The Wendigo

The Wendigo is a spirit of Algonquian folklore: a gaunt, cannibalistic creature that inhabits the northern forests. According to tradition, humans who resort to cannibalism may transform into Wendigos, cursed to an eternal hunger that can never be satisfied.

The Legend

In Algonquian, Ojibwe, and Cree traditions, the Wendigo is a supernatural being associated with winter, cold, and starvation. Those who eat human flesh, particularly in times of famine, risk becoming Wendigo themselves.

The Description

The Wendigo is described as emaciated and skeletal despite its great size. It has glowing eyes, yellowed fangs, and an insatiable appetite for human flesh. The more it eats, the larger it grows, meaning it can never be full.

Wendigo Psychosis

Anthropologists documented a culture-bound syndrome called Wendigo psychosis: the overwhelming desire to eat human flesh despite the availability of other food. This was treated seriously by communities, sometimes through execution.

Modern Encounters

Some claim to have encountered the Wendigo in remote forests. Witnesses describe a creature matching the traditional description, accompanied by an overwhelming sense of dread and sometimes psychic compulsion.

Assessment

The Wendigo may be purely mythological, or it may represent encounters with something that indigenous peoples understood better than modern observers. The frozen north holds secrets that the Wendigo may embody.