Wampus Cat/Ewah

The Wampus Cat is a mysterious feline creature from the myths of the Cherokee. Sightings of this creature are from the Appalachian Mountains commonly West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Its name is sometimes thought to come from the term “cattywampus” since it means “not quite right” and it is known as the Ewah by the Cherokee. Often it is described as a bizarre cross between a woman and a mountain lion. Other times it resembles a hybrid of a large mountain lion, panther, cougar, and gray wolf. Commonly it has hypnotic glowing eyes along with huge fangs and is known to make loud unearthly screams. Sometimes, it is reported to have six legs; four used to run, and two used to fight. It can walk upright on its back legs.  It’s seen as easily provoked and incredibly powerful. It has been known to attack, maul, and kill farm animals and pets, especially targeting chickens. It was sometimes known to attack humans, pets, children, or anyone traveling through the woods at night. Meeting the Wampus Cat brings misfortune, and people are thought to go mad seeing this. Sometimes it is believed to be a shapeshifted witch or a hideous animal with a human head and a demon’s soul. Other times it was seen as evil incarnate or the manifestation of an evil being. A story after common Christianisation has a man who is hunting at night and gets chased by the Wampus Cat. He sought shelter in a nearby friend’s house, and the Wampus Cat was scared away when this friend started reading Psalms. This creature has various stories regarding its origin.

-A woman who distrusted her husband and followed him wearing a mountain lion skin. She was punished by being forced to continue wearing the skin for the rest of her life, fusing with it and becoming the ghostly Wampus Cat.

-A woman followed her husband to learn the magic only taught to men. She was punished by the medicine man by being turned into a monster.

-The Wampus Cat was terrorizing the Cherokee, and a woman scared it off by wearing a scary mask and sneaking up behind it to scream. Her spirit then became that of the Wampus Cat.

-A witch took the form of a cat to steal livestock and turned back during the day. One day though she was caught changing shape and became stuck in between forms becoming the Wampus Cat.

-A witch was an old woman who used her shapeshifting to steal livestock and hex the people she stole from, often taking personal items and hair to cast stronger spells against them. She was eventually caught and pounced upon mid-shapeshift, being forced to stay in this cat-woman hybrid form. She could be seen walking on windy nights when the moon was high, walking on her hind legs. A man named Jinx Johnson was raccoon hunting when his dog ran off after the Wampus Cats cry, and he chased after it. He ran as fast as he could back home and recited bible verses all night as the creature screamed and tried to enter.

-A more modern theory suggests the US government tried to create strong messenger animals by creating hybrids of gray wolves and mountain lions. The Wampus Cat is thought to be one of those hybrids.

Citations:

Matthews, John, and Matthews, Caitlin. The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures: The Ultimate A-Z of Fantastic Beings from Myth and Magic. United Kingdom, Harper Element, 2009.

Monsters of West Virginia: Mysterious Creatures in the Mountain State. United States, Stackpole Books, 2012.

Rose, Carol. Giants Monsters and Dragons: An Encyclopedia Of Folklore Legend And Myth. United Kingdom, WW Norton, 2001.