Pettersson1

Hannah Pettersson

Erin Rogers

Writing

23 November 2016

Wendigo

Folk tales and bedtime stories have always been a classic. Stories about monsters,

paranormal, and mythological creatures are usually based on stories parent or grandparents tell

their children before bed to scare them. Usually, depending on the child, a bedtime story with

either get the child terrified or excited to hear more. Some folk tales originates from native

american tribes; all vary across the country. A folk tale is a story with origins rooted from what

is coined as oral tradition. This means that the story has been passed from one generation to

another orally. The chewbacabra, bigfoot, and the lochness monster all originate from native

stories; all from different regions and climates in the world. One folktale is the wendigo.

The Wendigo or Wendigoag for plural, is a North American legend originating around

the Atlantic Coast and the Great Lakes region(United States and Canada). The stories and

folktales date back hundreds of years. Its a creature that can be found in the folktales of Native

Americans, mainly the Algonquian people. These peoples are some of the most extensive and

numerous of the Native American groups in North America. 1 The word Wendigo translates to

the evil spirit that devours mankind. Around 1860, A german explorer translated the name

wendigo to mean cannibal. The folktales say the Wendigo have an irresistible hunger for

human flesh and no matter how much they eat, they are always hungry. Each was once a man.

Sometimes an indian or a frontiersman or a miner or hunter. Sometimes during a harsh winter, a

1
http://www.ancient-origins.net/unexplained-phenomena/be-wary-wendigo-terrifying-beast-native-
american-legend-insatiable-hunger
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man goes out into the woods and get lost, they find themselves starving, cut off from supplies, or

help. The only way that a human can activate the curse of the Wendigo, is if they commit

cannibalism. So the man becomes a cannibal to survive, eating the members of his tribe or camp

They slowly start to become the monster. Their taste for human flesh begins to progress; it grows

stronger and stronger. This hunger slowly starts to reflect their appearance. They become skinny.

Cultures all over the world believe that eating human flesh gives a person certain abilities: speed,

strength, immortality. If you eat enough of it, over years, you become this less-than-human

thing. 2 You're always hungry. The folk tale mentions that the Wendigo can be destroyed or

controlled by fire. Since the Wendigo has a heart of ice, the only way to kill it, melt the heart.

Another version of the story is said that the Wendigo is (or was) a dark evil spirit, the

opposite of all good things. 3 The evil spirit or incarnated monster resembling the Wendigo was

placed on this earth by the Creator; just like humans, bears, and beavers were created.

Although the Algonquians descriptions of the Wendigo vary, they all have similarities:

they have yellow eyes, long sharp fangs, and long tongues. Through the years, the appearance

has changed. Many sources describe the Wendigo as a gigantic skeleton made of ice as tall as the

treetop or higher than the mountaintops. If not made of ice, then it either has a heart of ice or

ice flowing through its veins. Another interpretation of the creature is a walking corpse that is so

skinny, you could only see it head on because it was so thin, it was invisible from the side. The

most common description of a Wendigo is as such: Humanoid appearance,thirty feet tall with

long arms, no lips, long jagged teeth, extended tongue and black claws on each hands. Its a very

repulsive sight. The Wendigos sight is so horrifying beyond all imagination. It is said that if you

look upon a Wendigo, you are likely to either faint or be killed instantly.

2
supernatural.wiki.com/wiki/wendigo
3
https://chrishibbard.wordpress.com/2008/10/31/the-many-faces-of-the-wendigo/
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The Algonquian weren't the only native people to have a folktale about cannibals. The

Wendigo itself goes by many names, depending on which tribe is telling the tale. In the Pacific

Northwest, the natives tell a tale of a creature called Kwakiutl Man-Eater. To the Utah Navajo,

they tell a tale of a skin walker. In western Canada, the beaver tribes has a Wechuge that bears a

striking close resemblance to a Wendigo. Although the tribes in the different regions have a

different name, all the tales result with the same similarities.

During the 1800s, white settlers took the stories seriously and when a mysterious death

occured, they would believe it to be the result of a Wendigo killing. A Wendigo allegedly made a

number of appearances near a town called Rosesu in Northern Minnesota from the late 1800's

through the 1920's. Each time that it was reported, an unexpected death followed and eventually

never to be seen again. Natives believed the stories to be real and would hunt the Wendigo. One

of the most famous Wendigo Hunter was a Cree Native names Jake Fiddler. He claimed to kill at

least 14 of the creatures in his lifetime, although the last murder resulted in him being charged

for murdering a Cree Native Woman and ending up in prison at the age of 87. In October 1907,

Fiddler and his son, Joseph, both pleaded guilty to the crime but defended themselves by stating

that the woman had been possessed by the spirit of a Wendigo and was on the verge of

transforming into one entirely. According to their defense, she had to be killed before she

murdered other members of the tribe. 4

Now, the story of the Wendigo is popping up all over the world. In a recent video game,

Until Dawn 5, Wendigo are actually the main antagonized in the game. When ten friends stay at

the washingtons cabin on the of a mountain, they decide to pull a prank on their friend Hannah.

4
http://www.prairieghosts.com/wendigo.html
5
http://until-dawn.wikia.com/wiki/The_Wendigos
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This pranks cause her to run into the forest to be alone. Beth, her sister, follows her to make sure

shes okay. They hear a sound and begin to run. They end up at a cliff and hannah slips and they

both fall to their their deaths. They become missing for a year. Their brother josh decides to

bring the same group of friend back up to the cabin to celebrate their friends hannah and beth.

Only they discover that their beloved friend Hannah survived the fall but resorted to cannibalism

thus resulting into hannah turning into a Wendigo. The only way they recognised her was a

tattoo of a butterfly on her arm. The Game is Based on the Butterfly effect; everything you do

affects the outcome of the game. But, in this game, the Wendigo are portrayed differently. When

hannah becomes the Wendigo, she loses all her human abilities to show mercy, love, and

compassion. But, when she sees her friends, she doesnt kill them; she actually protects them

from the other wendigo on the mountain. But, if you play your cards wrong in the game, she

could kill all 8 of her friends.

Wendigo are cannibalists. They feast off of human flesh and need it to survive. Today,

people are becoming murders and cannibalists; Jeffrey Dahmer, Anthony Morley, Tamara

Samsonove are just a few. They became addicted to consuming human flesh after they killed

their victims. These killers can relate to the wendigo in a way. They all become addicted once

they eat for the first time. People who practice cannibalism are considered Ill-minded or sick.

They're seen as monsters. Sometimes under drastic measures, people resort to cannibalism to

survive. An example is the Donner Party traveling to west to California. They heard a shortcut

through the Sierra Nevada mountains would cut off 2 week of their trip. The trail was worse than

they expected. After their wagon need to be repaired, a heavy snowfall had come upon them.

They were trapped with 5ft of heavy snowfall surrounding them. They were stuck for five

months. By 3 weeks, they had finished all their food. With their food gone, cattle dead, they had
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to make a fatal decision. Sacrifice one to potentially save us all. They began cutting and

tagging bodies so someone wouldn't eat their own kin. 6 Some made it to California, the rest were

unfortunately the ones willing to give up their lives for others.

The Wendigo was a way for coping that the idea that cannibalism was an option. They

are creatures that many people believe to still exist. Their entire description is supposed to bring

fear into the listeners mind; Make them scared. Cannibalism was a source of survival or it was a

way of living for someone of the ill mind.

6
http://www.history.com/topics/donner-party