| Wendigo | |
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Real Name |
Wendigo |
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First Appearance |
Algonquian Folklore |
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Created by |
Algonquian Folklore |
Origin[]
Wendigo is a mythological creature or evil spirit originating from Algonquian folklore. The wendigo is often said to be a malevolent spirit, sometimes depicted as a creature with human-like characteristics, which possesses human beings. It is said to cause its victims a feeling of insatiable hunger, the desire to eat other humans, and the propensity to commit murder. In some representations, the wendigo is described as a giant humanoid with a heart of ice, whose approach is signaled by a foul stench or sudden unseasonable chill.
In Ojibwe, Eastern Cree, Westmain Swampy Cree, Naskapi, and Innu lore, wendigos are often described as giants that are many times larger than human beings, a characteristic absent from myths in other Algonquian cultures. Whenever a wendigo ate another person, it would grow in proportion to the meal it had just eaten, so it could never be full. Therefore, wendigos are portrayed as simultaneously gluttonous and extremely thin due to starvation.
The creature's name appears in many Native American languages, and has many alternative translations. The source of the English word is the Ojibwe word wiindigoo. Other transliterations include Weendigo, Windego, Wiindgoo, Windgo, Windago, Windiga, Wendego, Windagoo, Widjigo, Wiijigoo, Wijigo, Weejigo, Wìdjigò, Wintigo, Wentigo, Wehndigo, Wentiko, Windgoe, Wītikō, or Wintsigo.
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
- The Wendigo (1910)
- Famous Fantastic Mysteries v6 #1 (1944)