A closer look
Puerto Rican farmers originally described the legendary mystical beast known as the Chupacabra in nineteen-ninety-five, and their description perfectly matched the alien creature from the recently released sci-fi movie Species. The eyewitness who kickstarted the entire massive cryptozoological panic had literally just watched the film before seeing a weird dog in the dark, projecting Hollywood special effects directly onto a miserable coyote suffering from severe mange. A completely mundane parasitic skin infection quickly spiraled into a global mystical phenomenon, largely because humans inherently prefer the idea of a terrifying vampiric alien predator over the sad reality of a profoundly itchy stray dog. It remains the ultimate modern example of how easily a bad movie and a case of canine scabies can accidentally birth a heavily merchandised mystical legend that dominates late-night paranormal television
