When there was no Chupacabra yet, ghouls walked in Ukrainian villages. One of the confirmation of this could be the decoration that was found in due time during the excavations of an ancient Russian settlement in the Derazhnyansky district of the Khmelnytsky region.
They told about him in the regional museum of local lore. In the treasure found in the settlement of the XII-XIII centuries, among other treasures, there was a woman's bracelet, which depicts people, birds, animals and … unknown creatures. So, in one of the scenes, a person is depicted, next to whom is a strange beast.
He looks like a dog, but stands on his hind legs and is almost as tall as a man. And the torso seems to be tied with a belt cross - either a kind of clothing, or a decoration?
It was the last detail that made me think: who are these creatures? Because at first it was assumed that the bracelet depicts a popular entertainment in those days, when trained animals were shown during festive games. But then they should have a regular collar or just a rope. But the "suit" made of belts in medieval images is not often found.
It was then that they tried to find a clue in folk tales about ghouls, that is, people who can turn into wolves. According to the researchers, in the legends it was said that it was the ghouls who wore such belts. They were a kind of magic sign, a spell. After all, if the belt is removed from the ghoul, when he is in the guise of a beast, then he will never be able to become a man.
Therefore, there is no doubt that the ghoul is depicted on the decoration. But could a picture from a fairy tale appear along with real life scenes recorded on the bracelet? Hardly. Most likely, our ancestors believed in the real existence of ghouls. Or maybe you saw them?
Obviously, the impressions were so strong that they were immortalized in the names of settlements and even rivers. There are many of them on the territory of the region. For example, in the village of Malinichi, the Volk River begins, it also has a tributary, the Volchok.
On the same territory you can find such names of villages as: Vyshie and Nizhnie Volkovtsy and Volkovyntsi. It was next to the latter that they found an ornament depicting a ghoul. Therefore, it is not necessary to speak simply about a set of circumstances. And the local Wolf Mountains or ravines are known in more than one settlement.
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It can be assumed that such an interest in wolves is connected not so much with fear as with a friendly attitude towards them. Indeed, in folklore this animal is often called brother wolf. And this is a sign that the creature was considered not just close, but dear to a person. So, maybe, in fact, long before the modern Chupacabras appeared, ghouls lived among people.