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Lair of the Beasts: American Vampires

The Chupacabra in the USA

By Nick Redfern October 10, 2009

Nick Redfern with the skull of a so-called "Texas Chupacabra."
© Nick Redfern

Most of the people reading this blog have probably heard of the so-called Chupacabra of the island of Puerto Rico - a truly diabolical, blood-sucking beast said to have a monkey-like body, vicious claws and teeth, and occasionally even a pair of large, bat-like wings, and devil-style glowing red-eyes.

Well, in the last few years, reports have surfaced from Texas suggesting that the beast of the island has made a new home for itself deep in the heart of the Lone Star State. However, a careful analysis of the DNA of the admittedly-weird-looking hairless creatures that have come to be known as the "Texas Chupacabra" has firmly demonstrated them to be nothing stranger than coyotes and dogs with very severe cases of mange.

In other words, they cannot be considered evidence of any sort, at all, relative to Chupacabra activity in Texas. But, can we totally rule out the possibility that the Chupacabra is roaming the wilder and forested areas of the United States mainland? Just maybe, and somewhat incredibly, the answer to that question could be: no.

I learned midway through April 2007 from a man named Mac that Puerto Rico’s most famous vampire may indeed have made a home for itself in North America.

As he told me:

"I find the possibility of the Chupacabra particularly interesting, as it is the crytpid I may have gotten a brief glance at. During the Florida drought of 2001 I lived on a farm with my ex-wife. Many of the trees were in great distress because of the heat and dry conditions. One had nearly fallen over on my house. In an effort to help cool and water them I was out spraying down their trunks during the hottest part of the day. I was using a pressure nozzle with some real power.

"At one point the stream went into an open cavity and out popped two very unhappy looking creatures the like of which I have never seen before. Rather large, especially given the size of the hole they emerged from, about three feet long, they gave much the appearance of a primate and moved like one. Their shoulder [sic] looked strong, even bulky. They had flat faces, and I remember they seemed to be squinting against the light."

Mac continued:

"Most curious of all, from their arms to their legs stretched a thick membrane much like a bat. They were startlingly white. It could be said that these were just a large albino bat; in and of itself that would be quite a sighting. However, the largest bat in North America is called The Western Mastiff bat which in the U.S. is only found in southern California, and the body of which is only a foot and a half long.

"Honestly, as someone who has studied wildlife science, the size of the wings doesn't seem large enough to carry a creature of that size. Is that a Chupacabra? I don’t know. But it was something. It was not an Opossum, as there was no gray in the fur, no naked tail, and it moved completely differently. The sighting didn’t last long. I remember feeling bad for them actually, as though I had disturbed their privacy. I got the impression they were either siblings or a mated pair. They gave off no sense of menace or evil."

He concluded: "Strangely, I did feel as though they were sentient somehow, different than just an animal, and their heads were quite large, with the rounded, side mounted ears of a primate. It’s just strange. I looked for them after that, but never saw them again."

Perhaps, in view of Mac’s account, we might be wise to keep a careful look over our collective shoulders from now on: blood-sucking vampires may soon be coming to town…

Nick Redfern is the author of many books on Bigfoot, UFOs and the paranormal. His new book is Science Fiction Secrets.