Cowboys & Zombies

If Old West folklore is to be believed, then the open range was crawling with revenants-that's old-timer slang for the undead. Revenants could include everything from vampires to mummies to zombies. More than a few re-animated corpses terrorized the West, the most notable of which was a decapitated horse rustler strapped to the back of a wild mustang. Known as El Muerto, the Headless Horseman of Texas would eventually be caught and buried. However, after the body was planted in the hard Texas earth, it rose again and has been seen riding across the plains ever since.

In the pages ahead, you'll ask yourself: Was the Snarly-Yowl a West Virginia werewolf or a ghostly hellhound? How did a headless, blood-drinking corpse from Capitan, New Mexico, relate to a giant Aztec bat god hidden away in nearby Sierra Blanca? Was the walking dead seen stalking the Nueces River with a noose around its neck a zombie or a ghost? Did a tribe in the Ohio Valley worship werewolves, or were they werewolves themselves? Was the bewitched Hex Cat of Tumbling Run dispatched by a golden bullet or was it captured and put on display? Did Daniel Boone ever fight the Ozark Howler? Was a skull-stealing skinwalker just a witch in wolf's clothing, or a genuine werewolf? Did an Apache medicine man successfully resurrect Chief Diablo from the dead to fight the U.S. cavalry? Was Billy the Kid's corpse spirited away to a Las Vegas insane asylum by a mad scientist?

And lastly, did an undead army of Native American warriors fend off gold-hungry prospectors from Shiprock Peak?