Its breath was a strange hiss, its footprints full of blood, and it ate any man, woman or child who ventured into its territory. And those were the lucky ones. Sometimes, the Wendigo chose to possess a person instead, and then the luckless individual became a Wendigo himself, hunting down those he had once loved and feasting upon their flesh.
According to the legends, a Wendigo is created whenever a human resorts to cannibalism to survive. In the past, this occurred more often when Indians and settlers found themselves stranded in the bitter snows and ice of the north woods. Sometimes stranded for days, any survivors might have felt compelled to cannibalize the dead in order to survive. Other versions of the legend cite that humans who displayed extreme greed, gluttony, and excess might also be possessed by a Wendigo, thus the myth served as a method of encouraging cooperation and moderation.
Native American versions of the creature spoke of a gigantic spirit, over fifteen feet tall, that had once been human but had been transformed into a creature by the use of magic. Though all of the descriptions of the creature vary slightly, the Wendigo is generally said to have glowing eyes, long yellowed fangs, terrible claws, and overly long tongues.
Sometimes they are described as having sallow, yellowish skin and other times, depicted to be covered with matted hair. The creature is said to have a number of skills and powers including stealth, is a near-perfect hunter, knows and uses every inch of its territory, and can control the weather through the use of dark magic. They are also portrayed as simultaneously gluttonous and emaciated from starvation. Wendigos are said to be cursed to wander the land, eternally seeking to fulfill their voracious appetite for human flesh and if there is nothing left to eat, it starves to death.
The legend lends its name to the disputed modern medical term Wendigo psychosis, which is considered by some psychiatrists to be a syndrome that creates an intense craving for human flesh and a fear of becoming a cannibal. Ironically, this psychosis is said to occur within people living around the Great Lakes of Canada and the United States.
There are over five movies out now that have the title of Wendigo, along with countless other horror and thriller movies that have some variation of this creature. Even the book and movie Pet Cemetery has elements of the Wendigo in it. Other pop culture references of Wendigos include video games like Until Dawn and Fallout Other games have taken bits and pieces of the Wendigo legend to use for monsters and enemies.
Marine Biology. Electrical Engineering. Computer Science. Medical Science. Writing Tutorials. Performing Arts. Visual Arts. Student Life. Vocational Training. Standardized Tests. Online Learning. Social Sciences. The common translation of its names means "the evil spirit that devours mankind," though in it was translated by a German explorer to mean "cannibal. Wendigo are known to live in Canada and the United States and seem only to live in cold climates.
They've been sighted around the city of Kenora in Ontario, Canada, but throughout the late 's and early 's, there were sightings of Wendigo around the time of a death in Roseau, Minnesota.
While the looks of the Wendigo vary between the different Algonquian tribes, most versions of the Wendigo share these traits: glowing eyes, long yellowed fangs, and long tongues. Legends describe them as about 15 feet or 4.
The Wendigo is a horrifying creature that appears in Algonquian Native American legend, who devour human flesh to survive a harsh winter. But are they only a myth? Or are they really cannibalistic humanoids waiting in forests for their next victim?
As the tale goes, the first-ever Wendigo was once a lost hunter. During a brutally cold winter, the man's intense hunger drove him to cannibalism. After feasting on another human's flesh, he transformed into a crazed man-beast, roaming the forest in search of more people to eat. In another version of the story, the first Wendigo is said to have been a warrior who made a deal with the Devil. In order to save his tribe, he gave up his soul, and was transformed into a Wendigo.
When peace ensued, there was no need for such a fearsome creature, and the warrior was banished from his tribe, and forced to live as an outcast.
The tale of the Wendigo sometimes spelled Windigo comes from Algonquian Native American folklore, and the exact details vary depending on who you ask.
Some people who claimed of encountering the beast, say it's a relative of Bigfoot. But other reports compare the Wendigo to a werewolf instead. However, Wendigo-like creatures are also found in the legends of other Native American tribes, including the neighbours of the Algonquians, the Iroquois. Amongst these peoples, a creature known as the Stonecoat bears some similarities to the Wendigo. Another translation, said to be made by a German explorer around , equates the word "Wendigo" with "cannibal.
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