El Yunque Chupacabra

 

Many people know about the chupacabra. It’s one of the most popular alien or cryptid monsters. Yet the chupacabra is so regionally varied it’s practically different monsters in different regions. In mainland USA the chupacabra is known as a mutant hairless canine creature, often with spikes and vampiric fangs. In Puerto Rico where the chupacabra originated from it’s a very different monster. The creature is a humanoid reptilian thing, shaped like a bulkier grey alien with scaly reptile skin, glowing red eyes and spines down its back. Yet even within Puerto Rico there’s a different, even stranger, chupacabra, which was seen in a one off encounter.

In October of 1973, Hector Jusino and his friends drove out to El Yunque National Forest for a camping trip. They were 16 at the time, and experiencing their first real freedom to be out on their own for the night. El Yunque, the highest point in Puerto Rico, was no stranger to the paranormal, having several other creatures spotted there, as well as UFOs and many strange disappearances. Although Hector at the time didn’t know this, for him it was a peaceful retreat into nature.

This camping trip among the teens had not been well planned. They didn’t have a tent with them, so they needed to find a dry place where they could lay out their sleeping bags on the ground. They found a picnic area with a gazebo and a ranger station nearby. The ranger station itself had a large awning which they placed their sleeping bags under. No overnight ranger was staying there so they did as they pleased.

The gazebo had a grill which they planned to cook their dinner. It was late evening, after the sun had set, but before full darkness set in. Hector and one of his friends went over to the gazebo to light the grill, while the other two stayed back by the sleeping bags.

While gathering sticks to start a fire, Hector and his friend saw something vaguely humanoid moving around in the bushes near the gazebo. They couldn’t get a good look at it. Hector shined his flashlight on the shadowy figure. It ran from the light so fast that Hector couldn’t tell where it had gone. While Hector found the incident odd, hunger was a more pressing issue so he went back to lighting the grill.

Before they could start cooking the creature came back. It ran between Hector and his friend, then towards their car, knocking over another of his friends in the process. The creature moved so quickly that it was impossible to get a good look at it, even feet away. It left a trail of broken sticks and damaged vegetation. Hector and his friends were frightened by the incident so they got back into the shelter of their vehicle. There they discussed what happened. In spite of the humanoid appearance of the creature they all decided they had seen a mountain lion run through camp, even though mountain lions don’t occur in Puerto Rico. Yet they couldn’t think of any native animal that matched the size, speed and agility of what they saw.

In spite of the fear they had just experienced the group of friends decided that the creature probably wasn’t coming back and to camp at that location anyway. The friends tried to sleep where they originally planned, but so many bats flew under the awning that they decided to leave and find another campsite on the mountain.

The teens got back into their car and travelled down the narrow road, now by this time in complete darkness. Their travel was stopped by three creatures standing in the middle of the narrow mountain road. The middle creature was the largest, over 5 feet tall. The other two were only 4 feet tall. Otherwise they all looked similar. They had triangular, dog shaped heads, and large, glowing, orange eyes. Their torso was human-like, but covered in fur. They had long arms that ended in crab claws. Their legs were hairy and goat-like, and ended in hooves. The group of friends stared at the creatures, unsure of what to do. They felt like they were being hypnotized.

The next thing Hector remembers is waking up in the car, now parked near a baseball diamond. They were in a city park, outside of El Yunque, and with no recollection of how they got there. According to the radio clock 2 and a half hours had passed. A police officer approached the car and asked them what they were doing parked there so late at night. Hector told the officer they were looking for somewhere to camp for the night. The police officer said they weren’t allowed to camp in the city park. He advised them to go to El Yunque, unaware that they had been there previously.

The group of teens did as the police officer said and drove back to El Yunque forest. With plenty of apprehension they returned to the gazebo and ranger station where they had been previously. They decided to sleep in the car, as going outside with the possibility of monsters lurking around didn’t feel safe. Throughout the night Hector and his friends were woken up by strange sounds outside. They saw the creatures multiple times, running about on the edge of the clearing.

In the morning the teens were woken up by the park ranger. The ranger said multi-colored lights were seen over this part of El Yunque last night and asked them if they had been setting off fireworks. Hector and the other teens said they had not. A quick search of the area revealed no firework casings, so they were allowed to leave without incident.