The Monster Book. Nick Redfern

seen the creatures, or who have been witness to their bloodsucking activities.

      In most cases, the Chupacabras of Puerto Rico are described as bipedal creatures with large eyes, vicious claws and teeth, hairless monkey-like bodies, a row of spikes running down the backs of their heads and necks—punk-rock Mohawk-style—and even, occasionally, sporting membranous bat-like wings. As for their mode of attack, most of the interviewees stated that the Chupacabras kill their prey by a bite to the neck and then proceed to drink the blood.

      Turning to Texas, however, we see something very different at work. In each and every case on record, the Texas Chupacabras are most certainly not described as being bipedal in nature. Rather, they walk on four legs. There are no wings, no huge eyes, and certainly not any spikes running down their heads.

      But that doesn’t mean that high strangeness is not afoot. It most certainly is. In those cases where we have been fortunate to secure the body of a Texas Chupacabra—either after it has been shot or hit by a vehicle—DNA analysis has proven with 100 percent certainty that these creatures have canine origins. Yes, they look weird, but they are from the dog family, of that there is no doubt.

      The story doesn’t end there, however. Canine they are, but normal they’re most certainly not. The lack of hair has led many commentators to suggest that the animals are afflicted by mange—which may be true. However, not only are we now seeing pups with the adult creatures, but young and old all seem to be adapting quite well to living without hair. There’s none of the usual intense itching and scratching—to the point of bleeding—that is typical in animals affected by mange, and the lack of hair doesn’t appear to have any bearing on their ability to roam quite happily and comfortably in the pulverizing summer heat of Texas. And as someone who shaves his head to the bone daily, I can say with certainty that the Texan sun can certainly do some damage to the skin without adequate protection!

      In contrast to the Chupacabras in Texas, those described in Puerto Rico are very different: bipedal, large-eyed alien-like creatures with spikes down their backs.

      In addition, in some cases the front legs of the animals appear to be much shorter than one would consider normal—which gives them a weird hopping, kangaroo-type gait. Others have elongated upper jaws, many have cataracts, and they act in a highly aggressive nature around people—which is quite unlike normal, wild canines which will usually steer clear of humans.

      And then there is their mode of attack—which a number of ranchers have said involves bites to the neck of farm animals and a sizable amount of blood drained from the bodies. And, it is this latter point—and, arguably, this latter point alone—that has led many people to believe that the Puerto Rican Chupacabras and the Texan Chupacabras are one and the same. But they’re not. The term Chupacabra is a great marketing tool. It provokes intrigue and terror and is a journalist’s dream come true. And the whole thing has now gone viral within the media, on the Net, and in monster hunting circles.

      So, in other words, we have two distinctly different phenomena in evidence: one is borne out of sightings of, and encounters with, truly unknown beasts on the island of Puerto Rico, and the other is focused upon weird-looking, Texas canines that may have some extraordinary changes going on at a genetic level, too. Beyond that, however, all we can say for certain about the real Chupacabra is that just like Las Vegas, what happens in Puerto Rico continues to stay in Puerto Rico.

      WERECATS

      Throughout history, folklore, and mythology, one can find accounts of shape-shifting creatures, with the most famous example surely being the werewolf. The deadly monster of the full moon is far from being alone, however. In Africa, there are legends of werehyenas. Wererats have been reported in Oregon. Cynanthropy is a condition in which a person believes he or she can shape-shift into the form of a dog. And then there are werecats.

      Tales of werecats exist in numerous locations: South America, Asia, Africa, and Europe. Sometimes the werecats are nothing less than transformed humans. Leopards, lions, tigers, and jaguars are typically the werecat forms into which a human shape-shifter mutates. Others are regular cats, altered by dark magic into something hostile and terrible. All of which brings us back to the werecats of Britain.

      The earliest case I have on file dates from 1953, specifically the month of August. The location: Abbots Bromley, a village in the English county of Staffordshire, the origin of which dates back to at least 942 C.E. The witness was a now-deceased man, Brian Kennerly. In 2002, Kennerly’s family told me of how he often spoke of the occasion when, as he walked through Abbots Bromley on what was a warm, summer’ night, he was confronted by a large black cat—one that he described as the typical “black panther.”

      This 1763 illustration depicts a weretiger, a half-human beast originating from Asia.

      Not surprisingly, Kennerly was frozen in his tracks. His amazement turned to outright fear when the beast suddenly rose up onto its back limbs, giving it a height of around five and a half feet. The creature reportedly issued a low growl and flicked its dangling front paws in Kennerly’s direction. Notably, Kennerly’s daughter told me her father said that as the ABC rose up, “its back legs changed shape, probably to support it when it was standing upright.” A few seconds later, the creature dropped back to the ground and bounded out of sight.

      A similar report, this one from the centuries-old village of Blakeney—in the English county of Norfolk—occurred in 1967. In this case, the witness, who was driving to Blakeney on a cold, winter’s night, caught a brief glimpse of a creature standing at the side of the road that was eerily similar to the one seen by Brian Kennerly fourteen years previously. In this case, the woman said: “It stood like a person, but stooped, but had a cat’s head. Even the pointed ears.”

      The final two cases in my files are separated by seven years—1981 and 1988—but the location was the same: the German War Cemetery located within the heavily wooded Cannock Chase, Staffordshire. The Chase has long been a hotbed for weirdness: Bigfoot-type creatures, werewolves, huge serpents, ghosts, UFOs, and much more of a supernatural nature have been reported in the depths of the Chase.

      As for the two reports of werecat-type creatures seen at the cemetery, one was a daytime event involving a beast that was black in color, taller than the average man, and seen leaning on one of the gravestones. That is, until it realized it was being watched and it dropped to all fours and raced off into the trees. The second case concerned a van driver crossing the Chase late at night and who was forced to bring his vehicle to a halt—very near the cemetery—as a result of the presence in the road of a huge black cat. It was a cat that stared intently at the shocked driver, until it “sort of jumped onto its back legs.” According to the man, Don Allen, the creature remained in view for no more than about twenty seconds, after which it headed towards the cemetery, making a curious “hopping and bouncing” movement as it did so.

      “It stood like a person, but stooped, but had a cat’s head. Even the pointed ears.”

      Are infernal werecats really roaming the British Isles? Granted, the number of reports is small. And yet, the witnesses—and, in the case of Brian Kennerly, his family—are adamant that what they encountered were large, black, upright cats that displayed vaguely human characteristics. Perhaps the old myths and legends are not just folklore after all. Just maybe, the monstrous werecat really does roam the old landscapes of the British Isles.