A Wampus Cat is a cryptid that is well known in Cherokee folklore.
It’s origins began in the Appalachian Mountains.
The Wampus Cat’s size and appearance looks similar to a cougar or a mountain lion sporting six legs!
Unlike Cougars and Mountain lions this cat can stand up and walk on its hind legs much like a person. Legend has it that this Big cat can outrun arrows, hypnotize its victims with its piercing yellow eyes while reading their mind!
This makes it much more difficult to catch a Wampus Cat.
The Cherokee dwell in the same regions of the Appalachian mountains and well understand this formidable feline.
The Cherokee shaman have used the fur of this fierce cat for use in their magical wands.
There is an old Cherokee tale that tells of a Cherokee woman that was a bit too nosy about her husband’s business.
It goes something like this…
A long, long, time ago, a Cherokee woman was curious about her husband’s business so she spied on him and the men of the tribe. While the men were on a hunting trip, they would share spooky tales around the campfire that women were not suppose to hear. The woman hid in the shadows by covering herself with the skin of a dead cougar. Suddeny, she was discovered by the tribesmen. The tribe’s shaman, became very angry and cursed her to always wear the skin of the big cat, morphing her into a cat cryptid creature. She was banished from the tribe forever and she prowled on top of the mountains, growling and moaning, saddened by her cursed state.
Source & Reference
All About Cryptids
Edited by Allistair Selby
ISBN-13: 978-1329608078, ISBN-10: 1329608070
Artist unknown, public domain.
