Mystery: Wendigo

Good morning, dear reader. At least, it’s morning as of the time of this posting. Let’s take a trip into the woods together. It’s a terrifying place full of mystery; a desolate land where one can become attuned to nature. However, it’s also a land of danger. Wild animals reside here and while most are docile, this is their home and should you get too close to, say, a mama bear and her cub, you can find yourself ending up like the Grizzly Man.

Today’s story is going to be a rather short, brisk one. After the monstrously lengthy tale of Jack the Ripper, I want to take a moment to sit back, relax, and channel our inner demon[s] into a story. I wish for you to do just this; look inside of yourself. Unleash all of the anger and wrath inside of you. Now go clean up the mess you made; your home is a wreck.

All done? Good, now that you have manifested a Wendigo, start running. That thing’s going to eat you, your family, your puppy, and your neighbors. Seriously, run. It’s right behind you and it smells of blood and copper.

The Story

Sighted almost exclusive in the northern United States and in Canada, Wendigos are described as being bipedal and thin—and I mean thin. It’s to the point you can see their skin wrapping over their ribs. Speaking of their skin: they’re said to be either extremely pale or grey in color. They’re also lanky with their arms stretching down to their knees. Wendigos also sport skulls on their heads, though some claim the skull is actually their head. They have large antlers, fur around their necks in what I guess you could call a mane, though it’s nowhere near as large as one, and are tall—very tall. At their shortest, they are said to be about 6–12 feet (1.8–3.6 meters) in height. On average, I’d hazard and say that the average height for them is about 8 feet (or 2.4 meters). However, in some instances, a Wendigo is described as being a human that’s been possessed by a spirit that turns them into a monster.

No matter the general appearance and whether or not it’s a monster on its own or is a spirit that turns a human into a monster, a Wendigo’s personality is always the same. A malicious, sadistic, violent entity, a Wendigo is said to be carnivorous, extremely aggressive, and its influence is said to cause even the strongest of men to commit acts of murder, rape, cannibalism and to have no regard for mother nature. It’s also said that it can turn even the most selfless of people into greedy, selfish bastards.

So how does one stop such evil? Well, for the most part, you can’t. Wendigos are said to be extremely powerful, though there are allegedly some ways to kill it. One post I saw on 4chan (that I’ve since lost; apologies if the poster sees the comment here), you must pierce its heart with something made of pure silver. In order to permanently end its life however, you must chop up the body with blades made of, once more, pure silver. After that, you must burn the pieces and then scatter the ashes. This will prevent the Wendigo from presumably coming back as a spirit and will rid the world of one of the most evil, vicious entities it has ever known.

So with that, the biography (per-se) of Wendigos is done. So exactly what proof is there to their existence? Well, that will bring us into the next section. In order to really buy into this cryptid/legend, one must enter into a world of personal accounts. For example: I have a friend named Amber who had an encounter with what she believed was a Wendigo. Her and some friends were in a forest when she heard what she described as the “most blood curdling scream [she had ever heard]”. Without hesitation, she fled, but her friends hadn’t heard anything.

I mention this because: I believe her. I genuinely do. I don’t see any reason for her to lie to me, but at the same time, I understand if someone is skeptical or outright thinks she’s lying. We’re all free to come to our own conclusions, but I think unfortunately, Wendigos are a cryptid where you’re stuck with personal accounts of something that people have either heard or seen and, thanks to their violent nature, aren’t going to have any time to take out a camera and snap a picture of them like with, say, Sasquatch or Nessie. Though rather than ramble, let us move onto our next section.

The /x/ Legend

Wendigos, like Fleshgaits (or as others may know them: Skinwalkers), the Goatman, and Pale Crawlers, is one of the most common and well-known monsters on 4chan’s paranormal board (or /x/). If you go onto YouTube or look up “4chan Wendigo stories” on Google, you’ll find a fair number of stories—be they told via greentext or normally—that are quite eerie. It’s because of that that I’m dedicating a section to them to share a few so you can get an idea as to how exactly a Wendigo operates in traditional /x/ lore. After all, that board is one I frequent to both lurk, comment, and sometimes even post. So here are a few comments from an array of threads I found.

I live in Canada and I believe I have encountered wendigos. The term is really ambiguous to me. The wendigo is more of a spirit than an actual walking being in my eyes. I'm not doubting that a physical being being could exist but my experience living in a rural area leans towards a more ethereal experience. Wendigos are known just as much as skinwalkers for shape shifiting. If you've ever encountered an animal in a dead eye stare with you or acting irrationally or erratically it may be a wendigo or the wendigo have control over it. Wendigos are the epitome of evil. They are the dark in the woods that floods the space in between your flash light and it's that overwhelming feeling where you NEED to leave a place in the woods. I live in a some-what rural area and I have no problem going in the forest alone. There's risk of bears and cougars where I live but that never bothered me. It's always that feeling of dread that sweeps over and no matter where you look you will never see the spirit that stalks you. This force can manipulate it's environment to make sure that you are in pain, misery, confusion and anxiety. It does not fucking want you there and you know it. This feeling of dread and erratic nature is the only encounter i have had with this spirit. I'm an extremely skeptical person but deep in your mind you can tell when something is unnatural and not belonging in the woods and this is what I believe the wendigo is.

Apologies for the poor English by the way. So tell me: when were you when next story comes? I was lay on couch when pjotr rings.

i heard some story about a group of 5 who went camping, there happened to be 2 people walking nearby when they spotted the campsite and were approached by the skinwalker disguised as the 6th camper and he invited the two to the campfire, when they approached the campsite the 5 campers were surprised but welcomed the 3 hikers. they sat and talked, the skinwalker learning nd asking. he eventually disappears and the hikers ask the campers where their other friend went, they are confused and say there were 3 of the hikers who arrived. the hikers decide to camp the night as the skinwalker knew wher their car was.

On one final note, here is the opening post to this thread; it’s a greentext story about a Wendigo encounter.

Just finished talkin with my dad about his spoopy encounter.

>hunting season

>see nothing all day

>twilight rolls around

>hear sounds of cow moving through the forrest

>expect to hear cow moo or buck grunt

>see what looks like moss on the fuckhugest rack ever

(keep in mind it's twilight so silouets are the only thing visible, and barely at that)

>hear non cow non deer call that sounds like a moo only demonicly deeper

>father decides that tree is safer than the ground, shit maybe he even was just mishearing things

>it makes that call again

>dad decided that i'm waiting untill dark before i gtfo

>tatically nopes back to truck and goes to farmers house

>Asks farmer what in the blue blases he just saw

>farmer says IDFK?

I live roughly 20 minutes from Pittsburgh. Is it possible that there are wendengo around here? If so, I shall become the helsing of Pittsburgh.

This doesn’t even scratch the surface of how many threads on /x/ you can find via 4plebs (a 4chan archive) that center around a Wendigo and its friends. While it may be rather lazy of me to simply copy and paste what I read, I think it helps to at least give you a showcasing of how popular the creature is on what is arguably one of the most popular forums (or image board rather) for all things paranormal. Though with that said, I want to finally ask: are these fantastical creatures real or are they but fables? Well, there are a pair of theories. So let’s go over them real quick.

Theories

1. It’s a legend

The first theory is that a Wendigo is nothing more than a legend that spawned from the minds of the native Algonquin people. Much like Superman, Barney Rubble, and my writing talent, it is pure fiction! Nothing more, nothing less, nothing /x/traordinary. Okay, I’ll show myself out.

Haha, just kidding, I’m still here. Ahem, so: a Wendigo is, admittedly, a bit on the odd side when you consider it wasn’t a monster meant to instill fear into children from staying out late, though Wendigo psychosis perhaps means that it was created to explain savage behavior of those who were, say, schizophrenic. That is, of course, merely my explanation. There is a fair bit of evidence in favor of this theory. There’s no photographic or physical evidence for the existence of a Wendigo, so that should close the book on this, right? Well, in the hearts and minds of some, the answer is a resounding no. So let us continue.

2. It’s real

The second and final theory is the polar opposite of the first one (shocker) and posits that a Wendigo is real. You’re bound to find a plethora of people on paranormal-centric forums that will hold this belief; the same goes for Pale Crawlers and Fleshgaits.

While there may not be any evidence to sway the minds of those who are skeptical, those who subscribe to this theory put forward either their own unexplainable experiences in life or the numerous supposedly true stories they’ve heard on YouTube channels like Let’s Read, Keque, and Corpse Husband. The latter may be unreliable given those channels are merely reading off stories on various websites or via submissions, but there are so many out there that one has to wonder if there’s at least one that’s genuine in nature. I know, fascinating theory, but like many other creatures akin to a Wendigo, the theories are very difficult to build anything from. Either you see them as a legend or real (in some capacity at least). So rather than linger here for much longer, let us advance.

My Take

Much like the Fleshgait, I’m personally of the opinion that yeah, a Wendigo is real. Legends originate from somewhere and to be quite honest, I think there’s a plethora of mysterious, terrifying fiends that lurk in the forests of the world that we know nothing about. I’ve also known people who have had their own unexplainable experiences out in the woods—though I naturally remain skeptical solely on principal. I’m too much of a coward to go camping for fear of being attacked by a mountain lion.

Now do I think a Wendigo has a great many psychic and supernatural powers as some claim? To be perfectly honest: that I’m much more skeptical about. While I’m a believer in things like that, the manner in which a Wendigo supposedly goes about manipulating animals and even humans has me a bit weary of going: “Yeah, that’s totally legitimate”. Even then, I think the creature itself is possibly real; no more, no less. Fight me (please don’t).

Conclusion

Whether or not the Wendigo is real is, of course, up for debate and I encourage you to do your own research so you can come to your own conclusion. Though I believe that even if it were to be nothing more than a legend, the number of stories to have spawned centering around it make it one of the scariest creatures in the world. As I said earlier: if you’re a fan of horror stories, definitely check out some of the tales posted on /x/ come October. They really fit the atmosphere of the scariest month of the year. With that said: until tomorrow, dear reader, stay safe, happy, healthy, and Wendigo free.