Tracking the Chupacabra – The Vampire Beast in Fact, Fiction, and Folklore
Among the monsters said to roam the world's jungles and desolate deserts, none is more feared than the chupacabra--the blood-sucking beast blamed for the mysterious deaths of thousands of animals since the 1990s. To some it is a joke; to many it is a very real threat and even a harbinger of the apocalypse. Originating in Latin America yet known worldwide, the chupacabra is a contradictory and bizarre blend of vampire and shapeshifter, changing its appearance and characteristics depending on when and where it is seen. Rooted in conspiracy theory and anti-American sentiment, the beast is said to be the result of Frankenstein-like secret U.S. government experiments in the Puerto Rican jungles.
Combining five years of careful investigation (including information from eyewitness accounts, field research, and forensic analysis) with a close study of the creature's cultural and folkloric significance, Radford's book is the first to fully explore and try to solve the decades-old mystery of the chupacabra.
About Benjamin Radford (Corrales, New Mexico Author)
Benjamin Radford is an award-winning investigator and deputy editor of Skeptical Inquirer science magazine. He has written thousands of articles on a wide variety of topics, including urban legends, mysterious phenomena, critical thinking, and science literacy.
He is author, co-author, or contributor to more than twenty books, including Scientific Paranormal Investigation: How to Solve Unexplained Mysteries; Tracking the Chupacabra: The Vampire Beast in Fact, Fiction, and Folklore; Mysterious New Mexico: Miracles, Magic, and Monsters in the Land of Enchantment (winner of the Southwest Book Award); Bad Clowns (Independent Publisher Award bronze medalist); and most recently Investigating Ghosts: The Scientific Search for Spirits.
Radford is a regular columnist for several outlets including LiveScience.com and Discovery News. Radford co-founded two podcasts: Squaring the Strange (2016-present) and MonsterTalk (winner of the Parsec award). Radford has been quoted as an expert by hundreds of media outlets including CNN, ABC News, BBC, CBC, The New York Times, Gizmodo, Forbes, The New York Times Magazine, The (London) Times Literary Supplement, Fortean Times, the Huffington Post, Scientific American, Wall Street Journal, Wired, and Vanity Fair. He has also appeared on dozens of television shows including Good Morning America and on the Discovery Channel, the History Channel, and the National Geographic Channel. Radford has a masters degree in education and a bachelors degree in psychology, and is a member of the American Folklore Society. More about Radford can be found at www.BenjaminRadford.com and on Wikipedia.
