. Long gray/brown fur covers its entire body. Its teeth are large razor sharp and fanged. Its claws are long and curved, with eyes almost human, as it walks upright.
Most authorities report these animals as being coyotes, fox/coyotes, or wild dogs suffering from Sarcoptes scabier, a severe case of mange. That symptom would explain most of the features of the reported Chupacabras: they would be left with little or strange looking fur, thickened skin, and rank odour.
The reason this creature is said to kill goats and other small livestock is due to the fact that carnivores infected with mange, are greatly weakened, making it difficult for these sickly animals to hunt. So they may be forced into attacking livestock because it's easier than running down a rabbit or a deer.
Countless legends abound along with movies, books, and documentaries concerning the chupacabra. I once saw video footage capturing this bizarre creature believed to be a chupacabra, on episodes of the Syfy television series Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files. The video was at times so grainy, that creature running around on camera, could have been a child in an animal costume.
My heroine from “Welcome to Anna” is Zoe. To save herself and her town, lost her grandparents/guardians to a strange looking dog/coyote, while leaving her with minor injuries. Zoe must then return to the states to live with her estranged mother, Teresa. Little does Zoe realize, but the Chupacabra who attacked her and her grandparents followed her.
Blurb: Little does 17 year old Zoe, realize, but the Chupracabra followed her to Ohio from South America. What happens next is a series of chilling mysteries, and unsuspecting friendships and love.
Excerpt: A spine-chilling scream suddenly echoed throughout the length of the cave. “Steady, men,” the sheriff shouted, cocking both barrels of his gun.
Hearing thunderous footsteps approaching and heavy breathing, they knew it was no ordinary bear or coyote. This animal must be enormous!
“Find your courage, men,” Jake said, and swallowed hard when the towering, horrendously ugly creature entered the light of their flashlights.
“Oh, my God!” screamed Darrel. He blasted the monster with his rifle, and Guy, Jake and the sheriff joined in.
The Chupracabra charged Darrell first, knocking him against the muddy wall and his weapon out of his hands. One of the dogs jumped onto the back of the beast, and the sheriff yanked his ten-inch skinning knife from its sheath. “Die, you bastard, die!” he yelled and shoved the blade deep into its fur-covered belly.
This seemed solely to enrage it more. It charged the others.
Jake reloaded his shotgun—and emptied it, but it was too late. The monster had ripped the sheriff’s head from his shoulders and tossed it against the far wall.
Horrified, Guy slumped to the cold cave floor, crying like a baby. “Oh, God! Oh, God! Help us,” he begged.
His cry for mercy went unheeded for the beast next turned his anger on the quivering man.
“You son-of-a-bitch," screamed Jake, grabbing Darrel’s pistol and firing wildly at the creature, not knowing if he hit is mark or not.
The bullets had no effect, as if the creature were built like a tank. Guy’s screams of sure death continued to pierce the forest, one after the other, until all was silence.
Review: 5 *****
"There are quite a few surprises in this story that I did not expect. Definitely a story worth reading. This was a very worthwhile book and it was very diverse. The stories ranged from romance to myths, legends and monsters both human and nonhuman."
Reviewed by: Linda Tonis- Member of the Paranormal Romance Review Team June 2014
MELANGE IN PRINT AND EBOOK:http://www.melange-books.com/authors/joannemyers/LMM.htmlLULU in printhttp://www.lulu.com/shop/joanne-myers/loves-myths-and-monsters/paperback/product-21546632.html
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