Oct 31, 2013 10:03 AM EDT By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

With the arrival of Halloween, it only seems fitting that a mythical creature, like the Chupacabra, should make an appearance in a quiet, like Picayune, Miss.

Taking many forms in its folklore, this beast looked like a dog to local residents, who even caught it on video. One resident told WLOX she took the threat of the wild beast so seriously, she was looking it up and keeping a safe distance.

"I kept looking up 'hairless coyote,' and it kept saying 'Chupacabra,'" said Amanda Denton. "We've been running back and forth to our cars because we didn't want the Chupacabra to get us."

Jennifer Whitfield and her 11-year-old son Justin first spotted the creepy canine in a lot near their home and it was the young boy who thought it was the Chupacabra. They shot the video, posted it online and watching it spread.

"If a zombie had a dog, it would look like that," said Whitfield.

After posting the video, they found others had spotted the same dog-like creature. Denton's husband Jonathan was clueless as well and animal control offered little help identifying the beast.

 "I didn't know what it was, but then Animal Control couldn't find it, so maybe it was a Chupacabra," he said.

Another local family had a different theory, but still though it was a strange and mythical creature.

"My dad said that it was a 'squatchdog' because he's obsessed with watching 'Finding Bigfoot'," said Caroline Cooper, 17.

The legend of the Chupacabra originated in Puerto Rico sometime in the 70s when goats and other animals were randomly found dead, with all their body's blood drained and no signs of rigor mortis. The name "Chupacabra" translates from Spanish to English as "goat-sucker" and the legend was born.

The Chupacabra has never been caught, and unlike the sasquatch (or bigfoot) there has yet to be even a close scientific call. According to the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, it will stay that way. Master Sergeant David Burnette theorized just from looking at the footage that the animal was a coyote with a bad case of mange, a disease that rots the skin.

"It's probably sick, weak, and not able to hunt on its own, so it's going to the nearest food source it can find," said Sgt. Burnette.

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