Description
The wampus cat is often compared to the Ewah of Cherokee mythology, in that it was a woman who disguised herself in the skin of a cougar 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's medicine man punished her by transforming her into a half-woman, half-cat, who supposedly still haunts the forests of eastern Tennessee. In folklore, it can be seen as one of a number of fearsome critters. In some sections of rural eastern Tennessee, the legend of the Wampus Cat takes on a more sinister tone. It is said that the Wampus Cat is a spirit of death and the earth, and when her cry is heard, it means someone is going to die and be buried within the next three days.
One variety of Wampus Cat, kept alive by experts in North Carolina folklore, has been described as "a big black cat with a red behind."
Another such Wampus Cat legend tells of a "large, lazy cat that is quick to rile", that stalks the barns and fields of Pinetown, North Carolina. Local youth participate in a contest to hunt the Wampus down and hold it aloft, while listening to loud music in an attempt to prove bravery and manliness.
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