El Chupacabra: New Monster or Synthesis of Old Ones?

Us monster aficionados know that all monsters are not created equal but we also know that some seem to be more real than others. Sifting through the chaff, as it were, is something we like to do though. The challenge of spotting the fake is nearly as much fun as deciding that another monster is undoubtedly the real deal. The relative "newness" of El Chupacabra and its similarities to other, older monsters must be taken into account when deciding whether he's a hoax or not.

Details about "Chupa"
El Chupacabra, "The Goat Sucker" in Spanish, received its name because it reportedly sucked all of the blood out of some goats in Puerto Rico in the mid-90s. Even those who haven't heard of El Chupacabra have heard of instances where animals, often cattle, are mysteriously drained of all their blood. In most parts of the U.S., gray aliens get the credit for sucking these beasts dry but in certains places where Hispanics are the majority, El Chupacabra is known to be the blood letter of cattle. The monster's appearance is the bizarre combination of "gray" aliens, monkeys, and lizards. The combination adds up to large black (although sometimes red) eyes, huge fangs, spikes of some sort running the length of its back, sharp claws, and often (but not always) short, chimp-like hair over most of its body.

Timeline
Aside from a few blood lettings of cattle in Texas during the 70s, the first verifiable sightings of "Chupa" took place in Puerto Rico during 1994 and 1995. The first account describes "little grays" being found under a bed and then chased out of the house with a broom. By the following year though, Chupa had developed a taste for blood and seemed to get mighty thirsty. In fact, by the winter of 1995 he had an omnivorous appetite for sheep, turkeys, rabbits, goats, cats, dogs, horses, cows, and even a stuffed teddy bear. By the end of that year, El Chupacabra was credited with killing over 1,000 animals in Puerto Rico. Since that time, his popularity has only grown and he's more ubiquitous than ever today. In fact, you might not have heard a cat in your back yard last night after all...

Theories
Before you discount its sudden appearance into the world, and our psyches, and call "foul" on Chupa's veracity consider that many people claim to have seen this creature. As well, some interesting theories might help lend Chupa's existence some credence. My favorite theory stems from the interesting possibility that aliens might have such things for pets or perhaps created them for experimental purposes. For that matter, perhaps the creature is used by aliens to collect samples for experimentation? Or, equally intriguing, Chupa might have escaped from an alien lab (the product of gene-manipulation?) and quickly adapted to our world in the only way it knew how: sucking blood from earthly beasts of burden.

Regardless, this short maelstrom might be a real life demon from another planet. Remember: just because he hasn't attacked humans yet doesn't mean that you won't be the first!

--chupa