UFOs and the Chupacabras
In the summer of 2004, me and Jon Downes – the Director of the British-based Center for Fortean Zoology – traveled to the island of Puerto Rico on a week-long expedition in search of the deadly, vampire-like Chupacabra.
For the last year or so, Jon has been writing a book on that expedition; and having now read the completed 70,000-words that Jon has written so far, I can safely say that this will be one of the most significant titles on the creature published thus far.
With the working-title of The Island of Paradise: Crash-Retrievals, Chupacabra, and Accelerated Evolution on the Island of Puerto Rico, this is a book that I heartily recommend to anyone and everyone interested in the mystery of the beast of Puerto Rico.
I should stress that Jon still has quite a bit of writing to do on the book; and so it’s probably still going to be a while before it ultimately surfaces in published form; but before then, check out the following extract from The Island of Paradise that Jon has generously allowed you to see in advance:
“One of the most irritating parts of filming is that one spends nearly as much time establishing shots as you do actually filming anything. However, on this occasion the guardian spirits of crypto-investigative methodology were on our side.
“The huge articulated lorry which had been following us all week was stuck somewhere down in the lowlands, and it appeared that – for once – we had plenty of time to actually interview a witness without being impeded by the dull and repetitive business of making a TV documentary. It soon turned out, however, that whatever it was that Norka had seen, and experienced on a number of occasions, it was not the Chupacabra.
“She told us how, about ten years before, she had found that one of her dogs was missing. After sending out a search party, she was horrified when they returned with the corpse of her pet. It was nothing she had ever seen before. All the flesh and the bones had been removed and in her broken English, with plenty of hand gestures, she communicated the sheer horror of the event to us.
“Apparently, neighbors of hers started reporting similar instances; and when, one evening in early summer, she was driving home from Canóvanas, and saw a strange creature in the road before her, she had no doubt that this was what had caused the death of so many pets.
“However, the thing she described was nothing like the Chupacabra that we had grown to know so well, but it was something that Nick and I both immediately recognized. As she told us of the bipedal creature with claw-like feet and red glowing eyes, we looked ateach other; and in a moment which, if it had been scripted, could have come straight out of a Scooby-Doo cartoon, we said to each other, almost immediately: ‘Jesus, man, it’s the bloody Owlman!’
“As Norka told us of the shadowy creature with its covering of grey fur or feathers (she was not sure) my mind went back to another series of events which started off at Easter, 1976 in another monster-haunted woodland half a world away.
“I owe the Owlman a heck of a lot. If it had not been for my ten year quest to solve the mystery of the creature that has been seen again and again in the woods surrounding Mawnan Old Church in southern Cornwall, I would certainly not be in the position I am today.
“My book, The Owlman and Others, has sold more than all my other books put together and pretty well made my reputation. These days, I prefer to hunt flesh and blood animals, and do my best to stay clear of the less tangible denizens of this planet, knowing full well that hunting such things is no good for your spiritual, mental or physical health.
“So I was horrified at the thought that I was, apparently, back on a path that I had sworn never to revisit. However, Norka continued and told us of a series of other sightings, both of the Owlman-type creature and of a more conventional Chupacabra crossing the road in the immediate vicinity of her house.
“It was interesting to note that, when compared to the Owlman-type creature, the spiky animal seemed far more matter of fact and, although with hindsight it is easy to reinterpret events to suit one’s current mindset, I am sure that, whereas Norka was only too aware that the Owlman was no flesh and blood animal, the spiky animal most definitely was.”
This post was written by
 Nick Redfern – who has written 1064 posts on UFOMystic.
Punk music fan, Tennents Super and Carlsberg Special Brew beer fan, horror film fan, chocolate fan, like to wear black clothes, like to stay up late. Work as a writer.
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May 03 2007 
May 3rd, 2007 at 9:19 am
I’ll make sure to pick up the book when it comes out. thanks for the heads up!
May 3rd, 2007 at 11:08 am
Ok I did a quick google on Jon Downes. I’m thinking Gerald Durrell on acid. There’s this Puerto Rican dude who works at Burger King. He’s very cool and very huge. He was saying: I don’t like people thinking I’m Mexican and I don’t like people thinking I’m a white man.
That powerful transmorgifying sentiment could very well underlie the Owlman discovery in Puerto Rico. Think about when Gerald Durrell went to West Africa to collect animals. Cameroon I think. There were all these local taboos about collecting certain animals and Durrell was amazed at how scared the locals were. Then when he started shelling out cash for animals soon he overturned previous fears of spirit vengence.
But a nearby village got jealous. As Durrell ventured closer to that village he was warned that the shamans would attack him with a rainstorm. Durrell didn’t believe until there was a tree that he needed cleared and the locals stated it was impossible. The tree was protected by the shamans and even metal would not cut it. Sure enough there was nothing Durrell could do to clear that tree.
Durrell became nervous and the shaman spirit warnings continued.
Then the storm hit — contrary to all weather indications, Durrell’s camp, and only Durrell’s camp, was beset by the rage of the all-mighty. He got the hell out of there before things got worse.
Maybe this is a sort of post-apocalyptic reverse Durrell experience.
May 3rd, 2007 at 11:12 am
This is one title I won’t pass up! Thanx for the heads-up, Sir Nick.
May 3rd, 2007 at 11:14 am
Drew:
You’re right on target.
In fact, Durrell is one of Jon’s all-time heroes. I’ve been good friend with Jon for about 10 years and I run the US Office of his British-based Center for Fortean Zoology.
I have a blog to inform readers of specifically what the US CFZ Office is doing, and which you can find at:
http://monsterusa.blogspot.com
May 3rd, 2007 at 11:16 am
Bill
Knowing your cryptozoological views, I guarantee you will love it!
May 3rd, 2007 at 11:41 am
There’s a new book just ordered: Biology math professor Ian Stewart’s “Why Beauty if Truth” — on how symmetry is the secret of math. Math professor Joe Mazur reviewed it for the new issue of Nature. Mazur’s new book “The Motion Paradox: The 2,500-year-old puzzle behind all the mysteries of time and space” is now reviewed by me on Amazon.
This video you linked to has inspired me to come public with my tenative book deal that I may title: “The Biomusic Conspiracy: Alchemy, asymmetry and arboreality.”
I won’t reveal the tenative publisher because I’m already an official online crank and there’s no need to increase unnecessary risks.
May 3rd, 2007 at 2:32 pm
Hi Nick,
Intriguing and energetic excerpt from Jon Downes. This enigma, which did originate in Puerto Rico, needs all the more documentation as it has such variable eyewitness testimony.
Although it seems to be written correctly in most places on your website, Jon repeatedly refers to the beast he is investigating as “Chupacabra”. While it may be an ingrained convention of Anglo researchers, the correct Spanish name is “Chupacabras”, which is singular.
I would hope Jon wants to maintain some literary credibility by referring to it correctly….otherwise, he’ll just be seen as an amateur who hasn’t even researched the name of the thing he has started out after.
I read a very good article last year by one of the original P.R. researchers into the mystery and this was his emphatic correction.
May 4th, 2007 at 5:54 am
rJe:
Thanks. I’m sure this is an oversight on Jon’s part: he’s been to the island on several occasions and this will be his second book on the case, so he’s well-versed in it all. The Word document I got from Jon was just his original edit, so I’m sure it will be completely edited and tidied up for publication.
April 1st, 2008 at 12:02 pm
Perhaps it wasn’t “Owlman,” rather something like El Comecogollos, a bigfoot-like creature said to inhabit the El Yunque Rainforest.
April 1st, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Islararo:
I’ve been to Puerto Rico a couple of times and on the first trip heard something about a large monkey seen in El Yunque back in the 80s. Maybe the same thing?