El Chupacabra
Credit: Cassie Tucker
Origins:
This creature was first reported in Puerto Rico, but has since been spotted in Southwestern states, such as Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.
Legend:
El Chupacabra, which translates to “the goat sucker” in Spanish, is a creature that is known for preying on livestock by sucking out all of the animals’ blood via puncture wounds. Chupacabras have been blamed for many mysterious and spontaneous animal deaths. The creature is most commonly described as a strange breed of wild, hairless dog with red eyes, a protruding spine and ribs, bat-like ears, pronounced claws and fangs, and sometimes horns. A less common depiction of the creature describes it as standing on two feet with scaly skin and quills running down its spine.
Visit:
San Antonio, Texas
The Buckhorn Museum is filled with taxidermy animals and oddities collected over the last 100 years. While it’s well worth a trip just to see that, the museum also features what is supposedly the famous Chupacabra encased in glass.
Wilmington, North Carolina
This museum has a great display of oddities that includes the body of a mermaid, a unicorn horn, and a haunted doll named Annabelle. Also among its wacky collection? The hand of El Chupacabra.
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