J. Gordon Melton, in his revised, second editition of The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead (Visible Ink Press, 1999) gives a somewhat different but not entirely contradictory description. According to this, the chupacabras has “hairy arms, glowing red eyes, and bright-colored spine-like appendages that run over the body from the head to the end of the back.” Melton also indicates that, in some descriptions, the chupacabras has scales and/or bat-like wings.

The chupacabras hunts at night. In the initial reports, the victims were goats. But, coming later, there were reports where horses, dogs, and cats have been its prey. In many cases, it was claimed that there were two little holes in the neck of the dead animal and all of the blood had been drained.

It seems that, at least so far, no human deaths have been attributed to an attack by a chupacabras. But there are reports of individuals being threatened by one. In some of these, a crucifix was successfully used to hold the creature at bay.

More about Chupa and other cryptids