Hey there, strangers. Because the Chupacabra's very nature involves animal attacks, this tale may not be appropriate for all listeners.

I'm Laura Norton, and this is one strange thing, the show where we search the nation's news archives for stories that can't quite be explained.

Strangers, we've been waiting to tell this tale for a while. After all, it's not often that one can pinpoint the

beginning of a cultural phenomenon, at least one that didn't start on the trusty old

World Wide Web. But we can thank a different world, that of Comic Radio DJs, actually,

for introducing the general public to this particular concept,

the now famous cryptid known as the Chupacabra. Now we know that DJs are a strange introduction

to, well, anything, but stay with us. We will get there. No doubt you are familiar with the Chupacabra now, as it does

rank among the most famous of the cryptid beasties. And that is pretty impressive, as it is a relative

newcomer to the fold. The Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot staked out their claim a good deal earlier in the game.

But when your name is Spanish for goat sucker, well, perhaps it was just destined to be.

The thing about Chupacabra is that it is an active critter.

There's no shy retreating into lakes or hiding behind trees and vast forests.

Chupi was out there, stalking the livestock and blazing a trail across Puerto Rico,

through Latin America and across the southwest, and then the rest of the U.S.

Heck, there are even reported sightings in the United Kingdom and Asia and

beyond, very illustrious we must say, Mr. Worldwide indeed. You may know that the Chupacabra

has been described in a variety of ways. Sometimes it's like a wolfy, dog-like thing, or a lizard, or even rarely a bird.

But in most forms, whether canid or reptilian or even avian, it tends to have a few distinct features.

As detailed by McGill University, quote, glowing eyes and bat-like wings and spikes on its back.

Sometimes the wings are the spikes, very multi-purpose, and often the creature can walk on two legs.

And, of course, it always has a nice set of fangs, because this cryptid, at its heart, is a sort

...