Hello again my lovelies! Today we have another cryptid. This one I stumbled across the other day, and I must say America you have some great cryptids! I think I have found my new favourite word in ‘Wampus’ I just love the sound of it! It’s also of Cherokee origins which is something I would love to learn more about (and other Native American tribes and their folklore/legends), so any book recommendations pop them in the comments please!
The Wampus cat is said to be a half human, half cat creature that inhabits the Appalachian region of the USA. It is said to have black fur, yellow eyes, long fangs and has the ability to be bipedal, it is also sometimes said to have 6 legs. It smells like a mixture of skunks and wet dogs. It is said to have the ability to drive a human to madness by staring into and piercing their soul and according to some if you hear the cry of the Wampus someone will die in 3 days.
There are 2 origin stories of the Wampus Cat, and I will cover both of them. The internet says they are both of Cherokee origin whist some state otherwise and we all know the internet lies, I do believe they come from separate regions so it could be a regional difference? Again, if anyone knows pop it in the comments, please!
The Curse
So, this story is about a Cherokee woman who was curious about the strange magical ritual that the hunters would perform. Her husband would go hunting with other men from the tribe for food, but before they would start the hunt they would gather and ask the forgiveness of the lives they would take and seek supernatural guidance for the hunt. This sacred ritual was forbidden for women to witness but the woman begged her husband to tell her, yet he would not yield the secret. The womans curiosity got too much.
One night she crept through the woods to the ritual site, wearing the skin of a cougar/puma. Here she hid behind a rock to witness the ritual that had been long kept from her and the other women of the tribe. Wanting to take in every detail she crept closer and closer to the men until she got too close when the shaman spotted her and saw through her disguise. The men grabbed her and dragged her into the circle.
As punishment the shaman cursed the woman, making the cougar skin she was wearing her own. Turning her into a half woman half cat beast. From this moment she was cursed to live in the woods alone and to never have human company.
The Protector
Ew’ah was an evil demon, known as the spirit of madness. It had taken great pleasure of terrorising a village called Chota (or Etowah). Due to this the shamans and warchiefs had a meeting in which the shamans told the warchiefs that it would be the end of the tribe if they sent all of the braves to fight the demon, for Ew’ah had the power to turn men mad with just a glance. The warchiefs argued that something should be done as it had been feeding on the dreams of their children. Ultimately, they agreed that they would send their strongest brave to fight the demon alone.
Standing Bear was the strongest, fastest, sneakiest, smartest, and most respected brave in all the Cherokee nation, and he was chosen to fight the demon. The shamans blessed him as he left the village and the warchiefs gave him many great weapons with which to end the demon. On the edge of the village, his wife, Running Deer, bid him a final farewell. She would never see him the same way again.
Late one night, after not hearing anything from Standing bear the brave returned to the camp, clawing at his eyes and screaming. Running Deer knew her husband was no more. Although in time e would be able to pick berries with the young girls and unmarried widows, he would never be any good as a husband. By Cherokee law this meant he was as good as dead, so his name was never mentioned again. However, Running Deer had loved her husband and wanted revenge.
Running Deer went to the shamans and told them of her wanting revenge. They gave her a bobcat mask and told her that the spirit of the bobcat could stand against the Ew’ah but she must surprise the demon. The warchiefs gave her a special paste that when rubbed on the body would hide her scent as well as her body. Running Deer kissed her husband on the forehead and left to seek her revenge.
Running Deer knew the woods just as well as she knew her home. She ate sweet berries to keep up her strength, but over many days she came across no sign of the Ew’ah. Late one night, she heard a creature stalking down by the stream. She heard a twig snap as she made her way down to the creek, she spun around to see a fox. Realising she could have been caught by the Ew’ah she continued down to the creek.
She saw strange footprints at the water’s edge along with her former husband’s breastplate. She followed the prints upstream where she saw the demon. Its hulking body lurching over the water, drinking from the pristine mountain spring. Hidden from the Ew’ah Running Deer crept ever closer, and just as she felt she could bring herself no closer, she sprang!
The Ew’ah spun around, and saw the bobcat mask, and with that began to tear at itself as the spirit of the cat reflected its powerful magic back on itself. The Ew’ah tumbled backwards into the creek, and Running Deer immediately ran as fast as she could back to the village, never looking back.
When she arrived home, the shamans and warchiefs declared Running Deer the Spirit-Talker and Home-Protector.
Some say that the spirit of Running Deer inhabits the Wampus cat, and that she continues her eternal mission of watching her tribe’s lands to protect them and their people from demons that hide in the dark to this day.
Sightings
There have been many sightings of the Wampus cat but finding evidence is very hard. Just saying you saw a big cat means nothing, it may not even be the Wampus cat at all.
Willy McQuillian first encountered it when he was nine years old. His parents had told him to fetch something from the shed late at night. He went out and came face-to-face with a jet-black panther-like creature with glowing eyes. The creature gave an odd high-pitched hissing sound, which frightened him back inside the house. Many years later, on his same farm, he had the same kind of encounter with the Wampus, exactly like the encounter he had as a 9-year-old, he also lost a lot of his pigs to the creature.
If you have any sightings or stories to tell, please share them in the comments. I look forward to hearing about them!
If you haven’t already, please feel free to read my past blogs.
As always take care,
Chris xxx
Chris's Curiosity Chronicles 