The Mexican Legend Chupacabra

Benjamin Radford is something of an investigative journalist, but with a penchant for ghost and vampire legends. He seems to have a fairly scientific mind, as he is a highly respected and frequent contributor to Discovery News, Live Science and Skeptical Inquirer magazine. Thus, when Radford heard about the 1995 chupacabra attacks, he decided to investigate. The first report to have widespread media attention outline the story of a Puerto Rican farmer finding eight of his sheep dead, drained of blood, and with no injuries except for three small punctures on their necks.

The word "chupacabra" is Spanish for goat sucker, and the name given to this legendary creature by Silverio Perez, a Latin American comedian. Attacks by chupacabra on farm animals, appeared in the media every week during the 1990's. One little town in Puerto Rico reported 150 animals had the blood sucked out of them in one night. Animals are found headless; while other animals have been drained of blood. It is all very mysterious and quite gruesome!

Initial investigations pointed the finger at so-called "Satan worship", yet that theory has never been definitely proven. One of the noted investigations was carried out by the journalist Benjamin Radford. He spent five years re-interviewing witnesses, visiting 'crime' scenes and even headed an expedition to Nicaragua in search of the creature. When Radford interviewed the very first witness, the first person to see a chupacabra in the (supposed) flesh, he was struck by a particularly coincidental description of the creature. Apparently, the witness described the chupacabra's appearance as being the same as the predatory creature, Sil, in the 1995 film, Species. Two creatures, one in a movie and one supposedly sucking the blood of farm animals in Mexico and Puerto Rico, and they just happen to look the same? Right.

By the end of Radford's investigation he found hard evidence proving the truth behind the deaths of the farm animals all over Latin America, and published a book documenting it all. Radford's book, Tracking the Chupacabra: Tracking the Vampire Beast in Fact, Fiction and Folklore, was published in 2011. What better reading material for a poolside afternoon at a Mexico resort?

Every culture has its share of vampire and ghost stories, it is simply a part of human nature. In Southern Louisiana there are said to be ghosts of unbaptized children spooking horses in their stables and leaving manes and tails braided. In Scotland, there is the famous Lochness Monster that many have seen, but no one has caught. Maybe the chupacabra is real, maybe it isn't; but you will have to read Radford's book to find out!

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