Previously: Bluebeard.
Type: LC (Legendary Creature). This classification is a relative of the FC (Fearsome Critter) classification; however, the “Fearsome Critter” taxonomy is typically reserved for North American subjects, whereas the current subject, known as the capelobo, is South American in origin.
Period/location of origin: Subject, aka the capelobo, originates in Brazil, where tales of its existence may be found in three distinct locations: The state of Maranhão, to the east; the nearby, slightly larger state of Pará, particularly along the Xingu River; and the considerably larger state of Amazonas, to the west. Subject’s period of origin is not precisely known, although documentation of subject may be traced back to 1931.
Subject is, however, much, much older than this, and may in fact be as old as time itself.
Appearance: Subject appears to be a mammalian creature of some sort. Although descriptions often feature characteristics in common, reports vary greatly with regards to details and… let us refer to it as configuration.
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According to some reports, it resembles a tapir, although it is much larger in size than a standard tapir and therefore capable of much faster movement. Additionally, it has longer hair and a more dog-like or pig-like snout than a standard tapir.
According to others, however, it is humanoid and bipedal, with only the head or snout of a tapir; its body, however, is still covered in hair, and its legs may be “bottle-shaped” (e.g. rounded). The humanoid variation may also have, rather than a tapir’s head or snout, those of an anteater or aardvark.
Modus operandi: Subject makes its home in forests and along rivers. It is nocturnal, and prowls these locations after night has fallen.
The capelobo will first make itself known by the sound of its scream, which has been likened to that of a horse. However, due to some unique acoustic qualities possessed by subject, this scream will not sound as if it is coming from a single source; rather, its directionality will be spread quite widely, seeming to come from multiple directions at once. These screams will serve both to intimidate and disorient targets, driving them directly into subject’s vicinity.
Should a target be unlucky enough to encounter a capelobo directly, target may fall victim to subject’s lethal embrace: Subject has been known to use its snout to break through the skulls of targets and subsequently feed on the grey matter inside, similar in style to the manner in which aardvarks feed on the contents of anthills. Subject may also display vampiric behavior and slake its thirst on target’s blood.
Subject has also been known to consume other small animals, such as dogs and cats.
Subject may be tracked; it leaves large footprints, and it possesses a powerful odor. It is recommended that, in the event that these footprints or odor are detected, potential targets vacate the premises immediately.
Containment: Subject may be contained by one method, and one method only: Shooting it in the navel, preferably with an arrow.
Alternatively, simply do not wander the forests or the riverbanks at night, and if you have pets, ensure that they stay inside.
Additional notes: Much of what is known of subject has been passed down through narratives and stories told within Brazil’s indigenous communities, including the Guajajara, Timbira, and Juruna or Yudjá communities.
Subject’s name, “capelobo,” may be derived from an indigenous term, “capê”— meaning “broken bone” — and the Portuguese word “lobo,” meaning “wolf.”
The creation of a capelobo is typically identified as a transformation of human to subject, although the mechanism by which this transformation occurs is not agreed upon.
The transformation is sometimes said to occur when a person becomes very old; instead of dying, they may become a capelobo.
It is sometimes said to occur when a person disappears into the forest and begins eating raw meat; performing these actions may cause them to become a capelobo.
It is sometimes said that the first capelobo was once one of the first Juruna people, Mïratu, a healer; instead of dying when he became old, he transformed into a wild animal and was buried. However, he did not stay in his grave, and began wandering the forest in his new form.
One variant of the capelobo creation story — the one in which the human-turned-wild-animal did not stay in his grave and instead began wandering the forest — positions subject not as a predator, but as a protector of the forest.
Written documentation of subject is believed to have first occurred in 1931, when scientist Silivo Froes Abreu published the volume Na terra das palmeiras, or In The Land Of The Palm Trees, about his journey into Maranhão in the 1920s to study the babassu palm (know scientifically as Attalea speciosa). He learned — after much pressing of the fact — from the indigenous Guajajara people of the cupélobo, which follows the raw-meat-eating creation hypothesis.
Subject was subsequently documented in anthropologist and folklorist Luís da Câmara Cascudo’s 1947 volume Geografia dos mitos brasileiros, or Geography Of Brazilian Myths — and although Cascudo, who would go on to write many times of the capelobo, did not foresee tales of subject spreading beyond the regions of Brazil in which they were centered, he had not, as April White wrote for Atlas Obscura in May of 2024, counted on the advent of the internet. Today, subject is more widely known than ever, and spreading even further with each successive report.
Recommendation: Do not — do not — get caught out in the forest or by the river at night.
Resources:
“Fantastic Entities Of The Amazonian Indigenous Culture” in the World News Of Natural Sciences.
“The Blood-Sucking Capelobo Haunts Brazil’s Dense Forests” at Atlas Obscura.
Dicionário do folclore brasileiro by Luís da Câmara Cascudo. (In Portuguese.)
The Legend Of Capelobo. (In Portuguese.)
Capelobo at InfoEscola. (In Portuguese.)
Capelobo: Discover The Legend Of The Hybrid Creature That Haunts The Forests Of Brazil. (In Portuguese.)
18 Legends From Brazilian Folklore. (In Portuguese.)
Folklore Day: Legends You Don’t Know. (In Portuguese.)
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[Photos via aliceferraro, Nerivill/Pixabay]
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