The term "wampus cat" can mean anything and everything, but the name was associated with real sightings, animal deaths, and hysteria in the early 20th century. In Quitman, Mississippi, a wampus cat was blamed for the deaths of 102 dogs, whose flesh was stripped from their skeletons. A wampus cat was captured in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, in 1914, and was described as having black fur with white spots, claws on its front feet and hooves in the back, and a nine-foot tail. It escaped after three days. A full-on war with a suspected wampus cat was declared in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1918 after the mysterious deaths of dogs, chickens, and a mule. The cat was seen, described as jumping 12 feet into the air, but was never caught.
These attacks may have come from cougars, which were already rare in the South by 1900. We don't believe it was a six-legged cat as shown in the photo above. But the fear was real during these episodes and left a legend behind. Read about the notorious wampus cat at Atlas Obscura.
(Image credit: U458625)