Three friends sat around a roaring campfire in a strange Tennessee forest, sharing ghost stories and local fables. It was Johnny's turn to share a bedtime story that his father told him when he was a young boy. The other two men sat breathlessly as he began the story of an Indian woman and a medicine man's curse. There was a lovely Cherokee woman with raven hair and emerald eyes who despised staying at home while the men went hunting for dinner every night. One evening she followed the men into the forest and saw them sitting around a fire doing magic. Watching tribal magic was forbidden to women, so she hid under a cougar pelt behind a large oak tree and watched in wonder. As the sky filled with twinkling lights, she tiptoed home, hoping no one would see her. However, the healer had seen her in the forest and transformed her into a horrible beast. She was transformed into a half cougar and half woman known as the Wampus Cat to wander alone in the darkness for her crime. He can be heard crying and screaming in the woods in hopes of returning to his beautiful human form. As Johnny finished his story, a lone wolf moaned in the distance, which sent shivers down the three men's spines. Johnny smirks and says "sweet dreams" to the others. After this frightening episode, the men fell into a nightmarish sleep. The men rose with the warm sun on their faces and a huge sigh of relief at having survived the night. They silently pack their bags and get into the rusty jeep to head home. Johnny greeted the others and began his chores for the day. His two bloodhounds, Zeus and Thor, were snoring on the porch waiting for his return. Woof, wow, the long legged dogs barked as Johnny greeted them with a ...... middle of paper ...... om his mother to sing the praises of the Lord and the evil would subside. Johnny kissed Rebekah with all his might and breathed a huge sigh of relief. Johnny only ventured outside when the sun was high in the sky the next day. Zeus and Thor were safely huddled in the barn, but remained cautious for several days after the attack. Johnny vowed to never again enter the woods at night or hunt in the fields near his house. Johnny now hides under the kitchen table every time he hears a scream. //www.phantomsandmonsters.com/2010/03/big-cat-tales-from-appalachians-to.htmlSpooky South: Tales of Hauntings, Strange Happenings, and Other Local Lore By SE Schlosser, Paul G. Hoffman (Chapter 16 , Wampus Cat, Knoxville, Tennessee) pp. 92–98 [1]