The Wampus cat is a creature in American folklore, variously described as some kind of fearsome variation on a cougar. The wampus cat is often compared to the Ewah of Cherokee mythology

Cherokee mythology

thumb|The [[water spider]] is said to have first brought fire to the inhabitants of the earth in the basket on her back.This article concerns itself with the mythology of the Cherokee, Native Americans indigenous to the Appalachias, and today are enrolled in the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians,...

, in that it was a woman who disguised herself in the skin of a cougar to spy on the men of the tribe, as they sat around the campfire and told sacred stories on a hunting trip. When the woman was discovered, the tribe's medicine man

Medicine man

"Medicine man" or "Medicine woman" are English terms used to describe traditional healers and spiritual leaders among Native American and other indigenous or aboriginal peoples...

 punished her by transforming her into a half-woman, half-cat, who supposedly still haunts the forests of eastern Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

. In folklore, it can be seen as one of a number of fearsome critters

Fearsome critters

Fearsome critter is a term found in early lumberjack folklore for any of the mythical beasts that were said to inhabit the frontier wilderness of North America.- Origins :...

. In some sections of rural eastern Tennessee, the legend of the Wampus Cat takes on a more sinister tone. It is said that the Wampus Cat is a spirit of death and the earth, and when her cry is heard, it means someone is going to die and be buried within the next three days.

One variety of Wampus Cat, kept alive by experts in North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

 folklore, has been described as "a big black cat with a red behind." Not to be overlooked is the fact there have been more sightings of bootleggers in the region than of said Wampus Cat.

Another such Wampus Cat legend tells of a "large, lazy cat that is quick to rile", that stalks the barns and fields of Pinetown, North Carolina. Local youth participate in a contest to hunt the Wampus down and hold it aloft, while listening to loud music in an attempt to prove bravery and manliness.

Mascot

The Wampus cat is the mascot

Mascot

The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...

 of the following:

• Clark Fork Junior/Senior High School
  Clark Fork Junior/Senior High School
  -Extracurricular:Clark Fork High School is a small school with good sports and Academic Decathlon teams.-Academic decathlon:Clark Fork's Academic Decathlon team competes in the small schools division in Idaho. In 2006, the first year it fielded a team, it took third place. In 2007 the team took...
  
  , Clark Fork, Idaho
  Clark Fork, Idaho
  Clark Fork is a city in Bonner County, Idaho, United States. The population was 536 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Clark Fork is located at ....
  
   - seen as a yellow cougar with a spiked ball on its tail.
• Conway High School
  Conway Public Schools
  Conway Public Schools is a school district located in Conway, Arkansas.Conway Public Schools serves the city of Conway, Arkansas, located in Faulkner County, Arkansas....
  
  , Conway, Arkansas
  Conway, Arkansas
  Conway is the county seat of Faulkner County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 58,908 at the 2010 census, making Conway the seventh most populous city in Arkansas. It is a principal city of the Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area which had...
  
   - seen as a six-legged cat.
• Atoka High School, Atoka, Oklahoma
  Atoka, Oklahoma
  Atoka is a city in Atoka County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 3,052 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Atoka County.-Geography:Atoka is located at ....
  
  
• Itasca High School
  Itasca High School (Texas)
  Itasca High School is a 1A high school located in Itasca, Texas . It is part of the Itasca Independent School District located in north central Hill County...
  
  , Itasca, Texas
  Itasca, Texas
  Itasca is a city in Hill County in Northern Central Texas. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 1,503.-Geography:Itasca is located at ....
  
  
• Leesville High School
  Leesville High School
  Leesville High School is a school located in Leesville, Louisiana, United States. The 9-12 school is a part of the Vernon Parish School Board....
  
  , Leesville, Louisiana
  Leesville, Louisiana
  Leesville is a city in and the parish seat of Vernon Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 6,753 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Fort Polk South Micropolitan Statistical Area. The city is home to the Fort Polk U.S. Army installation...
  
  
• The Tennessee Wampus Cats, an Amateur Athletics Union basketball team, Knoxville, Tennessee
  Knoxville, Tennessee
  Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
  
  .

Other uses

A musical ensemble

Musical ensemble

A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...

 who recorded several tracks in 1937 and 1938, and consisting of six or seven string musicians including Oscar "Buddy" Woods

Oscar "Buddy" Woods

Oscar "Buddy" Woods was an American Texas blues guitarist, singer and songwriter.Woods, who was an early blues pioneer in lap steel, slide guitar playing, recorded thirty-five tracks between 1930 and 1940. He recorded solo and as part of the duo, the Shreveport Home Wreckers, and with a six/seven...

, were billed as 'The Wampus Cats'.

External links

• Map of Wampus Cats High School Mascots