- Wampus cat
The Wampus cat is a legendary creature. This is a monster of the
Fearsome Critters variety, coined by the lumberjack community of the United States. According to the tale, a Native American woman disguised herself in the skin of amountain lion to spy on the men of the tribe as they sat around the campfire and told sacred stories on a hunting trip. When the woman was discovered, the tribe'smedicine man punished her by transforming her into a half-woman, half-cat, who supposedly still haunts the forests of East Tennessee.Another legend of the Wampus Cat comes from the Eastern part of Alabama. Supposedly, a secret program was carried out by the government in the 1940's to create an agile, fierce message carrier to be utilized on the European front during World War II, much like passenger pigeons were used in WWI. This program was based near
Cheaha Mountain in the Talladega Forest, an area that was and remains very sparsely settled. The creature was partMountain Lion and partGrey Wolf . However, several male and female specimens of the newly created species escaped and were never captured. Sightings of these hybrid creatures have been reported in the area ever since, with (supposed) sightings occurring as far south as theEverglades and as far north as theGreat Smoky Mountains . They have also been blamed for breaking into chicken coops, mauling livestock, and even stalking humans. Several instances have been recorded of actual attacks, but most are believed to have been mountain lion attacks.The Wampus Cat is also the mascot of several high schools:
*Leesville High School,
Leesville, Louisiana
*Pollock Elementary School,Pollock, Louisiana
*Itasca High School,Itasca, Texas
*Clark Fork Junior/Senior High School ,Clark Fork, Idaho
*Atoka High School,Atoka, Oklahoma
*Conway High School,Conway, Arkansas
*Formally of Cambridge City High School,Cambridge City, Indiana External links
[http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=108754976917744063797.00000112204be28cb0d62&t=h&z=4 "A Map of Wampus Cats Mascots Around the Country"]
* [http://www.americanfolklore.net/folktales/tn3.html "The Wampus Cat: A Scary Story from Tennessee Folklore" at americanfolklore.net]
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