when Europeans first encountered native Americans
they were told of all kinds of strange mythical creatures
in the great plains are skinwalkers
an evil shape shifter able to take on the form of any animal or person
in swamps is the Uktena, a terrible horned serpent
just the sight of it can cause you to die of shock
in deep lakes lurk qalupalik
an ugly humanoid with rough scaly skin
it is known to lure children towards the shore an pull them to their deaths
in wooded areas is the skadegamutc
a ghostly witch that forever curses any human it comes across
but no monster was as feared as the wendigo
the name wendigo has long caused a sense of dread
the mere mention of it being something of a taboo in many areas
different tribes described the wendigo in different ways
but all agreed they were created by
and driven to commit cannibalism
large and deformed, the creature is somewhat humanoid in shape
but with antlers and a half decomposed body
blood drips from it's mouth and ribs poke through it's paper thin skin
wendigo are eternally starving
no matter how much they eat their hunger is never satisfied
if anything they only grow more desperate for food
and so they walk the earth wasting away
unable to die of starvation
despite it's enormous size, the wendigo is nimble and quiet
it is able to sneak up on any person or animal
and kill them in the blink of an eye
if not expecting a wendigo
your only chance of detecting it will be the terrible smell
their flesh rotting from the inside out
the smell of death follows where ever a wendigo walks
this is the most common description given to the wendigo
but this creature has almost as many variations as it has names
to some the wendigo is a 20 foot tall behemoth
with slimy grey skin
it's heart is made of ice and it's eyes black as coal
on hearing these differing tales, the Europeans didn't know what to believe
most dismissed the wendigo as a primitive superstition
but many would soon claim to have seen the monster themselves
one document from 1661 records them as being
so ravenous for human flesh that they pounce upon women, children, and even upon men
like veritable werewolves, and devour them voraciously
without being able to appease or glut their appetite
ever seeking fresh prey, and the more greedily, the more they eat
this is just one of many reported wendigo encounters
such reports were especially common in northern Minnesota
where certain small towns would insist a wendigo was lurking in the woods nearby
as late as the 1920s people in these areas were genuinely scared of wendigo
the man made most infamous by the terror was Jack Fiddler
a native chief in Canada
though little is known of his background
he rose to prominence by killing several wendigo
or at least, he killed what he claimed were wendigo
some would say they were just regular people who out of desperation turned to cannibalism
only then to be brutally killed by Jack Fiddler
but he and his tribe firmly believed they were no longer human
the law disagreed, and in 1906 he was arrested and charged with murder
his suicide after escaping jail only added to the mystery
for centuries tribes in northern states were plagued by cannibalism
the harsh winters often isolating small communities
and cutting off supply lines
according to legend that is how a wendigo is created
it does not happen overnight
eating human flesh just once will not change you
but in time it will derange you, causing you to live only to consume more
and with that, your bones will break and re-form
your flesh will begin to rot
your genitals and finger nails will fall off
and long antlers sprout from your head
this is the closest you will ever get to death
as while the wendigo suffers constant pain, it is virtually immortal
destined to prowl the woods forever
one tale describes a wendigo that was cut in half by a group of natives
assuming it had bled to death, they returned to the area days later
only to find it eating the bone marrow from it's own severed legs
only after cutting off it's head did local children stop disappearing
it was said wendigo are at their most capable in snowfall
moving quicker than usual while humans are only slower
as I mentioned before their frail appearance is deceptive
wendigo are stronger and faster than any human who has ever lived
it has also been said they choose their victims very carefully
usually stalking them for weeks before dragging a person deep into the woods to be eaten alive
no one knows why the wendigo are so patient in stalking their prey
as with each day their starvation only grows more painful
it's one of many inconsistencies of the monster
despite their unending aggression, wendigo are solitary
and a lot of the time prefer to just be left alone
especially in the warmer, dryer months
as far as we know the wendigo's only vulnerability is it's ice cold heart
find a way to burn the heart and you have a good chance of surviving your encounter
but even after than you will still need to bury it's charred remains in a silver box
otherwise it may find some ridiculous way to re-emerge
some believe that merely seeing a wendigo is enough to drive a person insane
many who survived encounters went on to be social pariahs
violently attacking their neighbors without warning
so perhaps it would be better to not survive a wendigo attack
another survival tactic is to stay perfectly still
as like many predatory beasts their vision is based on movement
even at close distances the wendigo will have trouble seeing anything motionless
so if you find yourself in a wendigos path
do not move, do not make a sound, and be careful where you stand
but they are not foolish creatures,
having all kinds of way of tricking you into revealing your location
they can even mimic the sound of a human voice
to make it sound as if somebody in the distance is in need of help
for centuries they have used this trick to lure victims into remote wooded areas
leading parents to warn their children never to stray
even if it sounds like one of their friends is lost and alone
to many the wendigo is the physical embodiment of all that is bad
cannibalism, greed, cunning, derangement, and pure evil
some tribes claim they grow larger with each person they consume
and that certain wendigo have been known to grow over 50 feet tall