COLUMN: It's Just a Country State of Mind: Legend of the Wampus Cat

I suppose everyone has memories from when they were a child of being afraid of something. Some people grew up being afraid of the bogeyman or others might've been fearful of the dark. Many times, an uncle or grandfather would help that fear along with stories to make even the bravest among us tremble with dread.

My grandfather used to tell me stories that could make your hair curl. One of his most famous stories was called the "Legend of the Wampus cat."

I used to spend the night at my grandparents' house quite frequently as a child. My grandfather almost always had a bedtime story to tell me before the lights went out. The story I heard most often was the one about the Wampus cat.

According to my grandfather, a Wampus cat was some kind of cat that lived in the wild. He likened it to a bobcat, which you may be familiar with.

The Wampus cat supposedly walked the neighborhood at night, looking for unsuspecting sleeping children. I was never told just what the cat would do with said children after it found one. But I decided early on that I wasn't ever going to find out.

After the lights would go out at my grandparents, I would lay in bed, listening to the sounds of the night outside the screen window by my bed. I would lay there, trying to go to sleep, and my grandfather would be sneaking outside and positioning himself strategically underneath the window where I was sleeping.

I would be dozing off when I heard the noise outside my window. It was the sound of some sort of cat but with a more sinister growl. I would quickly throw the blankets over my head.

I never got a good look at the Wampus cat because I was too busy hiding under the covers. But if the truth be told, I would say he probably looked something like my grandfather.

As I grew older, the legend of the Wampus cat began to fade into a distant memory. One day, when I was about 20 years old, my mother and I decided to take a hike in a remote area where I grew up. We decided to check out where an old quarry used to be.

It was near where my grandparents' house used to be. We were walking along, talking as we followed the well-worn path that led through the woods, when I happened to look up. There, about 50 yards in front of me was the biggest cat I had ever seen in my life. It was tan in color and had big, yellow eyes and probably weighed around 50 pounds.

What I was seeing was a North American Bobcat. But in my mind what I thought I was seeing was a good old North American Wampus cat. My childhood fears had finally caught up with me.

I couldn't pick up my feet fast enough to get out of there. It was all my poor mother could do to keep up with me because I ran for all I was worth down that old worn path. Later, as I tried to relay the story to others, I was met with some skepticism.

I guess my listeners didn't share my views that a cat could get that big around these parts, but I beg to differ. In any case, it made a believer out of me.

A couple of years ago, someone told a tale of a big cat hanging around the old neighborhood. They also claimed to hear a sharp piercing growl late one night. The general consensus was it was probably a bobcat. I could feel that old childhood fear rising up in the pit of my stomach.

I recently did an Internet search and looked up the Wampus cat. Something did come up about the Wampus cat. It seems there really was such a legend.

It was a real legend. Legends make good conversations.

And for sure they make good storytelling material for grandfathers. Especially mine.

Have a great November!

- Susan