Chupacabra is the Worst Urban Legend Ever

Chupacabra, the mythical goat-killing creature that comes from the depths of Mexico, has been revealed a total phony. The bloodsucking fairytale started in 1995, making it the only urban legend ever to scare people wearing the holy fashion trinity of jean jackets, slap bracelets and flannel. The first Chupacabra sighting was recorded by a Mexican newspaper who interviewed a woman about her encounter. The woman said that the creature was "4 to 5 feet tall with spikes down its back, long, thin arms and legs, and an alienlike oblong head with red or black eyes." Sounds scary! But a movie released two weeks before that had a character with the same exact description. D'oh!

Species, a horror movie that starred Ben Kingsley, Forest Whitaker, and Michelle Williams (what a great cast!), came out two weeks before the first reported sighting. The woman who reported the animal to the newspaper told scientific investigator Benjamin Radford that she saw the movie the week before her sighting. Here's a picture of what that woman thought she saw in real life:

Ahhhhh!

Chupacabra literally means "goat sucker" in Spanish and over the past few years, the description of the creature has shifted from being a half-human creature to a more dog-like beast. Numerous sightings have been reported in America over the past few years -- including this thoroughly reported one in Kentucky.

That case was ruled to be just a bald raccoon. Another alleged captured Chupacabra was found in Claremore, Oklahoma. But that one was found out to be a "hairless raccoon". Finally this winter, biologists concluded that Chupacabras are really just coyotes with scabies.

Now that we've put this crazy woman's nerves at ease, let's put the Chupacabra myth to rest once and for all.

[via The Awl]

[Mtanzer]