The figure of Wendigo is deeply rooted in the Native American tribes . Especially in the area of North America and Canada, where this being, sometimes humanoid , spectral and dark soul like the wings of a crow, seeks to satisfy his craving with human flesh.
The Wendigo is more than a legend. It is a representation of the moral baseness of man, his vices and that abyss, which can often fall when he is carried away by his instincts: by greed, by rage and by hunger. Such is his sensationalism and his anguishing trail of evil, which often takes his legend to take him to the world of film and television. We saw your reference, for example, in the last production of "The Lone Ranger" . And famous are his appearances in series for television as "Supernatural" or the very remarkable adaptation of "Hannibal" for the small screen (image that heads this article).
The Wendigo, a creature of the hungry winter
They say, in the region of the great lakes of Canada , that the Wendigo usually goes out on the coldest winter nights, prefers the solitude and silence of the forests, where he can hide and hunt more skillfully his victims. It has a human form, is thin, deformed and can sometimes show antlers very similar to deer. It also has claws and a cold heart; a vital organ that has lost any hint of humanity that could reside in it.
The reason why the native tribes praised the Wendigo so habitually was because, in a way, it represented his most atrocious fear, the darkest part of the world. immoral of the human being The same in which some men could fall during the driest winters, when hunting was scarce and resources were minimal. Times in which the human mind could go mad and, simply, emerge the desire to consume human flesh.
Hence, for example, there is a modern term known as the psychosis of the Wendigo , a syndrome that implies that the person suffering from it may suddenly experience an unstoppable desire to eat human flesh . Something taboo today and since the beginning of humanity, something that the assiniboine and the ojibwa They tried to perform in many of their dances and celebrations. As the "Wiindigookaanzhimowin", a type of dance practiced in times of famine to ward off the insatiable spirit of Wendigo.
In nature, animals are also often talked about that can become authentic Wendigos, as is the case of bears . After their hibernation, they can wake up with an uncontrollable hunger. It is so intense and uncontrollable that cases have been documented in which they have attacked or devoured specimens of the same species.
To this day, the legends do not stop weaving in multiple cities, where there is always a dense forest. We will always find, for example, the typical story of a hunter that ended up losing itself in the thicket, that never could find the way of return and that, little by little, was transforming into something inhuman: in a Wendigo. A being of grayish skin, with sharp claws and a flamboyant look, who hid among the trees to feed on the unsuspecting hikers that walked through that area of the forest.
Creepy, there is no doubt. Perhaps this is why it attracted the interest of literary figures such as H.P Lovecraft . In the "Myths of Cthulhu" we see the Wendigo represented in the Arctic god Ithaqua . You also have an interesting story of Algernon Blacwood entitled "Wendigo", there where you can discover many of the nuances that we have revealed here.
As you see, the essence of this legend is actually a curse. Like a malevolent spirit that possesses those people who let themselves be carried away by their instincts, for the most part dark and brutal human being . Something to keep in mind and what happens also with creatures as disturbing as the incubi and succubi, which attack people when they are most defenseless: during sleep. The Attacks of the incubi currently they have been interpreted as a way to hide abuses in the same family. Instead of accusing the man who visited that girl or young man of his family who he abused, sheltered in the cowardly darkness, pregnancies and nocturnal traumas were attributed to these creatures of legend, when in fact it was the human being himself responsible for so much terror. Like the Wendigo, the succubus embodied the most despicable part of people.
If you liked this story, we invite you to also know more mythological and disturbing aspects such as: The legend of Sko-Ella, the woman who feared the devil himself .
Image: Kamilla Savage