Tracking the Chupacabra

The Vampire Beast in Fact, Fiction, and Folklore

Benjamin Radford

• Publisher: UNM Press
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN:
  9780826350152
• eBook ISBN:
  9780826350169
• Topic: Scienze sociali
• Subtopic: Folklore e mitologia

Among the monsters said to roam the world’s jungles and desolate deserts, none is more feared than the chupacabra—-the blood-sucking beast blamed for the mysterious deaths of thousands of animals since the 1990s. To some it is a joke; to many it is a very real threat and even a harbinger of the apocalypse. Originating in Latin America yet known worldwide, the chupacabra is a contradictory and bizarre blend of vampire and shapeshifter, changing its appearance and characteristics depending on when and where it is seen. Rooted in conspiracy theory and anti-American sentiment, the beast is said to be the result of Frankenstein-like secret U.S. government experiments in the Puerto Rican jungles.

Combining five years of careful investigation (including information from eyewitness accounts, field research, and forensic analysis) with a close study of the creature’s cultural and folkloric significance, Radford’s book is the first to fully explore and try to solve the decades-old mystery of the chupacabra.

Table of contents

• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Part I: The Short History of the Chupacabra
• 1: The Goatsucker Mystery
• Part II: Folklore of the Chupacabra
• 2: A Brief History of Vampires
• 3: Chupacabras in Popular Culture
• Part III: Search for the Chupacabra
• 4: Searching for Chupacabras in Nicaragua
• 5: The Dead Vampires Speak: Chupacabra Carcasses
• 6: The Curious Case of the Cuero Chupacabra
• Part IV: Solving the Mystery of the Chupacabra
• 7: Reconsidering the Goatsucker
• 8: The Zoology of Chupacabras and the Science of Vampires
• Appendix 1: Comparison of Ten Notable Chupacabra Reports, 1995–2010
• Appendix 2: How to Identify a Chupacabra
• Appendix 3: 2010 Interview with Madelyne Tolentino
• Notes
• References Cited
• Index