Frightful Facts or Fantastical Fictions? · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

This third part of the “Lore, ghosts, demons and frights” series has arrived, and we are looking this time a bit beyond the Latin American borders. With this last installment, we seek out the Chupacabras, stick our heads into Vodou rites, observe examples of exorcism and inquire after a cannibal murderer who has become a Venezuelan legend. Some images may be shocking, if you think you might object to their content or believe you may be disturbed by them, please don't click to view them.
The Chupacabras has been making its rounds for the past 15 years in Latin America. The Spanish word translates into “goat sucker” and this modern cryptid is believed to be part bat, part human, part kangaroo and a greater part of scary. A quick search for “chupacabras” on YouTube will take you to dozens of videos allegedly featuring the chimeric beast: however, when the likeliest video proves to  be a viral campaign for blue-jeans, according to Little Green Martian's blog [es], not much credibility can be given to this creature which has appeared not only throughout America, but has also jumped over to Russia and the African continent.
Voodoo (or Vodou) is the official religion in Benin, Africa, and is one of the most important religions in the Caribbean Island of Haiti as well. And when you speak of Voodoo, most people will immediately think of Zombies. Zombies are argued to be people drugged with a special powder which stops their vital organs and brings them into a comatose state unrecognizable from death, however, when the voodoo priest or priestess digs them up and rescues them from their grave, they are able to bring them back to life and have them do their bidding as mindless slaves. On this partial video by the Greek Exandas production group, the lore around zombies is disclosed by voodoo priests and the common folk. This other video is composed of photographs of voodoo rites that take place in Brooklyn, New York with members from the community who get possessed by the different spirits. The images were taken by photographer Stephanie Keith during 10 different ceremonies and is narrated by her as well.
Exorcism is another one of those topics that some people consider fantasy while others defend as fact. A recent movie on exorcism was based on the life of Anneliese Michel in Germany, who died by what were considered side effects from demonic possession. The following video features the audio from what is supposed to be the exorcism sessions she was submitted to and has images of how she looked during the period it is stated that she was possessed.
Exorcism exists in many different religions, although the one mostly featured in Hollywood movies is the Catholic rites of exorcism. In the following video, we see what YouTube user Dimag3 considers to be an Islamic exorcism rite taking place in Brunei.
And now, from the creepiest more physical realm, a serial murderer who ate the corpses of his victims in Venezuela has become a pop-culture phenomenon, inciting the creation of a song, in the traditional Venezuelan rhythm joropo tuyero with Electronic beats mixed into it, which you can hear on this page , fake myspace profile with forty-nine friends as well as a youtube video [es] with interviews and clips from other media sources where he appears pronouncing his most infamous quote “I am not crazy, I just want to eat people”.
For more Ghosts, ghouls, myths and legends from all over the world,  please visit our Special Coverage page.