There are plenty of tales of monsters that go bump in the night and the Chupacabra, which translates to goat-sucker, is no exception. Tales of this Puerto Rican monster exploded in the mid-1990s, but have been around for longer. The idea of anything drinking blood gives us the creeps, but this one takes things a step further.

The creature has become legend and is likened to the South American version of the Sasquatch. People out there think it exists and may try to find it, but there is no definitive evidence. There are a few stories that have guessed, though, but no one really knows for sure what caused all the trouble for farmers who have lost their livestock to some nightly assailant.

The Chupacabra is an allegedly fearsome creature similar to the vampire in that it drains the blood of its victims. The idea of something preying on our pets and livestock is terrifying, so it's no surprise that this legend is the stuff that nightmares are made of. Let's learn more about this creature that swoops in during the night to drink the blood of goats and cows.

Livestock Slaughter of the 1990s

The story of the Chupacabra really gained momentum in 1995 in Puerto Rico. The monsters were blamed for livestock and pets being killed but uneaten, and drained of blood. The idea that it was an animal killing for food was a hard one to take since the animals weren't eaten. You can imagine what a freaky thing this was to discover, so it makes sense that trying to find a monster to blame it on made sense.

The legend grew from there and is now often depicted in mainstream entertainment. Things that freak us out make for good stories, but there are different ideas about what this creature may look like.

Features of the Chupacabra

The features of the Chupacabra have changed throughout time, but all of them have been creepy. Initially, it was described as a creature that stood upright on two feet and looked like a reptilian version of a kangaroo with giant red eyes. Imagine a blood-sucking kangaroo. No wonder these people were scared. These early reports were thought to be influenced by the film Species, which came out in 1995 and had monsters of a similar description. It could have been the power of suggestion that created these in people's minds in the 90s.

Later on, as sightings increased over the Americas and into the United States, its appearance changed somewhat. These chupacabras were described as smaller and more canine-like in appearance. Instead, they walked on all four feet but were hairless. People did actually see creatures like these instead of it just being a story.

They were able to find some.

Coyote with mange killed in south Texas, image courtesy of KAVU-TV 

While they could find specimens that they thought were Chupacabras at this point, they were identified as dogs, coyotes, or other canine hybrids when further studied. The animals looked strange because of mange, which caused hair loss, and attacked livestock because they could not find enough food. These animals are freaky enough in themselves and offer a more plausible explanation than a blood-sucking monster.

History of the Moca Vampire

While the 1990s were when the chupacabra legend really came to life, there are incidents that date back to 1975. On March 7th of that year, a cow in Moca's Barrio Cruz was found dead with piercing wounds on the skull and scratches. The number of animals slaughtered grew to over 90 victims, and the legend of the Moca Vampire was born.

At this point, the monster was thought to be a supernatural bird. Maria Acevedo witnessed a strange animal that landed on her roof in the middle of the night. It pecked at the rooftop before letting loose a mysterious and frightening scream. Others thought that a huge vampire bat ventured from the mainland to attack the cattle. One farmer said that it killed 34 chickens in one night on his farm.

Another farmer named Luis Torres found two Puerto Rican boas, six feet in length, about to attack a 600-pound cow when he slew them. They thought they had solved the mystery of the attack on their livestock, but two more goats were found on March 18th, drained of blood. There were puncture marks on their necks. The next night, the Moca Vampire claimed another ten goats and wounded seven more.

We'll never really know whether it was a monster, a bird, canines with mange, or more snakes. What we do know is that something was killing the livestock and that in itself makes for a scary story.