Do wendigos exist in real life? Wendigo (evil spirit)

(Chippewa) and some other Algonquian tribes a cannibal spirit. He lives in the north, lies in wait for people and attacks them. Initially perceived as a symbol of insatiable hunger, it later began to serve as a warning against any excesses of human behavior.

Based on the myth, these creatures are tall, with a lipless mouth and sharp teeth. Their bodies are translucent, made of ice, or animal-like, covered with thick fur. Despite their extreme thinness, wendigos are insatiable. They lure their victims with a whistle that resembles the rustle of the wind. Stories about wendigos can be divided into two categories. Some claim that the Wendigo was created when a brave warrior sold his soul to ward off a threat to his tribe. When the threat was eliminated, he went into the forest and nothing has been heard of him since. According to other legends, the Wendigo gradually lost its human appearance due to the use of black magic, coupled with cannibalism. Be that as it may, the Wendigo should be considered one of the most dangerous mythological creatures.

Wendigo is not like Bigfoot, contrary to popular belief. He is taller than normal human height and has a very thin build. Sometimes they are covered with matted white fur, while others describe them as completely hairless. They usually simply stalk their prey, but sometimes they take a different approach, with witnesses claiming that wendigos enjoy the hunt. A lonely traveler who finds himself in the forest begins to hear strange sounds. He looks around, looking for the source - but sees nothing except the flickering of something that moves too quickly for the human eye to detect. After some time, the flickering will subside, and the wendigo may roar quietly, because it likes active hunting. And when the traveler begins to run away in fear, the wendigo attacks. He is more powerful and strong than anyone else.

There is no need for him to ambush his prey. He is faster and stronger than any human, but he enjoys his hunting games.

It is believed that the Wendigo does not take conventional weapons, including bullets. The beast can only be killed by fire.

Mention in art

The Wendigo is a negative character in the 2nd episode of the first season of the TV series “Supernatural”, the episode is called “Wendigo”.

Wendigo is the main theme feature film“Ogre” (“Ravenous”).

The Wendigo appears in the episode "Heart of Ice" of the television series "Blood Ties".

The Wendigo was mentioned in one of the episodes of the television series “Charmed”, but this creature was more like a werewolf.

Acts in the novel “Malaya Glusha” by Maria Galina.

Also mentioned in the 19th episode of the 4th season of the series Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal (the episode is called "Wendigo").

Also mentioned in Marvel Comix's X-Men series (Wendigo character)

Mentioned in episode 8 of season 1 of the series "Fear As It Is"

Sources

1. Mythological Dictionary/Ch.Ed. E. M. Meletinsky - M.: "Soviet Encyclopedia", 1990 - 672 p.

Links

http://myths.kulichki.ru/ “Myths of the peoples of the world on Devil’s Kulichki”


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Wendigo- in the myths of the Ojibwe (Chippewa) and some others Algonquian tribes is a cannibal spirit.

He lives in the north, lies in wait for people and attacks them.

Initially perceived as a symbol of insatiable hunger, it later began to serve as a warning against any excesses of human behavior.

Based on the myth, these creatures are tall, with a lipless mouth and sharp teeth. Their bodies are translucent, made of ice, or animal-like, covered with thick fur. Despite their extreme thinness, Wendigos are insatiable. They lure their victims with a whistle that resembles the rustle of the wind.

The Indians themselves, speaking about the emergence of the Wendigo, admit that there are several versions:

The first of them has nothing to do with cannibalism, it is rather about self-sacrifice. When the native tribe is pursued by enemies and the family is in mortal danger, the best warrior of the tribe voluntarily agrees to a terrible sacrifice: he gives his soul to the spirits of the forest.

Having turned into a terrible monster, he helps the tribe win, but then, when the threat is eliminated, the monster warrior cannot become human again. His sacrifice is accepted - and he goes into the forest forever, where he finally turns into a Wendigo, and his native tribe begins to hunt him: after all, the Wendigo is a mortal danger to people.

They say that a Wendigo becomes a shaman who is overly keen on black magic. And, although they claim that shamans can be Wendigos without becoming cannibals, nothing is known for sure about this.

But here is another version, no worse and no better than others: an ordinary person can also become a Wendigo - in his own way at will. You need to start with fasting. How long can you go without food: a day, two? A week? When hunger becomes unbearable, it's time to go to the forest.

The Wendigo will find you, don’t even doubt it. Most likely, he uses the “volunteer” as food for the winter, but maybe - why not? - will make a Wendigo out of you. After a meal of human flesh, the “volunteer’s” body will gradually become covered with hair, claws will grow, his eyes will learn to see in the dark, and raw human meat will become the most desired food.

And finally, the last, most likely version is cannibalism. Winters in the north can be harsh. North American Indian tribes were often cut off from the rest of the world for months at a time. And when the food ran out, and spring was still far away, one simple question arose: how to survive? There were cases when a person ate his family or neighbors, but the retribution was terrible - gradually such a cannibal became a Wendigo.

But not only Indians turned into Wendigos. Hunters, gold miners, travelers, settlers, seekers of a better life, vagabonds, everyone who then poured into the North American continent - many of them had no idea how fierce, merciless and hungry the local winter could be.

There were cases when a company of gold miners, fleeing from inevitable death by starvation, killed and ate one of their own, justifying themselves by the fact that the fittest survive. And, sooner or later, they were all doomed to turn into monsters and suffer from hunger, which can only be satisfied by human meat.

Be that as it may, the Indians still believe in the Wendigo and consider it one of the most dangerous creatures.

The first stories about the Wendigo myth were told by explorers and missionaries - they date back to the seventeenth century. They described the Wendigo as more of a werewolf, a devil, or an ogre.

Wendigo is not like Bigfoot, contrary to popular belief. He is taller than normal human height and has a very thin build. Wendigos are sometimes covered in matted white fur, while others describe them as completely hairless. They usually simply stalk their prey, but sometimes they take a different approach: witnesses claim that Wendigos enjoy the hunt.

A lonely traveler who finds himself in the forest begins to hear strange sounds. He looks around for the source, but sees nothing except the flicker of something that moves too fast for the human eye to detect. After some time, the flickering will subside, and the Wendigo may roar quietly, because he likes active hunting. And when the traveler begins to run away in fear, the Wendigo attacks. He is powerful and strong like no other.

There is no need for him to ambush his prey. He is faster and stronger than any person.

It is believed that the Wendigo does not take conventional weapons, including bullets. The beast can only be killed by fire.

Perhaps the image of the Wendigo formed in the mind local residents around the fact of unexplained disappearances of people. The anthropomorphism of this creature can be explained by the fact that no one has ever seen it or by the facts of real cases of cannibalism.

When settlers began to populate the North American continent, many of them took the Indian legend of the Wendigo very seriously. And how could it be otherwise: first, people who went hunting disappeared without a trace, and then the forest cannibal himself was seen several times, appearing near the town of Rosesu in Northern Minnesota (Wendigos were regularly seen there from the end of 1800 to 1920).

Among the local residents there were people who devoted their entire lives to hunting these monsters, becoming professional Wendigo hunters.

The most famous of them, named Jack Fielder, claimed to have killed at least 14 Wendigos in his life. He destroyed the last one when he was already 87 years old. His son helped him in the hunt.

In October 1907, hunter Fiedler and his son Joseph were convicted of murdering an Indian woman. They both pleaded guilty to this crime, but in their defense they stated that the woman was infected with "Windigo fever" and was only hours away from becoming a complete monster, and had to be destroyed before she began to kill others.

They say that Wendigos still live in Minnesota.

Cannibalism is a violation of the greatest taboo among the Algonquins, who find it quite difficult to obtain food, especially during the long winter months. It so happens that hunger poses a constant threat to them. This assumption is based on the Wendigo's physical deformation, which resembles damage due to starvation and frostbite. The Wendigo is a myth based on the personification of the problem of winter and the taboo of cannibalism. Conscious or unconscious cannibalistic impulses can only be curbed through discipline and order.

Windigo is a term for a mental disorder among Canadian Indians: the sudden onset of an attraction to cannibalism, a need for human flesh. Detailed descriptions of the disease were made in the 18th century; modern research carried out by J. M. Cooper in 1933.

Among Indian peoples, Windigo psychosis manifests itself in the belief that someone has been possessed by the spirit of a forest monster. The reason for the obsession is considered to be the inability to get food for the family - for members of the tribe this is both a huge personal failure and an offense of social significance.

Like the Wendigo monster itself, psychotics experience a strong obsessive desire to eat human flesh. They usually satisfy their cannibalistic desires by attacking members of their own family. The Indians are quite capable of killing and eating their loved ones if they are not stopped. They believe that they have lost control of their actions and their only escape is death. According to Morton Teicher, who wrote a work on psychological anthropology, Windigo Psychosis, patients often ask to be killed and do not resist their own death.

To get rid of this disease, these peoples developed a ceremonial dance, which was organized by the Assiniboine, Cree and Ojibwe during famine to seriously strengthen the Wendigo taboo. This ritual dance is called wiindigookaanzhimowin by the Ojibwa.

Now this dance is part of the ritual “Dance to the Sun”. This dance is performed wearing masks, with rhythmic movements to the rhythm of the drums. The last known such ceremony took place in the state of Minnesota, in the USA, on the island of Star Island, in Leech Lake, on the Cass River - in the northern Indian reservation.

Pay attention to a small nuance. If you are talking about mental illness, then it would be more correct to use the term “windigo” or “windigo”. If you are talking about a real monster (don’t be embarrassed by this phrase), then it’s better to say “wendigo”. In general, this monster has more than enough names.

This is what Monstropedia offers us: Wendigo, Windigo, Wiindigoo, Witiko, Weedigo, Weeghtako, Weeghteko, Weendigo, Wee-Tee-Go, Weetigo, Wehndigo, Wehtigo, Wendago, Wenigo, Wentigo, Wentiko, Wetigo, Whit-Te-Co, Whittico, Wiendigo, Wihtigo, Wiitiko, Windago, Windiga, Windagoe, Windagoo, Windego, Wi'ndigo, Windikouk, Wintego, Wintigo, Wi'ntsigo, Wintsigo, Wi'tigo, Wittako, Wittikka, Wihtikow, Atcen, Atschen, Cheno, Djenu, Ithaqua, Kokodje, Kokotsche, Outiko, and Vindiko. A rough translation of these names means "an evil spirit that devours humanity."

M. Madatyan

Goblins, orcs and moroks - no matter what terrible monsters the devil’s imagination gave birth to, but these were not all that inhabited the planets from the cloud of chaos and darkness. Now I want to introduce you to such a horror of death as the Wendigo, a creature known as Windigo and Windego.

This deadly creature is described in Native American legends, especially among the Algonquian people.

These peoples are among the most widespread and numerous Indian groups in North America, and in the past lived throughout the Atlantic coast and Great Lakes region.

However, in the memories of other Indian tribes, mystical creatures like the Wendigo also haunt the legends of the Iroquois and their Algonquian neighbors. Among these cultures, the nightmare known as Stonecoat (Stone Skin) bears some resemblance to the Wendigo cannibal incarnation. Just don’t look for the reasons for bloodthirstiness in moral or moral deformity, the matter here is similar to something else, in a terrible mutation of the body.

Who is the Wendigo, the mysticism and horror of the jungle.

An insatiable hunger, a thirst for human flesh and blood, this is what the name Wendigo means. To avoid scary words, it is “an evil spirit that devours the human body and soul.” Other comparative concept This jungle minotaur, which is said to have been applied by a German explorer sometime in 1860, was a combination of the word "Wendigo" with the name "Cannibal".

Speaking of the bloodthirsty cannibal killer, their sense of insatiable hunger for human flesh is noted, and some rumors say they are still hungry. The feeling of animal hunger affected appearance monster, he is extremely, rather painfully thin. However, despite the skinny physique, the man-eater is presented in myths as a huge humanoid beast with a height of about 4.5 meters.

Yes, there is a slight difference in the physical description of this creature in different cultures. But in general, as a rule, the legends agree, large and sharp yellow fangs, and long tongue licking the remnants of the feast from his face. The bones of this passion are covered with yellowish skin, although other stories claim that the monster is covered with matted hair on rotten skin.

In fact, inaccurate descriptions are quite understandable, since obviously those who met the devilish creature, due to objective reasons, could no longer give testimony.

The appearance of Wendigo in the world.

In accordance with the most popular version of the origin of the Wendigo, it is recognized that the creature appeared precisely at a time when people were slipping into cannibalism. Even when a person justified it by survival, an evil spirit appeared in the frame of life. It turns out that when a person eats the meat of his own kind, he is subjected to an invasion of his body by an evil spirit, and he himself becomes a Wendigo, suffering.

Another version of the origin of this death specialist mentions the Pact with the Devil, saying: the first Wendigo was a warrior who made a pact with the devil. Worried about saving his tribe, the warrior sold his soul to the devil, voluntarily turning himself into a Wendigo and condemning himself to mutation. When peace came, and the tribe no longer needed a terrifying clot of evil in the flesh, the leaders acted cruelly - the warrior was expelled from the tribe, doomed to live separately from the world.

It’s a terrible thing, but some believe that a human heart still lives in this terrible creature, forced to live in a body beyond its control. This man is trapped, and by killing the devil's degenerate, it also kills the man. At the same time, some legends cite cunning mystical manipulations with the help of which a person can be successfully saved. - Although most likely this is nonsense, since no one has yet.

However, in most cases, death is the only way to free a person from the evil spirit that has captured his body. Wendigoag are believed to still be roaming the American forests, and many people are rumored to have disappeared over the years after being eaten by these creatures. From that area there are many reports of Wendigo sightings, not only by Native Americans, but also by white settlers.

At the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the new century, an angry and bloodthirsty creature appeared near the village of Roseau, in northern Minnesota, and according to local stories, every time this huge creature was spotted there, someone suddenly disappeared.

Perhaps this whole story is an invention of mysticism lovers, however, as soon as the evil creature left the town, all the mysterious disappearances of people stopped, and everything returned to normal life without worries.

It must be said that this legend about the warrior lives firmly in folklore. Among the Cree people there is a traditional dance called "Wihtikokansimoowin" - "Wendigo dance". In it, the terrifying forest dweller is represented by dancers in a satirical tone, ridiculing this phenomenon from mythology. Some Native Americans even became "Wendigo hunters." — By the way, we have already written about

So, about mysticism and reality - at the beginning of the twentieth century, an 87-year-old man, Jack Fiddler, was brought to justice for the murder of a woman from the Cree tribe. Pleading guilty to the murder of a fellow tribesman, he said the following in his defense: the woman was going to become a Wendigo because she was possessed by an evil spirit. For this reason, I was forced to kill her before she killed the other members of the tribe.

In addition, the proceedings ended with the unexpected confession of Jack Fiddler, who publicly stated: I have killed at least 13 other Wendigoag throughout my life.

Wendigo or Windigo (English: Wendigo or English: Windigo) is a cannibal spirit in Algonquin mythology. Initially perceived as a symbol of insatiable hunger and hungry winter, it later began to serve as a warning against any excesses of human behavior.

At the origins of the myth

The first stories about the Wendigo myth were told by explorers and missionaries - they date back to the 17th century. People described the Wendigo as more of a werewolf, a devil, or an ogre. Their wendigo stories can be divided into two categories. Some claim that the Wendigo was created when a brave warrior sold his soul to ward off a threat to his tribe. When the threat was eliminated, he went into the forest thicket, and since then nothing has been heard of him. According to other legends, the Wendigo gradually lost its human appearance due to the use of black magic, coupled with cannibalism. It was also possible to turn into a wendigo as a result of a healer’s curse. Be that as it may, the Wendigo should be considered one of the most dangerous mythological creatures. There is also a theory that the Wendigo is a creature that was once human. Lost in the forest, or during some cataclysm, on the verge of death from hunger, he decides to kill and eat his fellow traveler or friend. After this, within a few weeks he loses his appearance and finds himself at the mercy of hunger, which can only be satisfied by human meat, and he can no longer return to normal life.

Versions of origin

No one knows for sure how and where the wendigo comes from. However, there are several versions:

  1. Heroic - in order to ward off the threat from the native tribe in difficult times of trials, the strongest warrior of the tribe sacrifices his soul to the spirits of the forest. So he turns into a terrible monster, capable of frightening any enemy. When the threat to the tribe is eliminated, the monster warrior goes into the deepest thicket, where his heart turns into an ice stone - a man becomes a wendigo.
  2. Magical - they say that a shaman or sorcerer who is overly keen on black, harmful magic turns into a wendigo. Some, however, stipulate that for actual transformation into a Wendigo there is a small but very important condition - the sorcerer will not become a monster until he tastes human flesh. It seems that for those who purposefully seek such a metamorphosis, this is not the greatest test. The first symptom of transformation into a wendigo is the appearance of a strange smell that only the future monster can smell. After the appearance of this soul-disturbing smell, the victim wakes up at night from the horror of nightmares and his own crying. Next, the person begins to feel a burning pain in the legs and feet, which becomes so unbearable that the person runs into the forest, throwing off both his shoes and clothes. This is how not only sorcerers and shamans who transgressed tribal taboos are transformed into wendigos, but also those who have been cursed by the wendigo.
  3. Accidentally infectious - it is believed that any random hunter who is simply unlucky enough to meet a real wendigo in the night forest, whose old body has worn out, can become a wendigo. In this case, the monster will not just kill the unlucky traveler, but will itself inhabit his body. Legend claims that the moment the spirit enters a person is marked by severe nausea and pain. Eventually, the person loses a huge amount of blood and inevitably dies. Meanwhile, the body undergoes a terrible transformation. The body grows in volume, a thick layer of white fur appears. The Wendigo spirit introduces purely animal components into the human body - powerful fangs and sharp teeth. Nails transform into sharp claws. The evil spirit then animates the body, not as a human, but as a bloodthirsty beast known as a wendigo.
  4. Gastronomic - among North American Indians there are various stories related to the birth of the Wendigo... These stories usually talk about a harsh winter, and about someone cut off from the outside world, left without food. Trying to survive, he eats his family or friends and thus becomes a wendigo, an insatiable cannibal doomed to constant hunger. But not only Indians turned into Wendigos. Hunters, gold miners, travelers, settlers, seekers of a better life, vagabonds, everyone who then poured into the North American continent - many of them had no idea how fierce, merciless and hungry the local winter could be.

There were cases when a company of gold miners, fleeing from inevitable death by starvation, killed and ate one of their own, justifying themselves by the fact that the fittest survive. And, sooner or later, they were all doomed to turn into monsters and suffer from hunger, which can only be satisfied by human meat.

  1. Voluntary - there will always be people who want to become monsters themselves. Those who want to become a Wendigo start by fasting. It lasts several days, after which the person goes into the forest. There he offers his body to the Wendigo. He can accept his body, both as housing and food. However, sometimes it happens that the wendigo seems to adopt such volunteers. Over time, their bodies become abundantly covered with hair, claws grow, their eyes become yellow and huge, a craving for raw human flesh develops, and various supernatural abilities begin to appear.

Rational confirmation of the “gastronomic” version: cannibalism among the Indians

Cannibalism is a violation of the greatest taboo among the Algonquins, who find it quite difficult to obtain food, especially during the long winter months. It so happens that hunger poses a constant threat to them. This assumption is based on the Wendigo's physical deformation, which resembles damage due to starvation and frostbite. The Wendigo is a myth based on the personification of the problem of winter and the taboo of cannibalism. Conscious or unconscious cannibalistic impulses can only be curbed through discipline and order.

Windigo is a term for a mental disorder among Canadian Indians: the sudden onset of an attraction to cannibalism, a need for human flesh. Detailed descriptions of the disease were made in the 18th century; modern research was carried out by J. M. Cooper in 1933.

Among Indian peoples, Windigo psychosis manifests itself in the belief that someone is possessed by the spirit of a forest monster. The reason for the obsession is considered to be the inability to get food for the family - for members of the tribe this is both a huge personal failure and an offense of social significance.

Like the Wendigo monster itself, psychotics experience a strong obsessive desire to eat human flesh. They usually satisfy their cannibalistic desires by attacking members of their own family. The Indians are quite capable of killing and eating their loved ones if they are not stopped. They believe that they have lost control of their actions and their only escape is death. According to Morton Teicher, who wrote a work on psychological anthropology, Windigo Psychosis, patients often ask to be killed and do not resist their own death.

To get rid of this disease, these peoples developed a ceremonial dance, which was organized by the Assiniboine, Cree and Ojibwe during famine to seriously strengthen the Wendigo taboo. This ritual dance is called wiindigookaanzhimowin by the Ojibwa. Now this dance is part of the ritual “Dance to the Sun”. This dance is performed wearing masks, with rhythmic movements to the rhythm of the drums. The last known such ceremony took place in the state of Minnesota, in the USA, on the island of Star Island, in Leech Lake, on the Cass River - in the northern Indian reservation. Pay attention to a small nuance. If you are talking about mental illness, then it would be more correct to use the term “windigo” or “windigo”. If you are talking about a real monster, then it is better to say “Wendigo”. In general, this monster has more than enough names.

This is what Monstropedia offers us: Wendigo, Windigo, Wiindigoo, Witiko, Weedigo, Weeghtako, Weeghteko, Weendigo, Wee-Tee-Go, Weetigo, Wehndigo, Wehtigo, Wendago, Wenigo, Wentigo, Wentiko, Wetigo, Whit-Te-Co, Whittico, Wiendigo, Wihtigo, Wiitiko, Windago, Windiga, Windagoe, Windagoo, Windego, Wi'ndigo, Windikouk, Wintego, Wintigo, Wi'ntsigo, Wintsigo, Wi'tigo, Wittako, Wittikka, Wihtikow, Atcen, Atschen, Cheno, Djenu, Ithaqua, Kokodje, Kokotsche, Outiko, and Vindiko. A rough translation of these names means "an evil spirit that devours mankind."

Description of appearance

Based on the myth, these creatures are tall, with a lipless mouth and sharp teeth. Their bodies are translucent, made of ice, or animal-like, covered with thick fur. Despite their extreme thinness, Wendigos are insatiable. They lure their victims with a whistle that resembles the rustle of the wind.

In a cape of white felted wool, not much more than just tall man, incredibly skinny and bony, sometimes without the tips of the ears, several fingers, nose or lips, completely bald or very, very shaggy - this is the Wendigo, the ice monster of the Algolquin tribes; monster, no time former human, and now a creature that feeds its insatiable hunger with human flesh. This is no ordinary monster. Wendigo is the physical embodiment of the metaphysical spirit of winter Cold and Hunger.

From a practical point of view, the Wendigo is primarily an exceptional cannibal hunter. It is difficult to determine who he is, first of all: a terrible cannibal or a hunter. On the one hand, the wendigo feeds exclusively on human flesh. In preparation for the long winter, the Wendigo will even stockpile tree branches in a large cauldron, filling it to the brim with human meat. In rare cases, the wendigo stores supplies in its den and in fresh form. On the other hand, it is well known that the Wendigo, like no other, is able to enjoy the hunt, receiving incredible pleasure. All these wendigos are the curse of the North American continent.

Features of hunting

They usually simply stalk their prey, but sometimes they take a different approach: witnesses claim that Wendigos enjoy the hunt. A lonely traveler who finds himself in the forest begins to hear strange sounds. He looks around for the source, but sees nothing except the flicker of something moving too fast for the human eye to detect. After some time, the flickering will subside, and the Wendigo may roar quietly, because he likes active hunting. And when the traveler begins to run away in fear, the Wendigo attacks. He is powerful and strong like no other. There is no need for him to ambush his prey. He is faster and stronger than any person. It is believed that the Wendigo does not take conventional weapons, including bullets. The beast can only be killed by fire. Perhaps the image of the Wendigo has developed in the minds of local residents around the fact of unexplained disappearances of people. The anthropomorphism of this creature can be explained by the fact that no one has ever seen it or by the facts of real cases of cannibalism.

Wendigo psychosis

With Wendigo psychosis, there is a fear of turning into a cannibal monster, usually due to decreased nutrition. The patient has homicidal thoughts and an impulsive desire to eat human flesh. Some patients claim that they have been possessed by the evil Wendigo spirit. Typically, "possessed Wendigos" were killed by their fellow tribesmen. Some researchers denied the existence of this disorder, while they stated that this was just an attempt to justify murder.

Fighting the Wendigo

When settlers began to populate the North American continent, many of them took the Indian legend of the Wendigo very seriously. And how could it be otherwise: first, people who went hunting disappeared without a trace, and then the forest cannibal himself was seen several times, appearing near the town of Rosesu in Northern Minnesota (Wendigo was regularly seen there from the end of 1800 to 1920).

Among the local residents there were people who devoted their entire lives to hunting these monsters, becoming professional Wendigo hunters. The most famous of them, named Jack Fielder, claimed to have killed at least 14 Wendigos in his life. He destroyed the last one when he was already 87 years old. His son helped him in the hunt.

In October 1907, hunter Fiedler and his son Joseph were convicted of murdering an Indian woman. They both pleaded guilty to this crime, but in their defense stated that the woman was infected with "Windigo fever" and was only hours away from becoming a complete monster, and had to be destroyed before she began to kill others. They say that Wendigos still live in Minnesota.

An Indian's story about an encounter with a Wendigo

The Story of an Ojibwe Indian

The storm lasted so long that we thought we would die of hunger. Finally, when the gusts of wind died down, I remembered my father, who was a brave warrior and went out in any weather. Before the storm returns, they must find food, or the family will not survive.

Taking a spear and a knife, he went to the area, usually most of all, dotted with animal tracks. I’m standing, studying the signs in the snow. But the shimmering layer of ice and snow gave no sign of the presence of prey. In such bad weather, every intelligent creature was within its hole and slept. Not me. Knowing the desperate hunger the family was experiencing, I continued the hunt.

As I moved through the eerie silence, broken only by weak gusts of wind, I clearly heard a strange noise, a hiss. It came from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. He stopped, his heart pounding wildly. When I saw the blood-soaked tracks in front of me, I pulled out a knife, instantly realizing that a Wendigo was watching me somewhere nearby.

I knew about the Wendigo when I sat on my father's lap. From his stories it followed that it was a large creature, tall as a tree, with a lipless mouth and a palisade of sharp teeth. His breathing was accompanied strange sounds, like a hiss, its tracks were full of blood, and this beast ate any man, woman or child who dared to enter its territory. And one could consider them lucky. Sometimes the Wendigo wanted to possess a person and, instead of killing him, he made the unfortunate person also become a Wendigo and hunt down those he once loved and devour their flesh.

The warrior knows that he has only one chance to defeat the Wendigo. If it doesn't work out, then death. Or... the thought was too terrible to complete.

Slowly I stepped back from the bloody trail, listening to the hissing sound. Was it stronger in one direction? Then he gripped the spear tightly with one hand and the knife with the other. Suddenly, the snowdrift on the left exploded with snow and a huge creature jumped out of it. I dodged to the side and drove through the snow so that my clothes were tightly covered with it. This could help me remain invisible in the white snow. Then, in the gray twilight, I noticed the approach of fury.

It was the Wendigo who rushed forward with his massive body, and only my spear stopped him. It hit the creature's chest, but the Wendigo simply shook it off like a toy. I quickly pulled back and hid behind a small tree, watching as the creature examined my broken trail in the snow.

The Wendigo was already peering with a sharp gaze in my direction, noticing a shadow next to the tree. The beast leaned forward, stretching forward its long arms with root-like fingers. And then I jumped out of cover as if I was going to grab the creature, and suddenly stuck the knife into its bottomless black eye. The Wendigo howled in pain as the knife blade penetrated its eye socket. The creature tried to throw me off its chest, but I grabbed onto the beast tightly and continued to strike blow after blow, again and again - to the eyes and head.

The Wendigo collapsed to the ground, bleeding, almost crushing me with its weight... As soon as I came to my senses, I began to examine the creature, which against the background of the snow would have been completely invisible if not for the blood pouring from its eyes, ears and wounds on its head . Then the contours of the creature began to blur, became foggy, and it completely disappeared, leaving only crimson footprints in the snow.

Shocked, with my heart beating in fear, tired from the stress of the struggle, I turned home. Weakened, I knew that the storm would soon end its break, and I would be in trouble if I did not find shelter or did not manage to return home. At the edge of the forest I met a red fox. It was a well-fed and probably old animal, as evidenced by the gray stripes on its face. It was as if the fox had been brought to me as a reward for killing the Wendigo. With a prayer of thanksgiving I killed the fox. There was enough meat for several days until the storm blew itself away and I was able to safely go hunting again.

The image of the Wendigo in art

Cinema


Cartoon series

  • The Wendigo appeared in the animated series The Incredible Hulk, voiced by Lisa Miller McGee. In this animated series, the Wendigo is a curse that has enveloped the Indian War. When Betty Ross was captured by the Wendigo, the Hulk and General "Thunderbolt" Ross had to work together to rescue her.
  • The Wendigo appeared in the animated series Wolverine and the X-Men, voiced by Frank Welker. He appears in the episode entitled "Wolverine vs. Hulk". Wendigos have horns, and their bite turns others into Wendigos.
  • The Wendigo appeared in the animated series Avengers Assemble, voiced by Frank Welker. He appears in the episode entitled "Avengers: Impossible!". He was among the villains summoned to Avengers Tower by a being called the Impossible Man.
  • The Wendigo appeared in the animated series The Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H., voiced by Dee Bradley Baker. He appears in the episode entitled "The Wendigo Apocalypse". The S.M.A.S.H. agents encounter Wolverine during his Canadian vacation, where he is bitten by a Wendigo.
  • The Wendigo King appeared in the animated series Ultimate Spider-Man, voiced by Dee Bradley Baker. He appears in the episode entitled "Contest of Champions Part 1". He appears as one of the battle participants and fights against Spider-Man's team.

Books

  • U English writer Algernon Blackwood has a story called “The Wendigo,” which tells of hunters’ encounters with this fantastic creature in the forests of Canada. The story is written based on the author's own hunting experience gained in the Canadian outback. The story, in turn, is an expanded version of an earlier story by the author (both versions were translated and published in Russia).
  • The Wendigo is mentioned in Stephen King's novel Pet Sematary.
  • Character in Maria Galina's novel "Malaya Glusha".
  • The Wendigo is mentioned in the X-Men comics by Marvel Comics (the Wendigo character).
  • In Andrei Martyanov's fantasy novel "Star of the West" there is an evil spirit of the forest named Wendigo.
  • Eduard Verkin has a book called Wendigo, Demon of the Forest.
  • Rick Yancey in the book “The Monsterologist: Curse of the Wendigo” appears as the main threat to the main characters.

Games

Wendigo appears in the following video games:

  • In the game Until Dawn, the Wendigo appears as an ogre that lives in the forest and mine.
  • Harvey's neue Augen.
  • Final Fantasy VII.
  • Warcraft series.
  • The Secret World.
  • Ghost Master.
  • Dementium II.
  • X2: Wolverine's Revenge (English)Russian..
  • Long night.
  • Terror in the Ice (Alpha Polaris).
  • 6 nights in Chernavsky (Visual novel).
  • Is a “totem” and the name of the tribe of Garou (werewolves) in the tabletop role-playing game"Werewolf: The Apocalypse".

Comics

Wendigo (sometimes: Wen-Di-Go) is a fictional character, a monster that appears in the Marvel Comics universe. This character is based on the Wendigo legend of the Algonquin people. The monster first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #162 (April 1973), created by writer Steve Englehart and artist Herb Trimpe. The character fought the Incredible Hulk as well as Wolverine in his first comic book appearances.

According to the comic, the Wendigo is not one specific person, but a curse that affects various people over time if they commit acts of cannibalism in the northern parts of Canada. Initially, only one person can be a Wendigo while they can be cured if another person is afflicted with the curse. In subsequent years, it was discovered that a flock of Wendigs lived in the Bering Strait. One day, the Wendigo curse infected the Hulk, turning him into the Wendihulk, although he was later cured. While the Wendigo is typically portrayed as a wild animal without control, Wendigos have appeared as part of various villainous factions, showing a certain reserve when not fighting. The character has appeared in several Marvel animated series.

Character Abilities

  • The Wendigo possesses many superhuman physical abilities as a result of being transformed by an ancient mystical curse. A curse envelops any person who eats the flesh of another person while it occurs within the Canadian wilderness.
  • The Wendigo possesses superhuman physical strength of unknown limits. The Wendigo is known to be strong enough to hold its own against the Hulk.
  • In addition to its great strength, the Wendigo's body tissue is significantly stronger than that of ordinary person. The Wendigo's body can withstand high caliber machine gun fire without being injured. If a Wendigo is injured, its wounds heal at an incredible speed. The dense fur that covers the Wendigo's body provides it with protection from the extreme cold weather common in the areas in which the Wendigo originated. Wendigos can recover from such severe injuries and injuries.
  • Despite the Wendigo's large size, it can run at great speeds, exceeding the speed of an Olympic-level athlete. The Wendigo's enhanced musculature produces less lactic acid than a normal human's, giving it superhuman levels of endurance.

He lives in the north, lies in wait for people and attacks them. Initially perceived as a symbol of insatiable hunger and hungry winter, it later began to serve as a warning against any excesses of human behavior.

Based on the myth, these creatures are tall, with a lipless mouth and sharp teeth, and its silhouette is similar to that of a human. Their bodies are translucent, consisting of ice, or animal-like, covered with thick fur. Despite their extreme thinness, wendigos are insatiable. They lure their victims with a whistle that resembles the rustle of the wind. Stories about wendigos can be divided into two categories. Some claim that the Wendigo was created when a brave warrior sold his soul to ward off a threat to his tribe. When the threat was eliminated, he went into the thicket of the forest, and since then nothing has been heard of him. According to other legends, the Wendigo gradually lost its human appearance due to the use of black magic, coupled with cannibalism. Be that as it may, the Wendigo should be considered one of the most dangerous mythological creatures. There is also a theory that the Wendigo is a creature that was once a person, but when lost in the forest, or when some cataclysm occurs, a person on the verge of death from hunger decides to kill and eat his fellow traveler or friend, but weeks pass after the meal , and the person loses his appearance, and hunger sets in, which he can satisfy only with human meat, and he can no longer return to normal life.

The Wendigo appeared in the 12th episode of the first season of the television series Charmed, however, this creature looked more like a werewolf.

Mentioned in Episode 8 of Season 1 of Fear as It Is.

Also appears in the 1st episode of the 2nd season of the series “The invisible men”.

IN computer game"Ghost Master" exists the ghost Windwalker. It belongs to the Wendigo subcategory.

Wendigo is also present in the computer online game"World of Warcraft" (starting location of the Dwarves).


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Synonyms:

See what "Wendigo" is in other dictionaries:

    Noun, number of synonyms: 1 spirit (136) ASIS Dictionary of Synonyms. V.N. Trishin. 2013… Dictionary of synonyms

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