Doh! I Should’ve Been Looking for Chupacabra, Not Ghosts, in Mexico!

A while back I saw a post on Phantoms & Monsters about a chupacabra-like creature attacking Siberian livestock. It made me do a forehead slap.

“Doh! What was I thinking only looking for haunted Mayan ruins when we were in Mexico?  We could’ve been in prime Chupacabra territory!”

I looked for ghosts when we toured Chacchoben. I mean, it would stand to reason if you were going to find a haunted place, where better than ruins of a civilization dating back to 200 B.C.?

Plus, while the Mayans weren’t as brutal or violent as the Aztecs or Toltecs, they did sacrifice people too. The sacrificial spot was even a stop on the tour. I kept waiting to hear a ghost story or two involving that spot, or any other, but, nope. Nada.

So I asked the tour guide on our drive back to port.

“Is Chacchoben haunted?”

“Huh?” (It was an “I don’t understand what you’re asking” “Huh?” not an “I didn’t hear you” “Huh?”.)

“Um, ghosts?”

He gave me a blank stare.

“You know, weird things happening there? The dead coming back to life.”

“Dia de los Muertos! No, the dead are only celebrated in the cemeteries.”

“No, I mean, ghosts. Woooo-oooo.” I had my hands up waving them around a little in what I thought was the universal ghost sign, but by the look on his face I could tell he was still gonna play dumb. (By this point I knew his English was good enough to know what I was asking. For some reason he didn’t want to answer my questions.)

Finally I said, “Phantasms? Phantasmos? Is that close to your word for ghosts?”

“Oh, yes!” he said smiling, supposedly finally understanding. Then he abruptly said, “No, nothing like that there,” as he shook his head and walked to answer someone else’s question at the back of the bus.

Wayne laughed. I felt like I so often do trying to extract ghost info from people –sort of stupid and mad all at the same time.

So then I saw the post on P&M and, even though it was about something happening in Siberia, the dots finally connected that Mexico is also prime chupacabra territory. Were there any sightings or attacks in the Yucatan, Costa Maya, or Quintana Roo (the territory in which Chacchoben is located)?

Not really.

Okay, good. Didn’t miss anything there then. I did, however, come across a mention of beliefs about “tree spirits” in the Yucatan. I will have to look into that more.

However, we’re headed back to Mexico. This time to Ensenada. I’m better prepared this go around. Been checking not only for haunted places and ghost stories, but also for chupacabra stories.

BINGO!

I came across a story out of San Antonio about a guy who had a mummified chupacabra that had been stolen. He claimed it was only one of three. The other two were in Ensenada, where he’d gotten his. (It was later returned to him.)

I don’t know if the other two are still in Ensenada or if they’re available for public viewing, but I’m looking into it. My husband is going to be so thrilled to go chupacabra hunting. (Read that laced with a lot of sarcasm.)

Although, if Jason from the Occult Section is right, the chupacabra is not even real at all anyway. (There’s proof in one chupacabra case at least that it was a coyote-canine hybrid with a bad case of mange so…yeah. He may be right.)

But I still have to check it out anyway. Besides, it might make for a good story.