Wendigo comes from the Indian word 'cree' meaning evil that devours. In Algonquian folklore it is a cannibal monster or evil spirit. It is connected to murder, greed, cannibalism, starvation and it is said that if a human is overpowered by greed, or spend too much time with a Wendigo, they may turn into one.
It is a gaunt and thin monster, often grey in colour with sunken eyes and with an odour of decay. In some legends these monsters are giants and grow each time they feed, in proportion to whatever their meal was. They are always on the hunt for a new victim.
The Wendigo features in TV shows like Supernatural, and horror films due to it's evil nature and taste for murdering humans. Here are a few of the films you can check out. I haven't actually seen any of them.
Wendigo (2001)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendigo_(film)
Dark was the Night
https://addictedtohorrormovies.com/2015/08/11/dark-was-the-night-is-one-of-the-greatest-wendigo-films-ever-made-review/
Frostbiter: Wrath of the Wendigo (1995)
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/FrostbiterWrathOfTheWendigo
Wendigo: Bound by Blood (2010)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1719680/plotsummary?ref_=tt_ov_pl
There are also a lot of Wendigo books out there. I haven't read any of these books, so this is just a list of what I've found so far.
Rick Yancey-The Curse of the Wendigo
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7775755-the-curse-of-the-wendigo
Algernon Blackwood-The Wendigo
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1137702.The_Wendigo
William Meikle-Night of the Wendigo
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13572652-night-of-the-wendigo
Scott R Welvaert-The Curse of the Wendigo
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2196143.The_Curse_of_the_Wendigo
Dale T Phillips-Shadow of the Wendigo
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19491051-shadow-of-the-wendigo
Robin Hardy-Call of the Wendigo
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3206027-the-call-of-the-wendigo
Graham McNamee-Bonechiller
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3280113-bonechiller
CE Murphy-Demon Hunts
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7467055-demon-hunts
Priscilla U McDaniel-Wendigo Moon
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3206034-wendigo-moon
Vaughn C Hardacker-Wendigo
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31213342-wendigo
Jennifer Rivkin-Searching for the Wendigo
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21927377-searching-for-the-wendigo
Kevin Hardman-Wendigo Fever
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17879142-wendigo-fever
Graham Masterton-Edgewise aka Wendigo
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13055771-edgewise
There are a lot more to find including monsterporn for those interested...just put Wendigo into the Goodreads search. I have Demon Hunts which is book #5 in the Urban Shaman series so I have that to look forward to and Kevin Hardman's Wendigo Fever was a decent YA monster read. I'll be adding some of these books to my wishlist though! The Wendigo has always fascinated me!
Have you read any of these books? Are any of them good horror reads? Have you read good books or seen good Wendigo films? Recommendations welcomed!
I think I first heard of wendigo in Supernatural. I have a book on my TBR though with a wendigo MC. That's more my style than horror books.
ReplyDeleteI loved that episode of Supernatural in season one! That's another series I need to catch up with.
DeleteEh. I watched nine seasons of Supernatural when I had a free ttial of Netflix. I feel like I gave it more than a fair chance, but to be honest, I don't understand the hype. I didn't bother continuing.
DeleteI've only seen about five episodes of season one so far but I liked what I saw. It is tough to keep up a standard over a long period like that though.
DeleteI think I like the Wendigo because it isn't a monster that's overused. I've always meant to read The Walker Papers series and know I own quite a few of them. Dark Was the Night was a really good movie but I don't think it got enough hype. I loved the main actor in it and he is in The Strain as well. Nice post.
ReplyDeleteEven the word Wendigo sounds interesting! I don't know why I'm so fascinated by this monster but I need to get hold of some of these books. Might even give the film a try!
DeleteI love Rick Yancey's Monstrumologist series and I'm glad to see one of the books featured on your list! Another book I can think of is Damoren by Seth Skorkowsky, but the Wendigo is only involved in the character's origin story at the beginning.
ReplyDelete~Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum
I hesitate to look at this series based on really not liking the 5th Wave as a book but I might just take a look anyway...
DeleteWendigos! Awesome- I need more stories about wnedigos. I've actually read very few. And they're not overused, like Barn said. A Really good Wendigo story is in Uncanny X-Men #139-140 if you ever get a chance to track that down (I can give you links if you're interested). Okay here's one lol
ReplyDeletehttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N02IQN7/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
I don't read comics of any kind, just books I'm afraid! There is just something about the Wendigo that fascinates me and I'm trying to track down some of these books.
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