The uncontrollable desire to consume human flesh is usually seen as a sign of insanity, yet the authors of a new study suggest that cannibalistic urges may in fact be triggered by a more nuanced set of factors than mere derangement. Highlighting the example of Wendigo psychosis among certain Native American communities, the researchers reveal how cultural conditioning, upbringing, and other influences can sometimes manifest as a hunger for humans.
“[Wendigo psychosis] is a fascinating and enigmatic culture-bound syndrome rooted in the mythologies of Algonquian-speaking tribes, particularly those in the northern regions of North America,” write the authors. “This phenomenon is marked by an overwhelming belief and delusion that individuals are transforming into Wendigos, malevolent spirits driven by an insatiable desire for human flesh.”
Adding some meat to the bones, the researchers go on to explain that the Wendigo takes the form of “a towering, emaciated figure emanating the odor of decaying flesh,” with “fiery eyes” and “a heart made of ice.” Individuals experiencing Wendigo psychosis “begin to believe that they are possessed by the Wendigo, leading to heightened levels of paranoia and violent hallucinations of potential victims.”
“Further along, those afflicted may develop an alarming shift in perception, viewing others, even close family members, as potential prey,” explain the authors. “Once human flesh is consumed, the transformation to Wendigo is considered complete and irreversible.”
Though cases of this maniacal disorder are rare, historical records going back 300 years attest to the existence of the cannibalistic condition, including one sufferer who killed and ate his relatives during a famine in 1786. However, while such delusions may seem like pure madness, the researchers say that Wendigo psychosis could represent a culturally relevant psychological defense mechanism arising from Algonquian mythology.
Originating in Canada, these tribes were no strangers to brutal winters marked by famine and starvation. In extreme scenarios, resorting to cannibalism may have become necessary, and the existence of the Wendigo myth may therefore have provided a narrative tool to distance oneself from one’s unspeakable actions.
In other words, “cannibalism, and indirectly, Wendigo psychosis, can become a maladaptive and individualistic survival strategy during times of extreme scarcity […] where the belief in transformation into a Wendigo serves as an outlet for expressing internal distress,” write the authors. Analyzing the myth’s psychological function, they explain that “the Wendigo's insatiable appetite mirrors the desperation that emerges amidst scarcity, while its transformation from human to monstrous entity signifies the risk of losing one's humanity in dire situations.”
That being the case, it’s hardly surprising that Wendigo psychosis and cannibalism have historically been more widespread during periods of extreme famine. Fortunately, a more stable food supply and better psychiatric treatment in the modern era have all but eliminated the Wendigo, which hasn’t reared its bloodthirsty head in many a long winter.
The study is published in the journal Cureus.
BENJAMIN TAUB
Original Post can be found here: https://www.iflscience.com/how-wendigo-psychosis-turns-people-into-cannibals-possessed-by-flesh-eating-monsters-71376
A Wendigo Encounter in Manitowoc County?
in Stories/by Charlie Hintz
I recently received a distressed email from a man named David W. who, along with his wife, had an encounter with something they could not explain (maybe a wendigo?) last month in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. 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.
“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.”
David kept it to himself, however, and they continued walking the trail until they reached a point where the path branched off to the right, and a snowmobile trail went to the left.
“I went to that corner the last few days but always stopped because I just had a odd feeling about continuing,” David said.
They had just moved to Two Rivers a few months ago and weren’t familiar with the area. They had just started hunting there a few days prior, and the odd feeling had been enough to convince David to turn back on previous excursions. This time, though, something would convince him ignore that feeling to go further.
As David and his wife reached the fork, something not far off the trail ran off through the woods.
“It seemed so big I felt it in the ground,” David noted.
Believing it must be a large buck, the couple proceeded down the trail hoping to get a glimpse of it. They found it about 50 yards up, where the trail opened into a stand of tall pines. It was behind a tree, and at first appeared to be a bear standing on it’s back legs scratching it’s back against the tree trunk.
It kept stepping to the side and I could see what looked like to be a shoulder and a really long arm,” David said, “but it looked black. Really black.”
“Then it did something funny, almost like it got down on all fours, and I thought I saw what would be its head. But it was very oddly shaped, almost like a football but horizontal with very long ears pointing up into the back, and I thought what I believe to be very long almost grayish hair.”
David estimated the creature to be eight to ten feet tall, with long, thin, gangly arms. He and his wife watched it briefly, unable to understand what they were looking at. Then it took three large steps and disappeared into the underbrush.
They slowly walked toward the tree where the creature had been standing, where they saw large impressions in the ground.
David thought maybe it had been another hunter dressed in a ghillie suit, though he knew it was way too tall to be human.
“Hello?” he said quietly. There was no response. He called out a few more times, but there was only silence.
“We decided we better get out of there because it was starting to get dark and we were both pretty freaked out,” David wrote. “All the way back it felt like somebody was trailing us alongside the trail, keeping up with us as we walked very fast.”
About a quarter mile from the road where their vehicle was parked, David and his wife walked out of the forest into a field. They saw a deer there, standing sideways out in the open. A perfect shot. They had come out to hunt, after all. So David raised his bow and nocked an arrow.
“I used lighted nocks so you can see the trajectory of my arrow,” David said. “When I shot, you could see that I shot low and I heard something like my arrow hitting something. But I wasn’t sure if I hit the deer or not so we walked over there and started looking for my arrow, still constantly watching around near us, and we couldn’t find my arrow anywhere.”
Then David spotted the glowing nock about 20 or 30 yards back toward the woods and the path.
“My arrow was stuck basically vertical in the ground except for leaning the opposite way I shot,” he wrote, “which to me and my wife seemed impossible that my arrow could be the way it was in the ground.”
As they made their way back toward the road to leave, a strong odor filled the air.
“I smelled the most horrible smell I’ve ever smelled my life, like rot and mud and sulfur,” David wrote. “A nasty smell that just was right in my face.”
His wife smelled it as well, and later described it to him as “a very strong metallic odor of metal.”
They hurried back to their vehicle and went home, but that night still haunts David.
“I’m a very avid bow hunter and have spent most of my life out in the woods,” he wrote. “I’ve never encountered anything like this or have felt the feeling I felt when I was out there.”
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. He’s hoping to find answers.
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. In certain cultures wendigo are depicted as humanoid, but with pale skin like a corpse. Other stories describe it more like a thin bipedal bear creature with a skeletal head and antlers.
In recent years numerous wendigo sightings have been reported in Wisconsin.
This was originally posted :https://www.wisconsinfrights.com/wendigo-encounter-manitowoc/
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