Bronze statue of the six-legged Wampus Cat located at Conway High School
The Wampus cat is a cat-like creature in American folklore that varies widely in appearance, ranging from frightful to comical, depending on region.
Description
Early references, by the American Dialect Society, noted the Wampus cat as "a creature heard whining about camps at night," "a spiritual green-eyed cat, having occult powers," or "an undefined imaginary animal."[1] Folklorist Vance Randolph described the Wampus cat as "a kind of amphibious panther which leaps into the water and swims like a colossal mink."[2] The Wampus cat was mentioned in newspaper accounts of the 1930s in the Piedmont of North Carolina. The creature was accused of killing livestock.[3]
A musical ensemble who recorded several tracks in 1937 and 1938, and consisting of six or seven string musicians including Oscar "Buddy" Woods, were billed as "the Wampus Cats".[9]
Kobold Press converted the Wampus cat into a monster for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition in its sourcebook Tome of Beasts. These Wampus cats appear as female mountain lions with the heads of human, trollkin, orc, or goblin women and are created through curses leveled by shamans upon women who practice forbidden magic. Possessing the ability to enthrall others with their voice, Wampus cats despise all men, but especially holy men, priests, and shamans, whom they seek to kill in retribution for their fate.[citation needed]
^Randolph, Vance. We Always Lie to Strangers: Tall Tales from the Ozarks. (New York: Columbia University Press, 1951.)
^Stonestreet, O. C.; Stonestreet, O. C. I. V. (March 2, 2016). Curse of the Wampus, and Other Short Spooky Stories of Piedmont North Carolina. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN978-1523237494.
