In 2019, something strange was happening in the Mexican town of Coita. Residents were reported to be unwilling to leave their houses after dark, and several reports had come in which suggested someone, or something, was stalking the nighttime streets.
What made this night stalker especially terrifying is that it did not seem to be human. The strange reports created panic among the residents, and the howling sounds of the creature kept disturbing the people all night. But it wasn’t just the unearthly sounds which held the residents in fear: some had come face to face with what was out there.
The descriptions, if they can be believed, seem to confirm that there was at least one werewolf in Coita. The creature was described as six-and-a-half feet (2m) tall, capable of taking a nine-foot (2.7m) leap in the air. They emitted an unpleasant odor, and the strange creature was also known to be impervious to bullets.
As per several reports, the mysterious beast was spotted walking on the rooftops of houses. Some of the beaver residents even tried to catch the werewolf but failed, often injuring themselves as they clambered over rooftops at night.
For many nights, the citizens of Mexican Coita heard the wolf-like howls of the creature and saw shadowy figures that moved during the nighttime. However, no one was successful in catching the beast-like creature.
Sightings of the Beast
There have been a number of testimonies of the people who have witnessed the Coita werewolves. The description of all the witnesses remained the same. As per the witnesses, the werewolf was a large, tall creature that was able to jump high. The creature had a rotten smell, and whenever the beast was around, the neighborhood dogs started to bark.
According to one of the witnesses, she, along with seven of her friends, was present at a campfire. All of a sudden, they could hear something approaching them. However, they could not clearly see the creature as the smoke from the campfire was too thick. Suddenly, the creature was upon them.
The witnesses tried to defend themselves with the use of guns, but the creature escaped into the dark, leaving only traces of its presence. The marks found afterwards indicated that the mysterious creature had a very large foot, much larger than a human foot. The footprints were not continuous, and the distance between each suggested an enormous stride of 10 feet (3m).
Another eyewitness to a different sighting was a patrolman named Alfonso. On the night of 10th April 2020, Alfonso and three police officers received a call from the Barrio Nuevo district of Coita. For several days, the locals had complained of hearing howling noises. Some people had even reported sightings of the Coita Werewolves.
However, this was the first time the police department involved itself in the investigation, and as the officers moved into the barrio to investigate, Alfonso spotted something. As per his later testimony, in a single leap, the creature was capable of jumping a six-and-a-half feet (2m) fence. They even saw the creature walking on the rooftops.
Another witness reported seeing the strange creature on his roof. Later, in the morning, he took photos of the tracks. Another resident who lived in a small rancho outside the town reported shooting one of the werewolves. However, to the surprise of the resident, the bullets did not cause any harm to the creature, which escaped.
Werewolves or Something Else?
No recordings or actual images of the Coita werewolves exist. The absence of solid evidence created doubts about whether the existence of the werewolves was real or not. There were rumors that mobile phones and cameras started to fail as soon as the strange creature got closer to the people. The evidence that was available included pictures and videos of blood marks and footprints.
A number of theories surfaced relating to the existence of the werewolves in Mexican Coita. One of the logical explanations for the rumored events was that the noises heard by people were quite normal.
It is due to the presence of ecological reserves in Coita which contain many species unfamiliar to the residents. Jaguars, bats, owls, ocelots, and spider monkeys could all have accounted for some of the sightings, with the eyewitnesses confused in the darkness.
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According to another popular theory, strange wolf-man beings lived in the nearby forest that surrounded Meyapac Mountain. People believed that the wolf-man beings had started coming out to the populated areas in Coita owing to the increase in incursions in the forested areas they lived in.
Another prominent theory stated that the werewolves in the Mexican Coita were not real creatures. Instead, they were the forest spirits who were disturbed by the intervention of humans.
Yet another theory explained that the sightings and howling noises could be a case of collective hysteria. It refers to an outbreak of very unusual characteristics, feelings and thoughts shared among a group of people. Could this simply be a shared delusion?
Nahualism
One of the theories that became quite popular was that the werewolf was a young initiate of Nahualism, the Mexican belief that people can turn into animals. As per the theory, the initiate had transformed into an animal but was unable to return to the original human form. So, it was believed that the “Nahual” was looking for help in order to return to his real form.
Nahualism comes from an ancient tradition that appeared in several indigenous cultures of the region. A Nahual is considered to be a person with special abilities to change its form from a human to an animal. A person who has the ability to transform into a nahual usually does it during the nighttime.
Nahuals were considered to be the figures who tried to maintain order in the communities. They are even associated with respect for the environment and are known to attack only the people who deserve it.
But the truth is that the existence of the Coita werewolves still remains a mystery. The lack of solid evidence or proof of the huge creature limited deriving any kind of conclusions.
All the residents of Coita know is that they saw something out there, in the dark.
Top Image: What was behind the sightings of werewolves in Coita? Source: GARETH / Adobe Stock.
By Bipin Dimri
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