A wendigo
The Wendigo is a violent spirit of Native American lore.They seem to make their nests in dark, damp places, usually caves and abandoned mineshafts. They sometimes keep their victims alive for days before feeding as they prefer their food to be alive. They have been known to live in colder climates such as northern Canada. They have strong connections with winter, the cold, starvation, cannibalism and greed.
Origin
A Wendigo was once a human, but who was forced to submit to cannibalism in order to avoid starvation. This eventually caused them to mutate into a Wendigo. Wendigos are immortal, with heightened human capabilities such as enhanced speed and strength.
At the same time, in Native American lore Wendigos are the embodiement of greed and gluttony. Once they start feeding, it is said that they can't stop, and can only survive solely on human flesh.
Killing it
There is one way to destroy the Wendigo. Burn it alive. Make sure to aim for the heart or else the Wendigo's soul would still be there and would find another body to take over.
References
- In the long-running TV series Supernatural, the brothers Sam and Dean Winchester, the main protagonists, find a Wendigo in the middle of the woods that is preying on a group of campers. They track it to its den, where they attempt to bring it down. Even when shot with a rifle, they only succeed in aggravating it. Dean, however, is able to kill it using a flaregun.
- In the video game Dementium II for the Nintendo DS, the second boss battle is a "Wendigo Witch". Once defeated, she falls and turns into the protagonist's wife, lying in a pool of blood.
- In the film, The Lone Ranger, Tonto believes Cavendish isn't an ordinary criminal, but a Wendigo, an evil, murderous spirit, this is the explanation for why the Lone Ranger uses silver bullets, as it is a material that creates the Wendigo and can only kill it.
- In an Lost Tapes on Animal Planet, there was an episode centered around the Wendigo.
- In the show Charmed, one of the main characters, Piper Halliwell, was turned into a Wendigo. Like Dean from Supernatural, Piper's sister, Prue, killed the Wendigo with a flare gun telekinetically, turning Piper back.
- The movie Windigo is about the legend of the Wendigo. However, the Wendigo looks more like the Slender Man than the original creature. For the plot of the movie,as well as some theories about the resemblance to the Slender Man, click here
- In an episode of the show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic the main antagonist of the episode are "Windigo". And is depicted as a being of the cold and feeding on hate. Much how the Wendigo lives in the cold and feeds on cannibalism and greed.
- In the movie Ravenous, the main antagonist is a Wendigo
- in an episode of 'Teen Wolf', Scott faces a surviver from a mysterious murder and later find out that the surviver is actually a wendigo, and later killed by the mute by stabbing it with a tomahawk, straight through the heart.
- Wendigo make multiple appearances as enemies and playable characters in the Japanese role-playing game series Shin Megami Tensei.
- In Warcraft III and World of Warcraft Wendigos are recurring creeps and mobs players fight. They are enormous humanoid creatures covered in fur, with large horns on their heads. They are seen in cold forested areas such as Lordaeron and Northrend.
- In the video game Until Dawn, a group of teenagers are attacked by Wendigos. It is revealed that the supporting character Hannah Washington was turned into a Wendigo after she was forced to eat her sister Beth's flesh while being trapped in an abandoned mineshaft. It is also revealed that the ski lodge where the teenagers are staying at is infested with several Wendigos, since it was built on Native American grounds.