The Wendigo was gaunt to the point of
emaciation, its desiccated
skin pulled tautly over its bones.
With its bones pushing out against its skin, its
complexion the ash gray of death, and
its eyes pushed back deep into
their sockets, the Wendigo looked
like a gaunt skeleton recently disinterred
from the grave. What lips it had were
tattered and bloody.
Its body was unclean and suffering
from suppurations of the flesh,
giving off a strange and eerie odor
of decay and decomposition
of death and corruption.
“Basil Johnston, Ojibwe teacher and
scholar, Ontario, Canada”
Barry, Clarence, Elenore
and Tracy unknowingly embarked on a terrifying journey in which only two of
them survive. The ground, covered in a thick layer of snow, crunched when walked
upon. Cumulus clouds blanketed the morning the winter sky. Crows flew from tree
to tree. A monster stomped through the forest looking for prey. Hungry all the
time, he is only truly satisfied when he eats human flesh. An unsuspecting
rabbit crossed its path. He pounced. The rabbit did not know what hit him. The
monster gobbled up the prey and started looking for more. The more he ate the
bigger he got, the bigger he got the hungrier he became. These creatures, known
to Algonquian tribes of the Great Lakes region and other locations, are giants,
much larger than humans.
They
are referred to as the Wendigo and are known to be malicious and murderous.
They are associated with starvation, the north, and frigid cold temperatures.
They hunt all year round but seem to be hungriest during the colder months.
Their origins vary from one culture to the next. The Wendigo may have been
human at one point and became possessed, forced to become a monster or they
were born a monster.
The
most common belief is that a Wendigo originates from a human who had to resort
to cannibalism to survive. This terrible circumstance occurred more often when
Indian people and settlers found themselves stranded and in a desperate
situation, starving and trying to endure the cold of winter. Individuals may be
forced to eat the dead of their traveling companions in order to survive. Some
legends involve humans who have succumbed to greed, gluttony and excess and may
be possessed by the Wendigo. This belief portrayed the importance of
cooperation and moderation.
Barry
stretched as he woke up from a long slumber. He nudged Elenore. She turned
towards him and smiled. The cabin they rented with their friends was warm and
toasty, each bedroom was equipped with a fire place that coupled with the
electric baseboard heating system. Elenore reached over and grabbed Barry’s arm
and pulled him back into bed. He didn’t mind. Being close to Elenore was one of
his favorite pastimes. After they snuggled for several minutes, Elenore entered
their private bathroom and took a shower.
Barry opened the bathroom door and said, “I smell bacon
cooking. Hurry up so we can eat before we hit the trails.”
“Okay,” responded Elenore. She finished rinsing the
conditioner from her hair.
Elenore
enjoyed staying at cabin. This was their second year. They decided to invite
Clarence and Tracy, two of their best friends, to join them. Snowshoeing the
trails during the crisp winter months in northern Minnesota was a perfect way
to spend time in nature. They would talk around the fireplace in the living
room at night about how things may have been during the earlier times. One
conversation involved the snowshoe priest, Bishop Baraga, and how he snowshoed
everywhere around Michigan territory during the winter months. It amazed them
that he could travel so far.
Elenore
joined the others to eat a hearty breakfast of bacon, pancakes and scrambled
eggs. Freshly brewed coffee topped off the satisfying breakfast. Elenore and
Barry cleaned up the kitchen and did the dishes after everyone was finished eating.
“I
will finish blow drying my hair so we can take off for our hike,” said Elenore.
“I
am glad I showered last evening. I did not want to be outside with even
slightly damp hair. It’s 18 degrees out there right now with a wind of 10 to 15
miles per hour. I don’t want my hair to freeze,” said Tracy.
“I
wish I would have thought of that. I am so used to showering in the morning.”
Barry
and Clarence brought in the snowshoes to warm them up so they would be easier
to put on.
Barry
spread the embers in the fireplaces so the fire would die out while they were
on their trek.
A
loud clanging sound rang through the cabin. They looked at each other to see
who was going to check out what made the loud sound. Barry grabbed a long thin
log from the pile by the fireplace and opened the door to the back yard where
it sounded like the loud noise came from. Clarence was close behind him.
Clarence pointed to the large metal garbage can that was tipped over on the
concrete skirting of the storage shed. Three raccoons scurried off when they
saw Clarence and Barry. They smiled when they saw the raccoons. Living in the
city did the city did not afford them opportunities to see much wild life.
“What
caused that noise?” asked Tracy.
“It
was raccoons digging through the garbage cans,” replied Barry.
“Is
this bear country?” asked Elenore.
“There
may be a few black bear, but they are more afraid of you than you are of them.
Besides they are hibernating,” replied Clarence.
“I
heard that if you surprise them, they may attack you,” said Tracy.
“I
guess we will need to keep talking, singing or whatever so we don’t surprise
them,” said Elenore.
“I
would not mind seeing a bear,” said an indignant Clarence. He knew the women
would be serious about not spooking a bear so they were not going to be quiet.
His hopes of seeing a bear were squelched.
“I
am going to pack us peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and a thermos of hot
chocolate in case we are gone awhile and we start getting hungry or thirsty,”
said Elenore.
“I
will pack that thermal pack so the sandwiches won’t freeze,” said Barry. Barry
usually packed anything he could he think of. He never wanted to be without
anything they may need. He prided himself on how prepared he was.
To
pass the time, the men chopped wood for the fireplaces. Chopping wood made the
men feel useful and it gave them an opportunity to show off their muscles.
Their broad shoulders and sleek waists were the result of visiting the gym
three to four times a week. The women also visited the same gym and were in
very good shape. Tracy ran the 25-mile marathon last summer. She prided herself
with maintaining her runner’s body. Elenore was not a runner.
They
packed their back packs with water and extra mittens and hats. Their snowshoes
were top of the line, easy to put on and lightweight. Barry and Clarence worked
at a law firm and recently made partner. Elenore and Tracy worked at the same
advertising agency. Money was not an issue. They were established in their
careers and planned on being childless so they could enjoy the finer things in
life.
Elenore
and Tracy placed hats over their heads, covered their hats with their hoodies
and then clamped their hoods of their thermal coats to ensure their warmth.
They
headed to the trail. The sun brightened the snow, it crunched as they walked on
it with their snowshoes. Snow hung heavily on the trees. The group was elated
that the trail was groomed. That would make the excursion even more enjoyable.
Trees
lined the trail on both sides. They stopped to look at a babbling brook and
small water fall. Posing several times to take selfies and group pictures to send
to their friends back home.
Barry
picked up a strange scent. “Smell that?” he asked Clarence.
“I
do.”
A
large group of hawks were circling above them like buzzards circling their
prey.
Tracy
approached Clarence and asked if he noticed the strange smell.
He
nodded.
“Let’s
head back and call it a day,” said Barry.
Everyone
turned around and headed back to the cabin. They had at least a couple of hours of snowshoeing before they would reach
the cabin. After an hour, a group of four other people, who were also snowshoeing,
were getting closer to them. Soon they met.
“Hi.
I think you are staying in the cabin down the road from ours,” said one of the
men.
“Hi.
My name is Barry and he offered to shake the man’s hand.”
“My
name is Brad,” replied the man. He shook Barry’s hand.
“Let
me introduce my group. This is my wife Elenore, this is Clarence and his wife
Tracy.”
“This
is my wife Gertrude and my friend George and his wife Bethany.”
Something made a loud crunching sound off to the side of
the trail and the eight of them looked towards the direction of the sound.
Brad pulled a handgun from his backpack and George did
the same. Brad fired his gun in the air to scare off whatever made the sound.
Tracy and Elenore jumped, not expecting the gunfire to be so loud.
“We’re used to the sound of gunfire. Our husbands belong
to a shooting association and gun clubs and take us with them all the time. We
both learned how to shoot guns and have our own pistols,” said Gertrude.
“I’m impressed,” said Tracy. She looked over at Elenore
and thought she felt the same.
“We smelled something strange a way back on the trail,”
said Barry.
“Never smelled anything like it before, it smelled rotten
and sweet at the same time. That’s the best way to describe it,” said Clarence.
“We will head back with you guys,” said George. Their
group turned around and started following Barry and the rest of his group.
They finally reached the cabins and Barry turned to
George and asked if they wanted to join them at their cabin that evening.
“We have a lot of different kinds of meat smoked from the
day before. Why don’t you come over to our cabin tonight,” replied Brad.
“What time?” asked Elenore.
“Would 7:00 work for you?” asked Brad.
“7:00 it is,” replied Barry.
Back at the cabin, Barry and Clarence cracked opened a
couple of beers after pouring a couple of glasses of wine for their wives and
sat down at the kitchen table to talk about what happened.
“I don’t know about you, but I think something terrible
is hiding in those woods,” said Clarence.
“I’m with you. I think I will bypass going into the woods
tomorrow and perhaps we will head into town and do a little shopping. I saw a
couple of shops that may sell souvenirs that the wives will really like.”
“We need to explore getting guns and learning how to
shoot so we can protect our wives and ourselves,” said Clarence.
“I know of a couple of places that sell guns and there is
a place with a shooting range not too far from where our office is,” said Brad.
“Since it’s only 4:00, I think we have time to take a
nap,” said Clarence as he winked at Tracy.
Their new friends’ cabin was larger and had a second
floor. Tracy and Elenore were given a tour. They drooled over the sauna and hot
tub in the rec room.
“You can come over anytime to use our sauna and hot tub,”
said Gertrude.
“That’s awfully friendly of you,” replied Tracy.
“Dinner’s ready,” shouted Brad.
It was a spread. There were smoked strips of New York
Strip, turkey, chicken and ham. A bean dish, tossed salad and fruit sat in
middle of the table next to the platter of meat.
“There’s enough food here for an army,” said George
proudly.
“Hope everyone is hungry,” said Brad. He grabbed his
plate and started loading it up with meat.
“Save room for desert,” said Gertrude.
“Desert?” said Elenore.
“Yes, we made brownies and apple pie,” said Bethany.
Everyone gorged themselves on the delicious food.
“I am going to make a fire. We have stories to tell you
about what we think was in the woods today,” said George.
“I am interested in what you think we heard and smelled,”
replied Barry.
After everyone help clean up the kitchen, they sat down
on the large sectional in front of the fireplace. George made a roaring fire.
The blue and yellow flames danced around the burning logs. It was mesmerizing
to watch.
“We were talking to some of the local Indian people at
one of the cafes yesterday and he told us about monsters that live in this neck
of the woods. Scared the bejebees out of us so we decided to carry our guns
with us today,” said George.
“The Algonquian Indians have been telling legends for
many years about monsters called the Wendigo. They told us they can possess you
and get you to come to them. Wendigos prefer to eat human flesh and can survive
in the harshest of weather. It’s like they prefer the cold. The more they eat
the larger they get. They walk on two feet and may have been human before they
were possessed and made into a monster. They have a funny smell and may smell
like burnt flesh. They told us about a well-known case in which this man named
Jack Fiddler, who happened to be a medicine man used his powers and defeated 14
Wendigos. These monsters are huge, some as tall as trees,” said Brad.
Barry, Clarence, Tracy and Elenore looked at each other
with huge eyes. They looked like they saw a ghost.
“Even though this is scary, I think you need to hear
about what we learned from the locals,” said Brad.
“Go on,” encouraged Barry.
“They told us that the Wendigo can take over a host
slowly, taking over the person’s mind and body. They will give them nightmares
and the host will become sleep deprived, slowly losing a grip on their sanity.
They will experience an unbearable burning sensation with their feet and in the
end will run into the woods barefoot no matter what time of year, screaming
like a madman. They knew of a few people from their tribe that they have lost
forever. Never to be seen again,” said Brad.
“Do you think that is what we smelled today?” asked
Elenore. She huddled close to Barry and pulled her knees to her chest like she
was protecting her feet.
“Yes, I believe that’s what you smelled and what we
heard,” replied George.
“Let’s forget about this for so we can all have a good
night’s sleep tonight,” said Elenore.
“Anybody up for a dip in the hot tub?” asked Bethany.
“We don’t have a swimsuit,” said Tracy.
“Let’s use our undergarments and you can use our robes
while your things are drying,” said Bethany.
“That will work,” replied Tracy. She was glad she wore a
tank top over her bra so she would be more concealed.
The hot tub was nice. They talked about their families,
jobs and where they went to school. The wine was going to the women’s heads.
“We should call it an evening,” said Tracy. She yawned
and tried to cover it up.
“Do you want to join us tomorrow when we go into town?”
asked Elenore.
“We would love that,” replied Bethany before anyone else
could respond.
“I am going to drive you to your cabin. You can’t take
any chances at this time of night,” said George. He grabbed his gun and led
them to his SUV.
Before they closed the doors to the SUV, they heard
howling off in a distance.
“That’s just coyotes. You don’t have to be concerned
about them unless you are a small animal,” said George.
Elenore grabbed Barry’s hand. He squeezed her hand to
reassure her.
Barry was tossing and turning in bed that evening. He was
having the terrible dreams. One of the dreams involved being chased by a large,
scary monster. In another dream, he was tied up in the standing position and a
monster was about to eat him. He woke up shaking. Elenore held him close and
told him he was safe.
Barry was up cooking breakfast. He was using the waffle
iron that came with the cabin. Fresh strawberries were crushed to put on top of
the waffles.
“Something smells good,” said Clarence. Clarence always
hated his name but did not want to hurt his parents’ feelings so he didn’t
legally change it. He was named after his great grandfather.
Clarence walked over to the counter to see what Barry was
doing.
Barry looked over and smiled at Clarence. Barry decided
to cook breakfast to keep his mind off the dreams he had the night before.
Tracy and Elenore walked into the kitchen and sat down at
the kitchen table.
“Want some coffee?” asked Elenore. She poured a cup of
coffee from the carafe and handed it over to Tracy after she nodded.
“You look tired, Elenore,” said Tracy.
“Barry was having nightmares last night so I held him close
to me to provide him with reassurance and I had the light on. He said the
dreams were so real.”
“I am sorry to hear that, Barry,” said Tracy.
“I slept like a log,” said Clarence.
“I may take a nap some time today so I can be peppy for
tonight,” said Barry.
“What time are we going into town?” asked Elenore.
“I think we plan on meeting our new friends at the diner
at about 12:30,” replied Clarence.
Everyone enjoyed the waffles and departed to their
separate rooms to shower and get dressed.
“Hi, everyone,” said Clarence. Their four new friends
saved them seats at the diner. Another table had to be pushed next to theirs to
accommodate everyone.
Clarence opened the menu and started reading some of the
choices to Tracy. She decided on the whitefish sandwich with fries and Clarence
decided to pick his usual choice of a hamburger and fries. The others had a
little more trouble deciding what they wanted to order. Most of the food was
cooked on the grill and in fryers and they wanted something a little healthier
after all they ate the night before. Elenore, Bethany and Gertrude ordered
salads and a cup of soup. Brad and George and Barry all ordered the turkey
subs.
Barry told everyone about the dreams he had the night
before.
“I wonder if I put some scary thoughts in your head when
I told you about the Wendigo,” said Brad.
“You may have.”
One of the town’s tribal elder’s ears perked up and he
pulled up a chair to their table.
“You had dreams about the Wendigo, didn’t you?” asked the
elder.
“Perhaps I did,” replied Barry.
“That is not a good sign. The monster may be targeting
you,” said the elder.
“Why do you say that?” asked Barry. He looked concerned
and looked at Elenore to get her reaction. She also looked concerned.
“When they target you, they start by messing with your
thoughts and dreams and it sounds like that’s what happened to you last night.”
“I usually sleep like a log and I don’t remember any of
my dreams,” said Barry.
“He’s right. I normally have to ask him to lie on his side
because he is snoring,” said Elenore.
“My son went missing two months ago. He started having
nightmares just like you,” said the elder.
“You never found him,” inquired Brad.
“No. There was no trace of him,” replied the elder.
“I want to forget
about all this horrible stuff and perhaps head home earlier than planned,” said
Elenore.
“I think that may be a good idea,” said Tracy.
“Don’t let your guard down at all. Do not wander off. I
would stay in your cabins until you are ready to leave or book rooms at the
Cherry Blossum Inn if you would feel safer in town,” warned the elder. The
elder left their table as soon as he warned them.
“What do you want to do?” asked Barry.
“I would like to check out tomorrow and head for home. I
know I am talking for everyone but you can’t be too careful. That monster may
be after you, Barry,” said Tracy.
“I think Tracy is right. We can check out tomorrow and
leave the key under the mat as instructed for the next people,” said Barry.
“I have an idea. Why don’t you guys move into our cabin.
We have plenty of room and it may be safer. At least for tonight before you
leave tomorrow,” offered Brad.
“I like that they have an upstairs. I would feel safer,”
replied Elenore.
“Then that’s what we will do. We will clean our cabin and
move into yours for tonight,” said Barry.
“The food was really good. I enjoyed my soup immensely,”
said Bethany.
“I enjoyed my hamburger,” said Clarence. He rubbed his
belly.
“I want to go shopping and pick up a few souvenirs,” said
Gertrude.
They enjoyed exploring the shops and were surprised to
find replicas of Wendigos in one of the Native American shops. The owner of the
shop told them the replicas ward off the horrible creatures and also told them
about placing sweetgrass and sage around their cabin to protect them. They did
not buy anything in that store. They were from the city and were never exposed
to any Native American customs so it made them feel uncomfortable.
They returned to their cabins and Elenore, Barry, Tracy
and Clarence started packing up their things and brought them to the car except
for small overnight bags to take to Brad’s cabin. They heard coyotes howling in
a distance and then they heard yelping like the sound of a dog if it was
injured. They hurried back to the cabin.
“I am never going to go to a place like this that is in
middle of the woods again,” said Elenore.
“I am never going to, either,” replied Tracy.
Before the sun set they headed to Brad’s cabin.
They enjoyed a hearty game of Pictionary and ended up
realizing that their new friends were as competitive as they were. The eight of
them ended the evening playing Apples to Apples and laughed so hard their sides
hurt. The bottles of wine they consumed added to their merriment. The clock in
the den struck midnight.
“I better turn in before I turn into a pumpkin,” chimed
Barry.
“I hope you have a restful sleep. I think you are going
to find the beds very comfortable,” said Brad.
“Thanks for letting us stay here,” said Elenore.
It was 3:00 in the morning. Barry sat up. He had a blank
look on his face. He stood up and walked towards the bedroom door. He opened
the door quietly and crept out into the hall. In a few minutes, he was outside
standing in the snow because his feet felt like they were on fire. Barry was
sleep walking. His name was being called. He walked towards the voice. Barry
was led into a deep, dark cavern. He as tied up.
Elenore felt Barry’s side of the bed. She discovered he
wasn’t there. She jolted out of bed and ran to find Barry. He was no where to
be found. Terrified she screamed for everyone to wake up. Streams of early
daylight fell upon the dark kitchen tiles. Everyone came running.
“What’s wrong?” asked a terrified Bethany.
“Barry’s missing,” responded Elenore.
“We will get dressed and look outside for Barry. You stay
put,” ordered Brad.
The three men were exploring outside around the perimeter
of the forest. Afraid to walk into the forest.
“I think we need to go into town and get the sheriff to
help us and perhaps some other men will join in on the search,” said Clarence.
He was fretting and rubbing his hands together and through his hair. Everybody
was concerned.
The three men rode into town with the four women and
stopped at the local sheriff’s office. The sheriff agreed to gather a bunch of
men together to start the search.
The large group of men, twenty-five in all loaded with
guns walked into the forest on the groomed path. Clarence was also given a gun.
He did have some experience hunting with his dad so he was somewhat familiar
with using a gun. They gave him a pistol.
Clarence’s back was to the forest, when a large hairy arm
reached out to grab him. No one saw it happen until they turned to check on
him. They called out Clarence’s name. There was no answer. The group of men had
two men to find. They were never located.
Bethany
and Gertrude held Tracy and Elenore for a long time, while they sobbed and
sobbed. Scared and heartbroken, they decided to leave Minnesota and return to
Chicago.
Tracy
and Elenore returned without their husbands. Both women moved in with their
parents. Grief grabbed them and did not let go of them for months after their
time in Minnesota. They never returned to the woods again.
The Algonquin Indians told legends about the Wendigos.
Some believed they actually existed while others wanted everyone to live a life
without gluttony and to live in cooperation with others. The Wendigos origins
vary, some were born a monster and others made into their monsters after they
were forced to eat human flesh due to starvation. Reports of Wendigos go back
to the 1600s. The television show Supernatural portrayed a Wendigo as a
collector of humans so they could eat them throughout the long cold months. Wendigos
were known to always be hungry and the more they ate the larger they became.
Many people of all ages have been reported missing in locations in which
Wendigos were known to exit. Beware of the Wendigo, they may be watching you.
