Ethereal Chronicles

She peered out into the cold, harsh grip of winter, quickly recoiling with a gasp. There, amidst the darkness, a ghastly creature gorged on the corpse, the skeletal frame hunched over as it stuffed the remnants of her husband to its red mouth, blood staining the white snow crimson. But it was too late, for he had already sensed her presence, her movement, her fear, and he looked up, cocking his antlered head to one side. His eyes had found her, and she knew she would be next.

APPEARANCE AND ATTRIBUTES

The Wendigo is a terrifying creature from Alongquian folklore, notorious for its unwavering appetite for human flesh. Often depicted as the grotesque fusion of a human and an elk, a Wendigo’s form is that of a towering, rotting skeleton. Glowing, sunken eyes blare from its sockets, while a wide, bloodied mouth reveals rows of razor sharp fangs. Deadly, knife-like claws are used to deliver fatal blows as it shreds its victims to pieces.

The transformation into a Wendigo is believed to occur through possession. The spirit of a Wendigo is able to possess a human who commits the hideous act of cannibalism. Once an individual succumbs to this fate, their ordinary desires and appetites are replaced by an insatiable craving for the warm, wet flesh of their fellow humans.

Wendigos stalk the dense forests of North America, skulking in the shadows and leading people astray from the paths before eating them. But they have been known to leave the safety of the trees when tracking a human, following the person to their home, even unlocking doors and windows to take their life as they sleep.

A FIGHT WITH A WENDIGO

In pursuit of its human prey, the Wendigo may engage in tactics designed to confuse or taunt its victim, such as crying out for help or chasing the human with fierce ice storms and relentless gusts of wind that saps him of his strength until exhaustion betrays him and the Wendigo can finally cut him to pieces. Because a Wendigo’s hunger never fades, it never grows full, and hungrily consumes its meal, picking the entrails clean.

According to legend, the odds of escaping a Wendigo are incredibly slim. Supernatural speed and heightened senses render these creatures almost indestructible.  With increased stamina and endurance, the Wendigo can tirelessly hunt for hours on end without growing weary or losing focus. The human, however, grows increasingly sluggish and vulnerable as the time passes. Even when wounded, Wendigos remain incredibly strong and possess rapid healing abilities, and a moment of hesitation can prove fatal.

By speaking the name of a Wendigo, one invites doom upon themselves, as the mere mention of its name allows the Wendigo to track them.

HOW TO KILL A WENDIGO

Every monster has its Achilles’ heel. In some legends, a Wendigo can be killed by being burnt alive, although, in reality, most tries will prove futile; the Wendigo’s reactions are too fast, too calculated to allow a human to get close enough to attempt such a method.

Because a Wendigo is believed to have a heart of ice, the most favourable method is to pierce the heart with silver. Once doing so, it is imperative to shatter the heart, seal it in a box and bury it before the Wendigo has the chance to rise again. The creature’s body must then be dismembered and burned.

WENDIGO PSYCHOSIS

In some cases, people suffer from a mental disorder that causes them to cling to the belief that they are possessed by a Wendigo. These fears manifest as cannibalistic tendencies, with sufferers experiencing an agonising craving for human flesh.

REFERENCES

How to Escape or Kill a Wendigo – How Wendigoes Work | HowStuffWorks

How To Survive An Encounter With The Wendigo (ranker.com)