Legend of the CRAWL SPACE CHUPACABRA
*Contest expired* Updated 2015
In October of 1967 an old building was discovered in the heart of Virginia Beach’s Pungo region.
A hunter had stumbled upon the location of the site, buried under a 4 foot tall mound, in a small clearing surrounded by towering pines. Oddly enough, the mound looked like it was freshly buried; no plants or debris covered the dirt.
The hunter, curious about the clearing and mound, brushed away some of the dirt to discover part of a fireplace and a chipped piece of porcelain. Excited about his find, the hunter called the local university to excavate the area. The students carefully cleared the mound, noting every detail and collecting samples and photographing every aspect of the find.
When the students submitted soil and building samples for carbon dating, it was found that the building dated back to 1706 and was one of the first structures in the region to have a crawl space. The crawl space, or cellar, was traditionally used to store crops, dried and cured meats and other perishables.
If the building was so old, why did the mound that covered the structure look like it had been freshly covered?
Once the structure was completely uncovered, it was determined to be a small home, made of logs and stone. The logs had long since decomposed. The 20×30′ home had one room which served as the kitchen, dining room, living area and bedroom.
This home had the luxury of a roughly hewn wooden floor, which was amazingly intact in only one section of the home. Upon closer inspection, one of students found a door in the floor. The door’s hinges were hidden and it was crafted so cleanly that unless you were looking for it, you’d never know it was there.
The student’s couldn’t decide who would be the first to enter the cellar, so they flipped a coin. The “lucky” winner, William, was an analytical 20 year old who had an eye for detail and would be sure to properly investigate the area before clearing it for the others to join him.
When William pulled open the crawl space hatch it opened easily, like it had never been buried. He carefully made his way down the wooden steps into the space. It was deeper in the ground than William expected, which explained why the wood floor wasn’t necessary, since there had to be at least 3 feet of stone and ground between the crawl space and the floor of the house.
The crawl space was the same size of the home – 20×30′ – and was 4 feet tall and had alcoves. The alcoves remained dark, even when a flashlight was shinning into them.
William carefully explored the old crawlspace, noting oddities and dimensions. When he reached the alcove farthest from the door, there was a pile of old clothing, toys and scratches in the stone wall. Then the hairs on the back of his neck stood up, it felt like someone was watching him.
He could have sworn that when he turned around he saw a hunched over shadow with yellow eyes, move away from him and hiss. And it smelled moldy…
William rushed out and told his friends about the space. He had said it felt like someone was watching him, “it sounded like a chupacabra, with that deep, horrible hiss.” His friends laughed and ignored his concern. William wasn’t so quick to discount his experience. He smelled the thing… so he kept clear of the crawl space for the rest of the day.
At the end of the day, a pair of the students remained behind to continue working. The discovery of the site was exciting and they wanted to document as much as they could. This was the last time these two students were seen.
The next morning the rest of the students met at the site. The archeological equipment was scattered throughout the site and there was flashlight glowing in the crawl space. But there was no sign of the other two students. When the remaining students went into the crawl space looking for their friends, they found scraps of their clothing, some of the tools, new scratches on the wall, and the overwhelming smell of mold and must.
The site was abandoned, the students too scared to continue the research. They never sealed up the crawl space, and by the time the students returned to the site in the morning, the creature was long gone. The rumored creature has been dubbed the Crawl Space Chupacabra, after William’s comparison.
Locals claim that they’ve seen the Crawl Space Chupacabra, and blame it for their crawlspace problems: falling insulation, mold, rotted floor joists and puddles of water.
No one’s ever captured a photo of this creature but many have claimed to hear it’s hiss or smell an overwhelming musty odor when it’s around.
