Pop Culture References

There are many different references to Windigoo in Pop culture; there are many different shows and movies that include the infamous Windigoo.  The creature Windigoo has appeared in Movies such as Ravenous, X-Men and Wendigoo, as well as featured in series of television shows like X- Files, Charmed, Blood ties, Fear Itself, Supernatural, Grimm and many others. In a television show sometimes they focus on more of the humorous side of the creature. In the tv series Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the two  main characters Charlie and Dean eat supposed human meat called Franks and develop “Windigoo Psychosis, and they start to do crazy things like eating monkey and visiting the morgue to eat corpses.  Windigoo are used in children shows as well, in the show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, in the episode “Hearth Warming Eve”. Windigoo are shown and they feed of hatred and fighting and the winter will get colder and harsher if the ponies show those nasty traits. The Windigoo are also in shows for horror.  For example in Hannibal; Windigoo is featured in the final episodes in Season 1 and return for season 2. In the mind of Will Graham he is the imagination of Hannibal Lector.  

Windigoo is also a featured character in a few books also. For example in the book Lothaire, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, The curse of the Wendigo, and Where the Chill Waits. 

The Round House Quotes:

"A Windigoo could cast its spirits inside of a person. The person would become an animal, and see fellow humans as prey meat (180)." The Round House is a novel that the Windigoo is a myth but it has ability to possess people. 

"Would I become a Windigoo? Infected by Lark? (294)" In the near end of the book a character was comparing a dead soul to the Windigoo and he felt as if he was being haunted.

Windigoo's in Native American culture

In the Algonquian tribe, a Windigoo is known to devour human flesh. Windigoo literally means “evil spirit that devours mankind”. The Windigoo occurs during a starvation among a family that hunger flesh, but the Algonquian tribe generally prefers death over cannibalism.

 

Another tribe that popular with Windigoo is the Oijibwe. A Windigoo appears during a time of famine, isolation, and severe snow weather. The Windigoo is known to as an ice monster because of these conditions. Some detail about beast including its tall height with sharp teeth. There is a myth that a Windigoo would target naughty children. Additionally, the Windigoo can control the mind of the victim to turned them into a Windigoo themselves.

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Fig. 4 Windigoo’s habitats on the map

 

This is supposed to be the one of the possible maps of a Windigoo's habitats. They generally live in the forest and said to inhabit the frigid regions of the Northeastern united stated and Southwestern Canada. The dangerous creature would most likely live in isolated regions like Ontario and Quebec etc(e.g. see fig.4).

Windgoos from different stories

Windigoo is an Algonquian native legend. The spelling of Windigoo differentiates in each story. In some cases it is spelled Wendigo and other cases it's spelled Windago, there is even a discrepancy with if it is spelled with a small case w or a capital W. The specific spelling "windigoo" is used in the The Round House

The Algonquian native legend states, “It is usually described as a giant with a heart of ice; sometimes it is thought to be entirely made of ice. Its body is skeletal and deformed, with missing lips and toes (e.g. see fig. 1).” 

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Fig. 1 Windigo’s appearance from The Algonquian native legend

There are many different stories associated with different forms of Windigoo, although many have similaar characteristics in he Native American’s most popularly story, “it is a cannibalistic demon that possesses people until they themselves turn into a Windigoo. Known for its insatiable hunger, the Windigoo grow to be fifteen feet tall, and have large eyes and a sallow, emaciated look to them. They have also been described as having matted black hair and fangs. Despite the varying physical descriptions of them, one element remains the same: once a person is possessed or turns into the Windigoo, they have an unsatisfied hunger for human flesh (e.g. see fig.2).”

 

http://ignotusobscurus.blogspot.com/2013/08/cannibalism-in-early-america-jamestown.html

Fig. 2 Windigoo’s appearance from the Native American story

Another story is retold by the Ojibwe First Nation and it states, “It was a large creature, as tall as a tree, with a lipless mouth and jaded teeth. Its breath was a strange hiss, its footprints full of blood, and it ate any man, woman or child who ventured into its territory. And those were the lucky ones. Sometimes, the Windigoo chose to possess a person instead, and then the luckless individual become a Windigoo himself, hunting down those he had once loved and feasting upon their flesh (e.g. see fig. 3).”

http://timterrenal.deviantart.com/art/Wendigo-263841694 

Fig. 3 Windigoo huntings its victims

The Windigoo Song

The Windigoo has touched the hearts of many with its long and slender claws it is only natural that it has many dedicated fans devoted to talking about the creature whether it may be books, films, or even song.

Here is one fan who marvels at the graceful Windigoo through a song. Enjoy!

Welcome Windigooers!

This blog is collection about Windigoos that appear in legends and in myths; the stories that come with them and the overall coolness of flesh-eating monsters. This page will entail detailed information on what Windigoos are, the culture in which they come from, and the cultures where they appear. This will include various interpretations in literature such as The Round House by Louise Erdrich, pictures/ drawings of the creature, and links to other articles where more information can be found. The information gathered here is for educational use and is not meant to misdirect or offend any person in any way. Please enjoy our blog!