Wendigo

Region: Greater North America
Location:Northern Algonquian regions — Cree, Ojibwe, Innu, Saulteaux (Great Lakes, Quebec, Manitoba)

The Wendigo is a powerful being in Algonquian traditions, associated with winter, famine, greed, and the breakdown of human social bonds. Unlike modern pop-culture versions, the Wendigo is not simply a tall skeletal monster or a deer-headed creature. Traditionally, a Wendigo is a human being transformed by consuming human flesh during starvation, or by giving in to extreme selfishness and spiritual imbalance. The transformation twists the person into a relentless, starving presence — a being with a heart of ice, an insatiable appetite, and a body that grows in proportion to the hunger, never satiated.
  Many Algonquian stories describe the Wendigo as gaunt, emaciated, with glowing or sunken eyes, and lips chewed away from hunger. Others describe it as an enormous, frost-covered giant whose footsteps echo like cracking tree trunks. The common thread is that the Wendigo embodies cannibalistic greed — the person who eats and eats and is never full, who destroys community by consuming it. Some stories emphasize possession: the Wendigo spirit whispers to people during harsh winters, tempting them toward violence or desperation.
  The Wendigo is not just a cryptid — it is a moral and spiritual warning. It teaches that taking more than one needs, hoarding during famine, or abandoning community obligations opens the door to destruction. During history’s harshest winters, fears of Wendigo possession were taken seriously; in some communities, individuals believed to be overtaken by Wendigo madness were restrained or exorcised. The being represents the danger of imbalance, especially in climates where survival depends on cooperation.

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. All characters appearing in this work are fictitious or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

The spark is human. The polish is digital.

 

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