Wendigo

For this week's episode, we're heading back over to the Americas for the horrifying Wendigo! How was this monster created? How could you stop it's ice cold heart? Find out this week!

Transcript

INTRO:

Hello and welcome to Myth Monsters, my name is Erin and I’ll be your host for these little snack bite size podcasts on folklore and mythical monsters from around the world. 

These podcasts focus on the actual cryptids, folklore and mythic monsters from global mythology, rather than focusing on full stories of heroes and their big adventures.

I’ll also be dropping in some references that they have to recent culture and where you can see these represented in modern day content so you can learn more, and get as obsessed as I am about these absolute legends of the mythological world.

This week we’re heading back over to native American and Canadian folklore for the first time in ages, and we’re looking at the horrible monster, the Wendigo.

DESCRIPTION:

The Wendigo is a monster that most cryptid fans have heard of - it’s one of the most popular alongside the big ones such as Skinwalkers, Slenderman and Mothman.

Wendigo are actually from a specific type of Native American folklore, and that’s the Algonquian mythology. If you didn’t know, it’s a native group of people who all speak the same language, and actually have many different tribes throughout the US and Canada - so they’re monsters from the Americas, rather than America itself. 

This monster is described as a forever hungry, cannibalistic spirit who wanders the forest in search of victims, kind of resembling some kind of zombie I suppose. Physically, they are either described as white furred ape-like beings that can be up to 15 foot tall with huge fangs, tight stretched lips and glowing red eyes. Other descriptions are of an emancipated, 15 foot tall grey zombie humanoid, sometimes with the head of deer - with rotting flesh falling off its skeletal body, exposing its ice cold heart. 

Don’t take my word for it, this is the description by an Ojibwe scholar, Basil Johnston - "The Wendigo was gaunt to the point of emaciation, its desiccated skin pulled tauntly over its bones. With its bones pushing out against its skin, its complexion the ash grey of death, its eyes pushed back deep into their sockets, the Weendigo looked like a gaunt skeleton recently disinterred from the grave. What lips it had were tattered and bloody [...] Unclean and suffering from suppuration of the flesh, the Weendigo gave off a strange and eerie odour of decay and decomposition, of death and corruption."

It has a voracious appetite for human flesh and the ability to turn humans into Wendigos, it was considered one of the worst curses within native folklore. They would prowl through the forest in places such as the Great Plains region of the US - which is basically a vertical line through the middle of the US states, the Canadian East Coast and the Great Lakes region of both countries including the area of Niagara Falls. They would do this, eating anything human or animal in their path until they ran out of food - when they would starve to death.

Oh and the worst thing is the powers it has over people - it is able to mimic people’s voices, luring their victim away from civilization into the emptiness of the woods. They can also cause a type of madness which drives the person to cannibalism and murder, so that’s pretty wild too.

So other than being turned into one by a Wendigo, was there another way to turn into one? Yes, Wendigos were associated with human greed and actually intense survival tactics. It was said that if you were overtly greedy, you would turn into a Wendigo as the native culture is all about teamwork and community. Another is basically the taboo of cannibalism in the harshest of environments - so if you were to get stranded, one of your fellow hunters died, and you ate them in desperation, you would be cursed to become a Wendigo.

Also you’re not meant to talk about them so as not to summon them to your whereabouts - so as always, I’ve pretty much got the biggest target on my back for numerous monsters now, especially in the US.

Is there a way to defeat them? Yes, you could get a shaman to undo the curse if you can get close enough, and you could apparently pierce its heart with conventional weapons like bows and arrows. Although, it’s always recommended that you would need to throw their heart into a fire - so that it melts and the curse is broken. 

I would say though, if you do manage to bump into one, I guess - run? It’s said that they’re quite slow as they’re literally rotting flesh in some tellings, but in others they are immensely fast despite this - so I guess it’s in your hands people.

ORIGIN:

Now onto etymology, the word Wendigo roughly translates into winte kowa in Algon quian, which means owl but also malevolent spirit or cannibalistic monster. However, it’s given other definitions such as ‘the spirit of lonely places’ and ‘the evil spirit that devours mankind’.

The history behind this monster is quite detailed. The myth goes back hundreds of years in oral tellings, but the first written account of them goes back to 1636 when a French missionary lived amongst the Algon quian people for a while and reported back to his boss in Paris. He said the following;

‘This devilish woman added that the wendigo had eaten some Attikamegoukin — these are the tribes that live north of the River that is called Three Rivers — and that he would eat a great many more of them if he were not called elsewhere. But that Atchen (sort of a werewolf) would come in his place to devour them even up to the French Fort; that he would slaughter the French themselves.’

To follow that, there were reports of Wendigos within the native communities when the Hudson Bay traders started spouting that spiritual leaders from tribes had started to have ‘fits’ of religious passion - and therefore would use their own monster against them. Unfortunately, the leader would usually be killed by their own people just as a precaution just in case the traders were right. 

Although, throughout this culture as I mentioned earlier - it was taboo to be greedy and selfish, and it was certainly taboo to eat other people - which unfortunately sometimes was the case. 

Bearing in mind that some of these places would reach up to -17C in the winter months, meaning that things like struggling to find food and shelter were particularly difficult. It’s sometimes suggested that the reason that Wendigos were portrayed as either blue or grey skinned is because of frostbite, as this was a very real threat in these areas. But really, the crux of this monster’s creation is very much linked to the idea of natives struggling with hunger and famine, alongside the harsh environment in which they lived. 

Usually stories of Wendigos are to do with a group of people travelling together who get lost and are forced to eat their fellow tribesmen - but this is more of a rumour started by the colonisers of the US. 

Unfortunately, as we know - the Native American people were displaced by European settlers around the 1500’s, meaning that they were forced into harsher environments with little food for their tribes, practically sent off to starve or freeze to death in the mountains and forests. Which is around the time the Wendigo myth took off, which is a little bit too close of a hint if you ask me. Considering that the Wendigo practically embodies the idea of natives starving in the cold, and being forced to eat their own people in isolation - it’s certainly a stark comparison and an ever present issue for Native people of the time.

To go alongside with this, although the Wendigo is a symbol of insatiable hunger as it can never gain weight or satisfaction from it’s cannibalised meals - this is actually an interesting thought with cannibalism, as it’s said that once you start eating human flesh, it’s actually quite addictive and can cause madness - which explains the medical addiction part of it’s origins at least.

Although linked to this, there was actually a very real diagnosis back in the early 20th century called Wendigo Psychosis, which was a mental condition in which the person was overcome by cannibalistic urges. It was often diagnosed to the native community, as the white Europeans believed that they craved human flesh and were savages - which as you can guess, is unbelievably racist. The term is now considered psuedo-science and is no longer used officially, and it was never actually considered a mental illness in medical journals, thank goodness. The most famous case of this was actually in 1879, when a man called Swift Runner killed and ate his children and he claimed that he was possessed by a Wendigo at the time - which is awful, if you fancy looking up the case, be my guest. 

But what we can pull from all of that is that the Wendigo myth is closely linked to food and the land, and actually the reduction and appropriation of this by the European settlers. With them, came starvation, famine, frostbite and isolation, and personifies the monster that is insatiably hungry for more with no thought for anything else. 

Before we move on, Wendigos are still ‘seen’ to this day - mostly around the Great Lakes area, deep in the woods. And the myth actually continued well into the 20th century, so they are still massively feared within native communities, and I’m pretty sure we should be on edge about these monsters too. Or are we these monsters in history’s pages?

CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE: 

Now onto cultural significance, for art this week, there’s nothing specific or old based on this - but I would really recommend looking at independent art for this one as some of the art is amazing and super creepy actually. 

For movies, we have a fre of them this week such as; Devil In The Dark, Ghostkeeper, The Lone Ranger, Deadtime Stories, Antlers, Dark Was The Night, Don’t Say It’s Name, Maneater, The Retreat, Dawn of the Beast, Wendigo, The Lost Coast Tapes, Ravenous, The Rake and Pet Sematary. 

In TV, we’ve got loads; Charmed, Digimon, Lost Tapes, Fear Itself, The Edison Twins, Grimm, Hannibal, The Forest Rangers, Blood Ties, Haven, Supernatural, Teen Wolf, Ducktales, The Incredible Hulk, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Transformers: Robots in Disguise, Wolverine and the X-Men, Legend Quest, Hulk and the Agents of SMASH, X-Files, Sleepy Hollow and Rabbit Fall.

For video games, there are loads again, so I hope you’re ready; Bloodborne, Gems of War, Final Fantasy, DUSK, Fallout, Diablo 2, Dead Space 3, Ghost Master, Hexen, Kona, Outward, Shin Megami Tensei, Until Dawn, X2: Wolverine’s Revenge, X-Men arcade, World of Warcraft, Warcraft 3, The Secret World, The Legend of Dragoon and Spooky’s Jump Scare Mansion.

For my book recommendation this week, I’m popping in a Wendigo specific book with Wendigo Lore: Monsters, Myths, and Madness by Chad Lewis and Kevin Lee Nelson for all spooky tales around this monster, and I would also recommend Native American Myths: Collected 1636 - 1919 by Rosalind Kerven for general native folklore tales which are always a joy to read. 

DO I THINK THEY EXISTED? 

Now it’s time for, do I think they existed? Now with this one, I would say that like the Skinwalker one, it’s a bit tricky to say yes or no as it’s quite written into the folklore of native people. 

Although I’m whole-heartedly behind the idea of the Wendigo being a representation of native people being isolated, starved and frozen in the barren woods of the Americas, it’s a horrible comparison, but certainly backs up the actual folklore and history behind this monster's origins. Personally I think the European invasion of the Americas was an absolute tragedy, and the treatment of native people to this day makes me so angry. 

I’ll be honest, I was hesitant to do this one because of the no talking about it kind of thing, and I don’t want to disrespect any cultures by talking about them - but I have made sure that all of my research has come from the people of the cultures mentioned and not invasive researching methods. 

OUTRO: 

What a horrible monster, I’ve probably attached about a million monsters to me at this point in my podcasting career - so what's another one on my conscience, I suppose. 

Next week, we’re heading back over to Persia for the first time in a while and we’re looking at the legendary Manticore, which will kill you in about 5 different ways, so come prepared with your sword and shield next Thursday. 

For now thank you so much for listening, it’s been an absolute pleasure. If you enjoyed this podcast, please give it a rating on the service you’re listening on - I’ve got the twitter for any questions, or suggestions on what monsters to cover next and I’d love to hear from you. The social media handles for Tiktok, Youtube and Instagram are mythmonsterspodcast, and twitter is mythmonsterspod. But all of our content can be found at mythmonsters.co.uk - you can also find us on Goodpods and Patreon if you want to help me fund the podcast, ya know if you feel like it.

Come join the fun and share this with your pals, they might love me as much as you do.

But for now, stay spooky and I’ll see you later babes.