The Wendigo

The Wendigo

When one thinks of a Wendigo, your first thought may go directly to the Supernatural episode, if you are a fan, where Sam and Dean help the girl find her brother. Or, if you are a gamer, your mind may go to the game Until Dawn, where you are being hunted by a Wendigo. Or you may just think cannibalism. Whatever the case may be Wendigo’s are fearsome, terrifying creatures who hunt their pray with no mercy.

The Wendigo originated from the Algonquian tribes of northern forests of Eastern Canada and the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. These beings have their greatest impact during the fall and winter months when the air is cooling, and the world falls into a sort of stillness that allows for the perfect hunting grounds.

The Wendigo are thought to be responsible for the darkest parts of the human soul, such as gluttony. They are basically gluttony, famine, winter, and cannibalism incarnate.

The most known attribute of these creatures is their insatiable hunger. They are never full. They can never be full. Nor will they ever be full. The Wendigo grows proportionally to the human that they devoured. So, if they eat a 250-pound man, they will grow proportionally to that “meal.” This gives them their emaciated and tall appearance. They Wendigo that has devoured many souls could cause a human’s heart to stop just by the mere sight of it!

My sister and I discussed Wendigos on our podcast Follow Me Down and she simply said, “I would stop. I would be no more. The thing would not even have to hunt me. I would simply cease to exist.” This is probably what would occur to most of us if we saw what my sister has dubbed as the 40-foot-tall Stickman, coming at you.

It is said that a wendigo has the power to create winter storms, giving it the perfect hunting grounds, which are normally miles long. It has excellent hearing; being able to hear its prey’s every move, even when miles away.

A wendigo takes pleasure in the hunt and the act of killing, but even after devouring the entirety of a person it still thirsts for more. The creature will stalk its prey for hours, follow behind, and play a game of cat and mouse. It will give small, subtle hints to its prey that they are being followed. Perhaps by snapping a twig or letting out a small screech. The fear that arises in its prey satisfies some twisted need for the creature. It’s final warning to its prey is for it to let out a loud howl. And, if you hear this sound, it is too late. The wendigo has you.

The wendigo is a demon, but some are created when they consume human flesh, thus the act of cannibalism that so many attribute to the creature. It is a spirit, but they can exist in the physical world. Since the wendigo is spirit by nature it can possess humans and turn them into wendigo themselves. The only way to stop a person possessed is to either successfully exorcise the spirit or to kill them.

The wendigo is extremely selective when it comes to choosing who they possess. They look for greedy people, gluttonous people, or those who have had the craving for human flesh before.

Wendigos are highly intelligent creatures and very in tune with their hunting needs. If they fear their food supply is running low, they will take the entrails of their victims, put them in large pots and place them at the tops of trees where only they can reach. If they sense that it is going to be a harsh winter, they may even hold some of their victims alive, keeping them in their lairs until they are ready to eat them.

How to know that you are seeing a Wendigo.

A Wendigo is often described as having long limbs and an emaciated appearance with sickly grey skin. In some colder regions, it may have snow-white hair that covers its body. The eyes are said to either be exceptionally large and glowing yellow or red. Or they may appear to be pushed back in its skull and constantly rolling back and forth in blood. The Wendigo has withered and bony hands with sharp claws at the ends that can cut through bone like it was cheese. They also have extremely sharp teeth to tear through skin and bones.

How to kill a Wendigo.

While fire may be useful all you are going to do is anger the creature. The Wendigo heals too quickly for fire to be an effective way of killing it. (Sorry Sam and Dean).

The best way to kill a Wendigo is to shove a blade made of pure silver through the creature’s ice heart. Then collect the shards and place them in a silver box and bury on consecrated grounds. Come back and dismember the creature’s body, cremate it, and scatter it to the four winds. If you do not properly do this the Wendigo will come back. And it will come back with a vengeance.

Origin

In one account it is said that the Wendigo started when a warrior made a deal with the Devil to protect his tribe. He sold his soul and was transformed into the first Wendigo. Shortly thereafter, the tribe came to know peace and having such a terrifying creature around was no longer necessary. So, they banished him.

In other stories, it is simply cannibalism that creates the creature.

Wendigo’s Today

Wendigos are still sighted around the country, though not as often.

What you may hear about, however, is a mental illness called Wendigo Psychosis. This mental illness causes temporary insanity and a thirst for blood.

In 2008, while travelling on a bus, a man had a bout of Wendigo Psychosis. He snapped and stabbed another passenger repeatedly. He then began to consume his flesh. He was found not guilty due to insanity.

That is the story of the Wendigo! I hope you enjoyed!

For more information:

https://paranormalauthority.com/wendigos

https://www.legendsofAmerica.com/mn-wendigo

https://mythology.net/monsters/wendigo