The Grunch

Kaitlyn Moore

### Summary

Louisiana is full of urban legends and cryptid sightings, thanks to the eerie landscape of the bayous and dense forests. The numerous amounts of legends and monsters could also be attributed to the influences of voodoo and other forms of magic that are so popular in the state. Among these legends and cryptids is a creature called the Grunch. Otherwise known as the Grunch Road Monster, the Grunch is a deadly New Orleans-based creature sometimes described as similar to a Chupacabra. It is referred to as a group of half-human cannibals who made a deal with the Devil in other versions. Descriptions of the creature vary, but it is most commonly described as a reptilian that is like an ape with glowing eyes, a goat’s head, and hooved feet. The creature’s claws and fangs along with its terrible stench cause anyone who encounters it to be terribly afraid. Adaptations such as short stories and comics have been made about the creature. The origin stories of this cryptid, like many others, varies.

### History

One story of how the Grunch came to be starts at the beginnings of the city of New Orleans, back when it was still called la Nouvelle-Orléans. The rumor was that there was a remote road in the middle of the wilderness in which dwarves, midgets, and albinos lived. It was believed that this population of individuals participated in inbreeding and created the monsters now known as the Grunch. This road was eventually named Grunch Road, which many people later forgot about, until farm animals and people started going missing in this area.

Another variation of this story is that the individuals in the woods sold their souls to the Devil in order to gain protection. They would then commit acts of brutality such as sacrifice and torture on animals to appease the Devil.

An entirely different account of the story involves the Voodoo Queen herself, Marie Laveau. As the legend goes, Marie Laveau was castrating the Devil Baby to prevent him from reproducing, when his testicles turned into a male and female Grunch. Marie Laveau was then supposedly attacked and almost killed by her accidental creation.

### Encounters

The Grunch is a very old legend, and the first supposed sightings date back to the 1800s. Reportedly, the Grunch will leave an injured animal, often a goat, on the side of the road, waiting for people to come to its aid. The Grunch would then kidnap, kill, and drink the blood of the unsuspecting good Samaritan that happened to fall into its trap.

There was a resurgence of Grunch sightings after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The common belief for these recent sightings has been that the hurricane displaced the creatures from their habitats, and they began to reside in more residential areas. Some of these recent sightings come from Harvey, Louisiana. One woman claims to have seen the creature eating a neighbor’s dog. Residents of the city say that they have seen it chasing cats and knocking over trashcans. One woman reportedly saw the creature not long after Hurricane Katrina. She writes:

“This thing looked like some sort of lizard-like cross between monkey and bulldog. It was horrible. It was shuffling along with a lopsided gait and seemed to be so unnatural that I could feel the hairs on my neck stand up. It had grayish scaly skin and a snouted face that looked to be a cross between that of an ape and an alligator, it is really hard to describe. As I approached it, it stopped and puffed up to stand on two legs at a height of about 5 feet, looking at me with those baleful eyes, and then it emitted the most unpleasant hiss I could imagine, after which it sort of lunged at me as I passed! Let me tell you I was well on my way after that and I have never seen anything like it since!” (Swancer).

### Adaptations

One adaptation I was able to obtain was the comic book titled “The Grunch.” This comic features a group of monster hunters who go to New Orleans to try and capture and video the creature. The legend in the comic is the one involving Marie Laveau and the Devil Baby. The group is lured into the woods by a suspicious man who tells them he can help them capture one, only to find out that he worships the creatures and has brought them there to be feasted upon by them. The creatures are short and goat-like, with horns atop their heads and glowing eyes. Their fangs and claws are terrifying, but they do not have the characteristic reptilian look so often described in sightings. These creatures are intelligent, and they use weapons such as guns and bows and arrows to strike down their prey. They communicate with the group in English, taunting the monster hunters and explaining how they are going to skin them and gut them.

### Analysis of Adaptation

I believe this adaptation to be quite accurate to the legend of the Grunch. The creatures look similar to the descriptions given in sightings—the glowing eyes, sharp talons and fangs, goat-like head, small stature, and hooved feet. However, the comic does not depict the creatures as reptilian-like, which is a common description of the creatures in sightings. I believe that they made this change because the creatures as they are drawn in the comic are more artist-friendly and easier to replicate in a comic format. I think that if they would have made the creatures reptile-like, it would have been more difficult to continuously replicate the creature in the comic. I believe that they used the legend involving Marie Laveau because it is the most gruesome and horrific, appealing to the horror comic’s audience. Marie Laveau is also a world-renowned historical figure that many people reading the comic would have recognized.

#### Citations

Nadel, Darcie. “The Grunch: A Chupacabra on the Louisiana Bayou.” *Exemplore*, 31 July 2022, https://exemplore.com/cryptids/The-Grunch-A-Chupacabra-on-the-Bayou. Accessed 16 March 2023.

Sherwood, Joseph. “The Louisiana Legend of the Grunch: The Half-Human Beast of the Bayou.” *A Little Bit Human,* 19 February 2023, https://www.alittlebithuman.com/legend-of-the-grunch/. Accessed 16 March 2023.

Swancer, Brent. “The Mystery of Louisiana’s Grunch Monster.” *Mysterious Universe*, 3 July 2019, https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2019/07/the-mystery-of-louisianas-grunch-monster/. Accessed 16 March 2023.

*The Grunch.* By S.A. Check and James Kuhoric, illustrated by Claudio Avella, vol. 1, American Mythology Productions, 2022.