History Main / Chupacabra

* ''WebVideo/TierZoo'': The chupacabra was one of the cryptids covered during the AprilFoolsDay episode, where it was determined to not be a very viable build. To unlock the chupacabra, a player would have to select a canine build and deliberately infect themselves with mange. Aside from a buff in intimidation, mange is a significant hinderence to the player that costs them sanity points. As such, chubacabras were ranked at the bottom of the tier list because of these drawbacks.

In the 1990s, the attacks started happening again on Puerto Rico. This time, people started calling the "monster" El Chupacabras, later shortened to just Chupacabra. Supposedly, Silverio Perez of the comedy group Series/LosRayosGamma coined the name to give you an idea of how seriously this was taken. A magazine called "Revista OVNI" (UFO Magazine) came up with the theory that the creature could have been created by aliens, likely inspired by the American cattle slayings theory. They also provided an artist's conception of what it looked like -- showing a creature resembling a skinny, big eyed [[TheGreys "Grey" type alien]] but with fangs, claws, scaly skin and a ridge of spines along the back. This was supposedly based on the description from a witness who claimed to have seen the monster, however said witness was apparently under the impression the events of the movie ''Film/Species'' were happening in reality. Looking at the description they gave and the film's monster called Sil, similarities are evident. Despite having no actual evidence for any of this, people embraced it, and the current concept of the Chupacabra was born. The slayings were never officially resolved, multiple local vetrinarians, the Puerto Rican FBI investigators reviewing the cases, and an American expert on animal attacks all identified them as being caused by wild dogs, based on both pictures of the attack scenes and autopsy on the victims. The idea the monster drained its victims of blood that which was often reported in news print and radio, was itself a misconception of what happens to animal corpses after death. Blood solidifies, coagulating very quickly when it stops being actively pumped through the veins, and a combination of this and the blood draining out of puncture wounds lead to bodies quickly appearing "bloodless" after a few hours. All of the autopsies on supposed Chupacabra attack victims routinely found coagulated blood inside the bodies of victims, completely typical of dog and other mundane predator attack.

* Wiki/SCPFoundation: [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-2636 SCP-2636]], or ''[[GratuitousLatin Potrix caprarum sapiens]]'', is the sapient and [[MakeMeWannaShout loud]] [[LastOfHisKind last remnant]] of the chupacabra species, and [[spoiler:the virgin mother for their MessianicArchetype]].

In the 1990s, the attacks started happening again on Puerto Rico. This time, people started calling the "monster" El Chupacabras, later shortened to just Chupacabra. Supposedly, Silverio Perez of the comedy group Series/LosRayosGamma coined the name to give you an idea of how serious this was taken. A magazine called "Revista OVNI" (UFO Magazine) came up with the theory that the creature could have been created by aliens, likely inspired by the American cattle slayings theory. They also provided an artist's conception of what it looked like -- showing a creature resembling a skinny, big eyed [[TheGreys "Grey" type alien]] but with fangs, claws, scaly skin and a ridge of spines along the back. This was supposedly based on the description from a witness who claimed to have seen the monster, however said witness was apparently under the impression the events of the movie ''Film/Species'' were happening in reality. Looking at the description they gave and the film's monster called Sil, similarities are evident. Despite having no actual evidence for any of this, people embraced it, and the current concept of the Chupacabra was born. The slayings were never officially resolved, multiple local vetrinarians, the Puerto Rican FBI investigators reviewing the cases, and an American expert on animal attacks all identified them as being caused by wild dogs, based on both pictures of the attack scenes and autopsy on the victims. The idea the monster drained its victims of blood that which was often reported in news print and radio, was itself a misconception of what happens to animal corpses after death. Blood solidifies, coagulating very quickly when it stops being actively pumped through the veins, and a combination of this and the blood draining out of puncture wounds lead to bodies quickly appearing "bloodless" after a few hours. All of the atopsies on supposed Chupacabra attack victims routinely found coagulated blood inside the bodies of victims, completely typical of dog and other mundane predator attack.

In the 1990s, the attacks started happening again on Puerto Rico. This time, people started calling the "monster" El Chupacabras, later shortened to just Chupacabra. Supposedly, Silverio Perez of the comedy group Series/LosRayosGamma coined the name to give you an idea of how serious this was taken. A magazine called "Revista OVNI" (UFO Magazine) came up with the theory that the creature could have been created by aliens, likely inspired by the American cattle slayings theory. They also provided an artist's conception of what it looked like -- showing a creature resembling a skinny, big eyed [[TheGreys "Grey" type alien]] but with fangs, claws, scaly skin and a ridge of spines along the back. This was supposedly based on the description from a witness who claimed to have seen the monster, however said witness was apparently under the impression the events of the movie ''Film/Species'' were happening in reality. Looking at the description they gave and the film's monster called Sil, similarities are evident. Despite having no actual evidence for any of this, people embraced it, and the current concept of the Chupacabra was born. The slayings were never officially resolved, multiple local vetrinarians, the Puerto Rican FBI investigators reviewing the cases, and an American expert on animal attacks all identified them as being caused by wild dogs, based on both pictures of the attack scenes and autopsy on the victims. The idea the monster drained its victims of blood that which was often reported in news print and radio, was itself a misconception of what happens to animal corpses after death. Blood solidifies, cogaulating, very quickly when it stops being actively pumped through the veins, and a combination of this and the blood draining out of puncture wounds lead to bodies quickly appearing "bloodless" after a few hours. All of the atopsies on supposed Chupacabra attack victims routinely found coagulated blood inside the bodies of victims, completely typical of dog and other mundane predator attack.

%%* ''VideoGame/DeusEx'': Greasels.

* ''VideoGame/{{Faith}}'': The primary enemy is a monster inhabiting the woods that has been cited as a Chupacabra by the local newspapers. It's depicted as a pallid, nightmarish HumanoidAbomination that runs on all fours, speaks in BlackSpeech, and rips you and the wildlife to shreds. [[spoiler:It's hinted to actually be [[WasOnceAMan a human]] who has been [[DemonicPossession possessed]] for so long that their body has been mutated beyond recognition.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/RoswellConspiracies'': Chupacabra is actually a vampire named Dvorak, who became deformed and driven nearly insane after biting something that didn't agree with him ([[spoiler:General Rinaker]]).

The "myth" began in Puerto Rico during the 1970s, making this monster much [[NewerThanTheyThink more recent than many would expect]]. At the time, there was a rash of animal slayings, mostly farm animals that had bled to death. This caused some people to (halfway seriously) think some kind of vampiric creature was on the loose; it became known as "The Moca Vampire" (Moca being the town were the attacks started). The attacks eventually stopped as mysteriously as they had begun. The local yellow journals, of course, exploited them to the hilt. It's worth noting much of the hype was tounge-in-cheek for otherwise sleepy, slow news weeks.

In the 1990s, the attacks started happening again on Puerto Rico. This time, people started calling the "monster" El Chupacabras, later shortened to just Chupacabra. Supposedly, Silverio Perez of the comedy group Series/LosRayosGama coined the name to give you an idea of how serious this was taken. A magazine called "Revista OVNI" (UFO Magazine) came up with the theory that the creature could have been created by aliens, likely inspired by the American cattle slayings theory. They also provided an artist's conception of what it looked like -- showing a creature resembling a skinny, big eyed [[TheGreys "Grey" type alien]] but with fangs, claws, scaly skin and a ridge of spines along the back. This was supposedly based on the description of a witness who claimed to have seen the monster, however said witness was apparently under the impression the events of the movie ''Film/Species'' were happening in reality. Looking at the description they gave and the film's monster called Sil, similarities are evident. Despite having no actual evidence for any of this, people embraced it, and the current concept of the Chupacabra was born. The slayings were never officially resolved, multiple local vetrinarians, the Puerto Rican FBI investigators reviewing the cases, and an American expert on animal attacks all identified them as being caused by wild dogs, based on both pictures of the attack scenes and autopsy on the victims. The idea the monster drained its victims of blood that which was often reported in news print and radio, was itself a misconception of what happens to animal corpses after death. Blood solidifies, cogaulating, very quickly when it stops being actively pumped through the veins, and a combination of this and the blood draining out of puncture wounds lead to bodies quickly appearing "bloodless" after a few hours. All of the atopsies on supposed Chupacabra attack victims routinely found coagulated blood inside the bodies of victims, completely typical of dog and other mundane predator attack.

The myth began in Puerto Rico during the 1970s. At the time, there was a rash of animal slayings, mostly farm animals that had bled to death. This caused some people to (halfway seriously) think some kind of vampiric creature was on the loose; it became known as "The Moca Vampire" (Moca being the town were the attacks started). The attacks eventually stopped as mysteriously as they had begun. The local yellow journals, of course, exploited them to the hilt.

In the 1990s, the attacks started happening again on Puerto Rico. This time, people started calling the "monster" El Chupacabras, later shortened to just Chupacabra (supposedly, Silverio Perez of the comedy group Series/LosRayosGama coined the name). A magazine called "Revista OVNI" (UFO Magazine) came up with the theory that the creature could have been created by aliens (likely inspired by the American cattle slayings theory). They also provided an artist's conception of what it looked like -- showing a creature resembling a skinny, big eyed [[TheGreys "Grey" type alien]] but with fangs, claws, scaly skin and a ridge of spines along the back. Despite having no actual evidence for any of this, people embraced it, and the current concept of the Chupacabra was born. The slayings were never officially resolved, though reportedly an American expert on animal attacks identified them as being caused by wild dogs, based on some pictures of the carcasses he saw.

An [[UrbanLegends Urban Myth]] monster of Latin American origin, believed to suck the blood of livestock animals, especially goats (thus the name, which is Spanish for "[[AccidentalInnuendo Goatsucker]]"). Combines old VampireTropes with [[AliensAndMonsters modern UFO mythology]], by way of OurCryptidsAreMoreMysterious.

-->''"Shadow birthed it. The moon gave it eyes, and the jungle gave it teeth. But it was Death that taught it cruelty."''

* In his ComicBook/New52 mini-series, ''SelfDemonstrating/{{Bizarro}}'' is keeping a Chupacabra named Collin as a pet. [[spoiler:As it turns out, he's an alien who lost his translator and he used to be a ''Franchise/GreenLantern''.]]

* ''Manga/RosarioToVampire'', while not having any actual Chupacabra's, does have a main character named "{{M|eaningfulName}}oka" that is a vampire, which is likely a case of ShownTheirWork .

* In one of the advertisement of ''Stranger Things'' for Latinamerica, the kids encounter in a forest the mexican ufologist Jaime Maussan, who was looking evidence of the Chupacabra. It implies he is chasing the Demogorgon without noticing it.

* ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' references the Chupacabra once or twice. In the original, it was just theorized that it was a Chupacabra behind the vampire attacks. (In truth, it was [[spoiler:Evangeline.]]) In the second animated series ''Anime/NegimaSecondSeason'', it became more of a RunningGag, ranging from a Chupacabra-based club being used as a cover for those who discovered Negi's secret and Asuna printing far too many Chupa-Tees to sell, to [[spoiler:Negi being turned into a chupacabra as punishment for revealing magic to normal humans]]. Even in the Spring OVA, a small portion is spent on a Chupacabra hunt, and at the very end, a Chupacabra is seen watching the plane fly away. The Chupacabra shown here is much more comical than most versions, resembling more a spotted potato with fangs than anything else.

* In the ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' manga ''Manga/TouhouSuzunaanForbiddenScrollery'', [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Remilia]] has a pet chupacabra which she initially believes is a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treeshrew tupai]]. Even after finding out the truth, she still thinks "Tupai" is cute.

* ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTensei'': Chupacabra is one of the many mythical and folkloric beings that appears in the games.

* ''Film/FantasticBeastsTheCrimesOfGrindelwald'' introduces Chupacabras to the ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' franchise. They are portrayed in a manner consistent with the original Mexican version, being lizard-like creatures with spiky backs and blood-sucking fangs.

* ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'': The creature appears as a [[DemonicSpider tough regular enemy]] in the later games, although a translation error led to it being called "Cave Troll". In ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaDawnOfSorrow'', getting its soul lets Soma attack with a Gene Simmons-style [[OverlyLongTongue long ass tongue]].

The myth became surprisingly popular across Central and South America over the years, and even in the Southern United States, with people claiming to have actually seen the creature. The myth was further bolstered by [[https://www.mexicodesconocido.com.mx/el-chupacabras-una-caso-de-histeria-colectiva-en-mexico.html the Mexican powers that be intentionally playing it up from 1994 to 1996]], because every second spent discussing El Chupacabras was a second not spent discussing the major political and economic turmoil that was happening back then. Interestingly, it changed its appearance on its travels: in Latin countries, it's reported as being a bizarre [[RedEyesTakeWarning red-eyed]] alien being with spines along its back, like the page image. In the US, they tend to take on the appearance of hairless dogs. It also has been featured on several TV shows and movies, effectively being treated as the Latin American equivalent of [[BigfootSasquatchAndYeti Bigfoot]]. Pop culture spread the chupacabra even further, with recent sightings as far as Russia.

** SelfDemonstrating/{{Deadpool}} fought a bunch of chupacapras who kidnapped a goat named [[Literature/{{Twilight}} Bella]].

The Chupacabra is sometimes known as the [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Chupacabras]]. This is in fact the original form of the name in Spanish; this type of compound word in Spanish (verb + noun) usually has the plural form of the noun (other examples: ''el abrelatas'' "the can opener", ''el sacapuntas'' "the pencil sharpener", ''el tocadiscos'' "the record player", ''el pisapapeles'' "the paperweight"). [[{{Demythtification}} In 2010, corpses of quadrupedal "Chupacabra" were analyzed and revealed to be coyotes afflicted with mange]], while the bipedal Chupacabra originated from Madelyne Tolentino, the eyewitness from the Puerto Rico cases, believing that the monster Sil from the science fiction horror film ''Film/{{Species}}'', which she had watched prior to making the report, was real.

-->--'''Brock Samson''', ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers''

* ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooAndTheMonsterOfMexico'' has the Chupacabra as the titular monster except it's InNameOnly. Not only is the origin of the creature different (treating it as being part of Myth/AztecMythology) but it's also designed to resemble [[BigfootSasquatchAndYeti Bigfoot]] (or the Nahual, a lycanthropic being from local folklore).

* ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooAndTheMonsterOfMexico'' not only gets the origin of the creature ''completely'' wrong (treating it as being part of Myth/AztecMythology!) but redesigns it to look more bigfoot-like. (The writers might have gotten it confused with the Nahual, a lycanthropic being from local folklore.)

The myth became surprisingly popular across Central and South America over the years, and even in the Southern United States, with people claiming to have actually seen the creature. The myth was further bolstered by [[https://www.mexicodesconocido.com.mx/el-chupacabras-una-caso-de-histeria-colectiva-en-mexico.html the Mexican powers that be intentionally playing it up from 1994 to 1996]] in an attempt to distract the people from major political and economic turmoil that happened back then. Interestingly, it changed its appearance on its travels: in Latin countries, it's reported as being a bizarre [[RedEyesTakeWarning red-eyed]] alien being with spines along its back, like the page image. In the US, they tend to take on the appearance of hairless dogs. It also has been featured on several TV shows and movies, effectively being treated as the Latin American equivalent of [[BigfootSasquatchAndYeti Bigfoot]]. Pop culture spread the chupacabra even further, with recent sightings as far as Russia.

The myth became surprisingly popular across Central and South America over the years, and even in the Southern United States, with people claiming to have actually seen the creature. Interestingly, it changed its appearance on its travels: in Latin countries, it's reported as being a bizarre [[RedEyesTakeWarning red-eyed]] alien being with spines along its back, like the page image. In the US, they tend to take on the appearance of hairless dogs. It also has been featured on several TV shows and movies, effectively being treated as the Latin American equivalent of [[BigfootSasquatchAndYeti Bigfoot]]. Pop culture spread the chupacabra even further, with recent sightings as far as Russia.