The Windigo, is a creature found in the mythology of the Algonquin people, being described as
a large canine beast, that has an enormous pleasure from killing and devouring humans.
These beings are the appearance of excess and greed, and according to the legend, any
human being who commits an act of cannibalism will turn into a Windigo.
Once transformed, the possessed will become violent and obsessed with eating human flesh.
The screams of the Windigo can be heard from tens of miles away in the chilling nights
deep in the forest.
There are many versions of the Windigo.
But in most cultures it appears as an evil demon or cannibal spirit capable of possessing
people.
Somewhere in the heart of the North American forests, it is said that at night, the sharp
wind and the frost gave birth to a dark spirit, named Windigo.
The legends of the Algonquin tribes still whisper the story of a monstrous creature.
A skeletal figure with a forehead crowned with deer antlers.
The Windigo haunts the forests on cold winter nights in search of human flesh, the only
food that temporarily quenches his extreme hunger.
It is not known exactly when the legend of the cannibal spirit Windigo appeared.
In different stories is also known as Witigo, Witiko or WeeTeeGo.
The Inuit Indians called it Windigo, which means: "the devourer of humans".
Legends describe him as a monster, a very tall and thin humanoid creature, with yellow
eyes, deep orbits, and rotten skin, resembling rotting corpses.
Most of the time, large deer horns adorn his forehead.
The Windigos appear in mythology as soulless skeletal giants, always driven by an unquenchable
hunger for human flesh.
It is not known exactly how the cannibal spirit was born.
But most likely magic, difficult living conditions and hunger, all combined, created the Windigo.
It is said that the Windigo spirit appears every time when someone loses their mind and
resorts to cannibalism.
Hundreds of years ago, the extremely difficult winters in North America always claimed victims.
Extreme cold and lack of food, have often led to cannibalism, the only possible way
of survival.
Such an act of cruelty, always leaves traces in the mind and soul.
And the spirit of Windigo is said to possess the cannibal and arouse his unquenchable hunger
for human flesh.
And just like the demon itself, the possessed became tall and thin, with yellow eyes, and
deep orbits.
The terrible famine would torment him until the end of his existence, and this would often
leave behind countless victims.
In psychology literature, there is a term named “The Windigo psychosis”.
Windigo psychosis refers to the inexplicable need to consume human flesh, but this in conditions
where otherwise food is easily accessible.
A famous case of Windigo Psychosis, dates back to 1878, when Swift Runner, a Cree Indian,
killed, and then consumed his entire family even though he was in the vicinity of a supply
point.
In this tragic context, do not imagine that there are no Windigo hunters.
Jack Fiddler, was 87 years old when he was imprisoned.
During his tumultuous life, he boasted that he had killed no less than 14 Windigos.
However, in 1907, Fiddler and his son were convicted of killing a woman, whom the two
said was possessed by the Windigo.
This was the story of the Windigo, the ever-hungry demon from the Native American mythology.
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