"Wampus Cat"

Have you ever heard of a Wampus Cat or do you know what one is? When I was growing up I used to hear my daddy say something about the "Wampus Cat". This was in reference to something scary or something strange happening. I never asked what a Wampus Cat was and I really never knew there was such a thing. Wampus cat is folklore and it was interesting when today I looked up Wampus Cat.

Today I have been canning tomatoes and Farmer Man came in the kitchen and started talking about the hogs being stolen. He wanted to know if I knew any thing about them and out of my mouth came these words," Maybe the Wampus Cat got them", I tell you my daddy popped into my head instantly and I remembered him speaking about that thing.

Well I finished my canning I came to my computer and looked up Wampus Cat---There it was for real. No pictures but the tale about the Indian Woman that was turned into half woman and half wild cat. Story goes, the Indian men would go out at night and meet to share tales in the woods---One of the women wanted to know what they were doing so she put on a cat skin and hid in the bushes to listen. The men saw her and caught her and tied her up in to the cats skin and put a spell on her and she roamed the woods and scared hunters by her following them and also scaring the farmers as half woman and half wild cat.

My daddy lived folk music , folk tales, folk singing and Bluegrass . I can hear old Jimmy Rogers songs he used to sing and I can still hear singing in the barn yard when I hear one of those old songs. My daddy passed away when he was only 57 yrs old --soo young.

I hope you will look up Wampus Cat in Tennessee Folk Lore.

This picture is of my daddy holding the reins, my grandfather ,me and my three little brothers. I am holding an animal of course, I think a rabbit.

God Bless all that read this story of remembering.
Love,
Aunt Maria {Marie}