Plus the sun was setting and dusk would be upon me soon. Wikimedia CommonsA Wendigo Manitou carving on Mount Trudee in Silver Bay, Minnesota. They are variously described as having the ability to turn invisible, to read minds, or to mimic human voices in order to draw victims away to isolated areas, as well as shapeshifting powers and the ability to generate waves of profound fear. But ironically enough, these stories might actually represent the Indigenous peoples response to the horrific violence unleashed on them by non-Native people. Rocky of Rock Lake Lake Mills I tend to walk my dog after dinner and before bed, and my town is pretty safe, so walking her in the dark never phased me. Strong evidence shows these creatures no longer exist but fossil records say massive birds were likely residing in North America during the early periods of human history. Sightings peaked in the 1980s and '90s, but date as far back as 1936. The Wendigo (also known as the Windigo, Windago, Witiko, Wee-tee-go, Wihtikow, Waindigo and several other variants) is a cannibalistic spirit resembling a zombie. Wendigo is a Native American name for a Winter Cannibal Giant in northern North America. In the wilds and cold expanses of the North American continent, the Natives of the region had their own stories of sinister entities that stalked the night, and they too had those who would fight them. They had resisted Christian missionaries, remained apart from the law of the colonists, and still lived by the old ways, indeed remaining one of the only tribes still living under their own laws and traditions, but nothing can last forever, and in 1907, the Canadian government decided to investigate the claims that this man Jack Fiddler was waging a war against cannibalistic spirits. As long as there have been demons and monsters in our world and those who believe in them, there have been those willing to fight them. Ive tried telling people in my life about all of this but, as most people do with this type of stuff, none of them really put any stock into it except my brother now that hes had this experience. Obsessed with hunting for new victims, he is forever hungry until hes eating another person. The evil being is associated with winter and starvation, and appears to feast on humans. Many have given Kenora . Many are skeptical of its existence and others say that it has been confused as other folklore monsters such as a Wisconsin Bigfoot or a wendigo. He says that at the time he was visiting his parents home, who lived there with their many cats. Does anyone else know about it? The Wendigo was gaunt to the point of emaciation, its desiccated skin pulled tightly over its bones. My town is small and everything is silent and dark by 9:00pm. What Is A Wendigo? Also known as the "Wisconsin Werewolf," the Beast of Bray Road was originally only sighted in Elkhorn but it seems its habitat has expanded across the very state. According to Animal Planet, Swift Runner claimed to be possessed by a windigo spirit at the time of the murders. Popular Wendigo sightings . His saddled and bridled horse returned to the saloon without a rider. I have never ever heard about the thunderbird prior to today and now my brain is racing a million miles per hour. WENDIGO Sighting Near Pikes Peak, Colorado? Written By There, lumberman Eugene Shepard wrote in the local newspaper, The New North, that he had personally captured a hodag and he drew an illustration of a bull-horned carnivore, with thick, curving spikes down its back. It is still terrifying to talk or think about. With Wisconsins creepy history, there is sure to never be a shortage of scary monsters to tell of. Earlier this month, researchers of the paranormal came together to celebrate Wisconsins favorite cryptid at a Beast of Bray Road Conference held at Lutherdale Camp, not far from Bray Road. At the turn of the 20th century, the Algonquian tribes blamed many unsolved disappearances of people on wendigo attacks. This has left me questioning what is those woods and was it a reality, but when my sister asked me why I was so shaken I told her what I experienced and her face went pale. These locals would encounter Rocky by their boats and along the shore where they would be traumatized once sighting the incognito beast hissing at them. He's written articles for MU and Daily Grail and has been a guest on Coast to Coast AM and Binnal of America. The truth, however, is much worse. Indeed, one was seen as perfectly able to be changed into a Wendigo, in most cases if they resorted to eating the meat of another person, or through magic woven by another Wendigo, and humans were also at times said to be possessed by the creatures. Like I was being watched. Theres been a ghost reported along the old road in southwestern Wisconsin since the pioneer days of the early 1840s. As they made their way back toward the road to leave, a strong odor filled the air. Many people paid to see the beast, which was displayed in a shadowy stall and emitted frightening noises. I Often Hear That: I'll Share Some With You, TikTok and Its Strange Proliferation of Mysterious Accounts of Skinwalkers, A 3,500-Year-Old Frozen Mummified Bear Found in Siberia. This time, though, something would convince him ignore that feeling to go further. What lips it had were tattered and bloody Unclean and suffering from suppurations of the flesh, the Wendigo gave off a strange and eerie odor of decay and decomposition, of death and corruption. It escalated when they began to hear footsteps in the area, a terrible stench would sometimes waft through, and there was a constant, inescapable feeling of being watched. Once theyre isolated in the desolate depths of the wilderness, he attacks them and then feasts on them. he said elders would go there to reflect on the lessons of their ancestors. YouTubeAn illustration of the Wendigo, a fearsome creature from Native American lore. In Native American folklore, the terrifying wendigo is often described as a gaunt and foul-smelling creature that roams the woods in search of human flesh to consume. Devils Lake Monster Baraboo Much like other legendary beasts, the wendigo remains a fixture in pop culture in modern times. The Wendigo's sallow yellow and ash gray skin emits a sour odor of decay. The creature has . Felt like it was coming up so I pulled harder a bit and the line snapped. But there is another aspect, according to which the Wendigo is something like . Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. As I went to unzip my tent, trying to keep my eyes toward the woods, I heard some movement directly in front of me. I'm compiling the location of all sightings onto a map. - YouTube 0:00 / 20:27 WENDIGO Sighting Near Pikes Peak, Colorado? Different versions of the wendigo legend say different things about his speed and agility. The show also featured Wendigo sightings near Rice Lake and Trego. It's the hauntings of Sparta and if anyone is interested it's on my YouTube channel babebeachattire. I had finally reached the campsite when the footsteps suddenly stopped, I was relieved and slumped over to the cabin stairs when I slipped on a rock slipping out of the makeshift fire, it had caused me to head straight into it. Their eyes are often sunken in but glow. Poisoned by greed and gluttony, the man turned into a pale, gaunt creature with sunken eyes, reaching limbs, and an insatiable hunger for human flesh. In recent years numerous wendigo sightings have been reported in Wisconsin. Im a very avid bow hunter and have spent most of my life out in the woods, he wrote. I smelled the most horrible smell Ive ever smelled my life, like rot and mud and sulfur, David wrote. Has anyone ever witnessed a sky Cryptid before???? Nipissing Swamp State Natural Area, Wisconsin. Help us maintain the accuracy of our information. The tribes attributed many of the mysterious disappearances to the wendigo, thus calling him the spirit of lonely places.. He looked shaken and kept looking through the peephole in my door and not saying anything. They searched for a good, secluded area to set up camp for a planned two-night stay, got everything set up, and after a day of hiking and exploring the Jacks River the trip seemed to be off to a great start. Other sightings by the Nakota reported huge, Loch Ness-like fish monster in the lake as well. Duke writes "Report details told by: Trapper: Howard B Leblank, a 54 year old trapper and hunting guide from Kenora Ontario. There are many local traditions of the Wendigo with slightly different details in its appearance and abilities depending on the region, but it is always said to be frightening, and there are also variations in their powers. Native Americans would send out scouts and warriors onto the lake for hunting trips only to hear screams with other tribesmen telling how they saw the hunters dragged underneath into the brackish waters by octopus-like tentacles. The lore of the Wendigo, which is often ominously translated as the evil spirit that devours mankind, varies slightly from tribe to tribe, but it is always seen as a malevolent creature with an intense, uncontrollable perpetual hunger for human flesh, and often said to possess the minds of others in order to drive them to cannibalism. In the spirit of Halloween, here are some of the more notableand . Many are skeptical of its existence and others say that it has been confused as other folklore monsters such as a Wisconsin Bigfoot or a wendigo. Red question marks represent the broad location where the sightings occurred. He described it as the sound it would make if someone were dragging a heavy animal or body through rough brush/woods, and he had a feeling of dread and heaviness, like he couldnt look away and was being honed in on by something. So I turned around and saw a large creature about 80 yards from me standing across the stream. Some people who have claimed to encounter the beast say its a relative of Bigfoot. Cookie Notice Until this. Festivals quickly became an annual tradition to appease these giant monsters and continue to be held to this day. What was going on here? This monster comes to us courtesy of the Algonquin-speaking people of the oft-froze . Cherokee Indians and the settlers who followed them passed on stories of sightings around the Burke County mountain, located in the vast Pisgah National Forest about 60 miles east of Asheville. The Wendigo is a wicked spirit that haunts the wild areas of North America's Atlantic Coast and Great Lakes regions. 2. Everything about it was long. Watch Discover Wisconsin TV Saturday mornings at 10 on Fox Sports Wisconsin. 16.7, home to a bar, a church, a cemetery and a legend - a legend of a squirrel . By far the most well-known and discussed type of hairy wild man of Native lore is none other than the mysterious and legendary entity known as the Wendigo, animalistic, hulking beasts with strange powers. Mostly I am wondering if anything of this description and presence has been encountered before, especially in Texas. What is going on behind these reports and others like them, and are they even truly encounters with the legendary Wendigo at all? Just about the only thing scarier might be what one would do if the starvation became too much to handle. 2. I saw a grey hunched over humanoid in the woods near our elementary school. Could it be just hallucinations or misidentifications, maybe even hoaxes? He kept asking me what I saw but I couldnt answer. During a brutally cold winter, this mans intense hunger drove him to cannibalism. Join the Unexplained Mysteries community today! Grasping its victim, the Wendigo runs at such speed that the poor victim's eyes bleed and his feet burn. Whilst there are slight variations as to the physical description of this creature amongst the different Algonquian peoples, it is generally agreed that Wendigo have glowing eyes, long yellowed fangs and long tongues. Above: That dang Hodag. They were hunting in Point Beach State Forest in Two Rivers, where they moved to only a few months prior, and were unfamiliar with the area. . Then I kinda felt like someone was really looking at me. The fear I felt was incredible. 8 Cheese Factories You Can Visit in Wisconsin, Get exclusive Wisconsin stories & news right in your inbox. The Mysterious Men in Black and Their Equally Weird Cars, Perfectly Preserved Remains of an Ice Age Puppy Reveal Its Surprising Last Meal, Bizarre Accounts of Firefights and Shoot-Outs With Bigfoot and Bigfoot-like Creatures, The Time a Sea Monster Attacked a U.S. Navy Destroyer. This is one of the two most well-known creatures on our list. Education Join MU Plus+ and get exclusive shows and extensions & much more! We sat there in silence for a few minutes when the woods erupted with noise. One of the guys walked around a bit and came back and said he didnt see anything. Sightings of the Ogopogo in BC's Lake Okanagan date back to the late 1800's. Up to 15m in length, it looks strikingly similar to cousin Nessie in Scotland's Loch Ness. It was high enough to be in the clouds but too high to make out the actual size. Ever take a good look at a sturgeon before? It takes its place in the study of cryptozoology. Over and over again. Travelers along this misty stretch of highway would report seeing lights and a strange lone figure patrolling the road. I ran back to where Ryan was and sat down. The Wendigo is said to be a Algonquian native legend. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. In the early 20th century one such fighter of demons would take his last battle before succumbing to the invasion of the modern world and the death of traditions. The evil being is associated with winter and starvation, and appears to feast on humans. The creature has been referenced and sometimes even depicted in a variety of hit television shows, including Supernatural, Grimm, and Charmed. People have reported seeing the beast scavenging along the roads in Walworth County and neighboring Jefferson and Racine counties. However, Wendigo creature sightings are still reported, especially in northern Ontario, near the Cave of the Wendigo, and around Kenora, where traders have allegedly spotted it, trackers and trappers for decades. a 132-million-year-old Loch Ness Monster skeleton was found. Anthropologists have found hodag tales as early as 1870, originating in lumber camps. I threw up and sprinted back up to the house with my cat, and avoided the creek for ages, though weirdly I felt quite certain that whatever that thing was, it couldn't cross running water. 1. I also became increasingly paranoid that someone or something was out there with me. But other reports compare the wendigo to a werewolf instead. Im not sure what is was but my family suggests that it was my guardian angel saving me from a early death, But after that experience I have never been to the same campsite ever again, and didnt go camping for a few years after that. Despite their gaunt physiques, Wendigo are described by some as giants, measuring at about 4.5 m (14.8 ft) in height. But they also say people who have been abused or neglected may become the Wendigo. Ever since that night Ive been thinking about it and running through all of the possibilities of what it could be, but always coming up with no explanation. Every culture that has evil supernatural entities has ways to battle them, and those who would go head to head with them and step up ready to battle. Rather, one of his creepiest traits is his ability to mimic human voices. While Ryan was on the phone with a dispatcher and telling them our location and what was going on I stepped around the fire towards my tent. https://www.wisconsinfrights.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/nipissing-swamp-wisconsin-wendigo.jpg, https://www.wisconsinfrights.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/wisconsin-frights-sm.png. You can view the map here. . I heard it land but it either jumped an impossible distance or landed in a thicket because I heard it but never saw. HEY! Quiet. (Twitter: @DiscoverWI), That is so cool I live in Wisconsin my hole life and I havent heard of some of those. An illustration of the Wendigo, a fearsome creature from Native American lore. 6 Creepy Cryptids That Call Wisconsin Home. It is the most I have ever been scared and the most that adrenaline has ever flowed through me. Its voice resembles the sounds of the wild - falling water, wind, the call of birds and beasts. Thats when the movement stopped but the whistling was still constant. The legend can be traced back into the earlier 1900s when it's said that a circus train wrecked and a 12-foot-tall gorilla escaped. With its bones pushing out over its skin, its complexion the ash gray of death, and its eyes pushed back deep into the sockets, the Wendigo looked like a gaunt skeleton recently disinterred from the grave. Still, he was hanged for his crime. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. The experience has left David feeling uneasy about going back out in the woods, and is questioning whether he will ever go out hunting again. To the white settlers reading this, it was a tale of devil-worship, black magic, and deadly superstition among the untamed savages of the uncharted wilds, and it drew much call to bring the Native people under control and impose their own laws on them. It was said that this spirit could possess a person who was overcome with selfishness or greed, leading them to acts of cannibalism. Biology, nature, and cryptozoology still remain Brent Swancers first intellectual loves. What did David and his wife encounter in the woods? 6. In 1896, to draw people to the Oneida County Fair, Shepard said he would exhibit a live hodag. My daughter and I saw an unexplained creature on a back road near Wisconsin Dells. So I started walking towards my house which is would mean I would have to walk uphill. But people still wanted to see his invention and it was exhibited for years until it was destroyed by fire. story: Source #1 gods-and-monsters, The Wendigo is a demonic spirit believed by Algonquin-based Native American tribes to possess humans and turn them into cannibals. Photo by Joshua Mayer. One description of the Wendigo was given by Native author and ethnographer Basil H. Johnston, who wrote of it: The Wendigo was gaunt to the point of emaciation, its desiccated skin pulled tightly over its bones. Ogopogo is said to be a long, serpentine, aquatic creature that dwells in Lake Okanagan in the south central interior of British Columbia, Canada. Me and my wife were walking a bridle trail bow hunting in Nipissing Swamp State Natural Area, David wrote, when I started to feel like we were being watched.. An animatronic depiction of a wendigo in a cage on display in Wendigo Woods in Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Some anthropologists also argue that wendigo stories especially those involving wendigo accusations are linked to stress within the Native American communities. They found it about 50 yards up, where the trail opened into a stand of tall pines. After scientists from the Smithsonian Institution announced they were coming to town to investigate, Shepard admitted the hodag was a hoax. The part I never like to talk about. Since then I havent spotted it, but I hear it. Whether a psychological condition or a truly evil presence that lurks in the barren icy woodlands of North America, the Wendigo has certainly retained its twisted reputation as . And it was fast. Few reports of the creature have surfaced since then. It is a large part of the folklore of the Algonquin Indians living in Canada. The most recent was in April 2013, when a retired police officer witnessed a bigfoot crossing a highway near Pembine. 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