Wendigo

Name: Wendigo, Windigo, Witiko

Features: Bony body, crooked teeth, disfigured face

Source: Native American Folklore

Habitat: United States and Canada





The Windigo has a very thin and skin on bone appearance. This eerie mythical creature also has a disfigured face with sunken eyes and sharp distorted teeth.

It is sometimes said to have a heart of pure ice that is visible through its chest busily pumping freezing blood through its veins.

The only way to stop this creature of death is to shatter its icicle heart with a silver stake.

Legends tell of this unnatural being lurking about in the snowy forests of North America. It follows and stalks its victims patiently and silently, waiting to feast on some fresh human flesh.

What makes these monstrosities even creepier is the fact that they are said to be formerly human. In the freezing wintery regions of North America, settlers or Indians would sometimes find themselves lost without food.

The ones that survived starvation by resorting to cannibalism were prime candidates to succumb to this evil transformation.

For individuals that had dined on their own kind, an evil spirit would enter their bodies, kill them and bring them back to life with a craving for human flesh.

They would then roam about in the snowy forests looking for victims all the while carrying a powerful stench of death with them.

Some of the strongest Windagoes are said to have the power to summon wild beasts to help them during attacks.

They are also said to have the ability to control the weather and cause snow storms and even powerful blizzards.




IN THE MOVIES

Ravenous - This 1999 horror film stars Guy Pierce, Robert Carlyle and Jeffrey Jones. Set in Fort Spencer located in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, this story revolves around the myth of the mythical creature – the Wendigo.

In this movie, the individuals that feast upon human flesh uncover the strength and power that comes from it. They become physically stronger, all of their senses are amplified and they even gain recuperative powers. This makes it very difficult to stop, defeat or destroy them.

This movie is rated 18A due to subject matter, blood and violence.




TV SERIES

Grimm – Starring David Giuntoli, Bitsie Tolloch and Sasha Roiz. In Season 2, Episode 11 “To Protect and Serve Man” homicide detective Nick Burkhardt is asked to review a past case that may involve the creatures known as Wendigos.

In this adaptation, these monsters are said to have formerly been savage cave dwellers that ate human flesh and stored the remains of their victims in open pits.

In modern times, these cannibals have adapted, work and live among the general population - often going about unnoticed. They are also said to bury the remains of their victim in pits which are now concealed in the basement and crawl spaces of their homes.

Foot & veggie stew anyone?




Return to top of Wendigo page

Return to The Undead

Return to Mythical Creatures and Beasts home page