Under those circumstances, who could blame them for having a fear of starvation? While not exactly dealing with cryptids, the Second Salem town of Whitewater is known for its stories of witches and spirits. Now I know what your wondering, could I have been dehydrated or having hallucinations. https://www.wisconsinfrights.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/nipissing-swamp-wisconsin-wendigo.jpg, https://www.wisconsinfrights.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/wisconsin-frights-sm.png. I used lighted nocks so you can see the trajectory of my arrow, David said. September 21, 2022. Earlier this month, researchers of the paranormal came together to celebrate Wisconsins favorite cryptid at a Beast of Bray Road Conference held at Lutherdale Camp, not far from Bray Road. He described it as the sound it would make if someone were dragging a heavy animal or body through rough brush/woods, and he had a feeling of dread and heaviness, like he couldnt look away and was being honed in on by something. It was behind a tree, and at first appeared to be a bear standing on its back legs scratching its back against the tree trunk. Other sightings by the Nakota reported huge, Loch Ness-like fish monster in the lake as well. It is a large part of the folklore of the Algonquin Indians living in Canada. Susan Lampert Smith In modern times, such beliefs and traditions have faded, their traditions replaced by the inexorable march of science and the rational. The evil being is associated with winter and starvation, and appears to feast on humans. Few reports of the creature have surfaced since then. Many are skeptical of its existence and others say that it has been confused as other folklore monsters such as a Wisconsin Bigfoot or a wendigo. One of the most famous cases of someone allegedly being possessed by a Wendigo comes from 1878, when in Saskatchewan, Canada, a Cree fur trapper by the name of Swift Runner claimed that he had been possessed by insidious dark forces and had become a Wendigo after killing and eating his family during a harsh winter without food. So David raised his bow and nocked an arrow. In certain cultures wendigo are depicted as humanoid, but with pale skin like a corpse. But they also say people who have been abused or neglected may become the Wendigo. What was going on here? Room 18 of the St. James Hotel in Cimarron New Mexico is so haunted that the room is locked and guests are forbidden to enter, lest they upset the room's lingering disembodied guest, Thomas James (TJ) Wright. These spooky tales passed down through generations of Whitewater residents and UW-Whitewater students continue to be a part of the towns unique culture. The Steel brought a record of 22 wins and 21 losses into the weekend. His saddled and bridled horse returned to the saloon without a rider. (Owner, manager, employee, etc. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Rocky is said to dwell amongst the deeper sections of the lake and reappear near the surface occasionally. Into the days of settlers there were many cases of even the white man coming across these abominations, and the creatures were often blamed for missing persons. I didnt answer and was trying to focus hard on each individual sound. Over and over again. More stories followed, each adding to the lore of the fearsome hodag. Then David spotted the glowing nock about 20 or 30 yards back toward the woods and the path. Sturgeons don't bend the way I saw this thing bend. In recent years numerous wendigo sightings have been reported in Wisconsin. While Ryan was on the phone with a dispatcher and telling them our location and what was going on I stepped around the fire towards my tent. Their eyes are often sunken in but glow. Whatever they are, such accounts make the rounds from time to time, and add a layer to the already rich and spooky lore of the Wendigo. Blackwood's Wendigo is a mystical creature, representing the lure of the wilderness. If the form doesnt work, you want to send a video file, or multiple photos please send them to info@wisconsinfrights.com, I took this photo/videoI found this photo/video online, I give Wisconsin Frights permission to use this photo or video. Im fully convinced that what I saw that night had to have been a Wendigo. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. It can take great leaps or run along the tops of trees. And there isnt a single tree small enough to remotely look like what I saw. But other reports compare the wendigo to a werewolf instead. In several Native American traditions, Navajo folklore from the American Southwest, for example, tells of supernatural creatures; the werewolf, werecoyote, or whatever form the therianthrope or demon is known as a "Skinwalker" or Yendalooshi (Yenaldooshi). Many Wendigo sightings have been reported over time, not only by Native Americans, but by white settlers as well. Jack Fiddler and his brother made no real attempt to hide the fact that it had been them, and that they had killed her because her family had asked them too, even helped them, as she had been transforming into a Wendigo. However, some other people simply describe the wendigo as a skeleton-like figure with ash-toned skin. Sightings: date back to tribal indian days and now are seen by travelers, hikers and other people in the forests where it is seen. The blazing force of nature had almost burned my face when I was just stopped mid fall, I hadnt gained my balance it was just as if someone was hanging on to me and pulled me back. Originally the lake was referred to as Mde Wakan or Bad Spirit Lake by the local Nakota Sioux for its deep, cold, and salt-infested waters. With its bones pushing out against its skin, its complexion the ash-gray of death, and its eyes pushed back deep into their sockets, the Wendigo looked like a gaunt skeleton recently disinterred from the grave. The first thought that comes to mind is the classic image of the Wendigo. One night I was walking my dogaround 10:30pm I thinkwhen I saw something on the front lawn of one of these houses. Your email address will not be published. He says of what happened next: There is a creek on that property as well, and while usually we never had any issues while down there, this one time had proven to be quite strange; Topaz the cat was unwilling to cross in her usual spot, and it was eerily quiet. Some of the recent sightings come from Ontario. Join the Unexplained Mysteries community today! 5 Wisco Monsters to Look Out for This October. They are some massive prehistoric fish that can be very intimidating up close and in person. Wendigo in Wisconsin This is still hard for me to wrap my head around because it shook me to my core, but this story takes place just over a year ago in late November 2018. The legend can be traced back into the earlier 1900s when it's said that a circus train wrecked and a 12-foot-tall gorilla escaped. But speed wouldnt be a necessary skill for a monster of this nature. I do remember antlers, and matted fur, but nothing gaunt or skeletal. Devils Lake is actually called Day-wa-kun-chunk (holy lake or Sacred Lake) by the Ho-Chunk. The beast is purported to run on all fours while chasing deer, but can also stand on its hind legs and kneel like a human. The description fit perfectly and made my blood run even colder. If you experience problems with the form or want to attach images please email them to info@wisconsinfrights.com, Are you affiliated with this location? Moving just east of Madison lies the community of Lake Mills and Rock Lake. We decided we better get out of there because it was starting to get dark and we were both pretty freaked out, David wrote. This had sent horrendous chills down my spine, So I ran the fastest Ive ever had back towards the campsite, while I heard the twigs and leaves crunching behind me. Obsessed with hunting for new victims, he is forever hungry until hes eating another person. From a Sasquatch lurking in the woods of Northwest Louisiana, to a feral girl roaming Catahoula Parish, to aliens in Pascagoula, the Gulf Coast region has encountered its fair share of bizarre, and often inexplicable, monster sightings. Stories, Sightings & Experiences ; Wendi-go in NE Pennsylvania? By then, the hodag was so much a part of Rhinelander culture that the city is known as The Home of the Hodag, and boasts a Hodag Country Festival, several hodag statues and has a hodag as the mascot of the high school teams. Unfortunately, this was the age of white settlers pouring into the region, and the idea of killing people due to suspicion that they were supernatural monsters did not sit well in this new world. I felt stuck and almost hypnotized by the whole thing, but came to my senses enough to call attention to my dog and turn around to head for home. Then things got bizarre rather quickly, of which the witness says: I remember we both pulled out our flashlights and shown it in the direction we felt the sounds were coming from but that is what was so weird. All they said was they heard a lot of movement and then heard my scream and thats when they headed in our direction. I had mentioned my encounter to him when it first happened but he shrugged it off like most people I told, and likely didnt give it a second thought. FlickrAn animatronic depiction of a wendigo in a cage on display in Wendigo Woods in Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Wendigo's are normally described as a tall (approximately 15 feet), thin humanoid creature, sometimes said to be twisted, bloodstained, or fanged. Education Up until then, the Cree peoples had managed to largely live apart from civilization, more or less untouched by the coming of the white man and their outlandish ways. This thing had long arms, and it was tall, but I don't remember anything like talons or claws. It is believed by native Americans that wendigos call out for help like a human in order to lure people toward it. Food & Drink It's the hauntings of Sparta and if anyone is interested it's on my YouTube channel babebeachattire. The Beast of Bray Road. So this tall, lanky creature is standing there and I cant see its face but by its positioning I know it has noticed me, also. As you can see, there are a large amount of sightings on the east . Inside my bag I had a six inch fixed blade that I always carried and thought I would feel a bit more comfortable with it in my hand more than just my flashlight. Then I kinda felt like someone was really looking at me. Wendigo or not, it is very creepy, to say the least. My house is about 100 yards from a small stream that splits the small wooded area in half. Ive tried telling people in my life about all of this but, as most people do with this type of stuff, none of them really put any stock into it except my brother now that hes had this experience. 6. Many believe the real "Beaman" sightings were of the offspring of this escaped gorilla, and haven't been able to catch it yet. Everything about it was long. Whilst there are slight variations as to the physical description of this creature amongst the different Algonquian peoples, it is generally agreed that Wendigo have glowing eyes, long yellowed fangs and long tongues. Her most recent book is American Monsters: A History of Monster Lore, Legends, and Sightings in America. Biology, nature, and cryptozoology still remain Brent Swancers first intellectual loves. Since that night I havent had any other direct encounter with it, except one event that Im not sure is related but elicited that same feeling of being watched and almost felt. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. In this way, it seemed as if they meant to make an example of Fiddler and his brother, and although there was little cooperation among the tribe members and few willing to testify against the brothers, they were still found guilty. What lips it had were tattered and bloody Unclean and suffering from suppurations of the flesh, the Wendigo gave off a strange and eerie odor of decay and decomposition, of death and corruption. My name is Charles Keeper, and I was an investigative reporter for a local paper in Wisconsin. I live in a rural suburb in SE WI near a line of woods and ponds. Of course, if you can't catch it there, just check out the movie. At that time, lead miners were pouring into the region following a trail that the Indians used to take from Central Wisconsin to the Mississippi River. Ryan and I tried explaining everything to him but he just chalked it up to either a curious animal or some campers trying to mess with us. Some say its a sea serpent. As I went to unzip my tent, trying to keep my eyes toward the woods, I heard some movement directly in front of me. The wendigo, as described by the Chippewa and Ojibwe tribes, is a man who consumed the flesh of another human being. Help us maintain the accuracy of our information. These creatures have been mainstays of Native American lore for generations, their deeds well known in many of these tribal stories and legends. But I wasnt 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 couldnt find my arrow anywhere.. David thought maybe it had been another hunter dressed in a ghillie suit, though he knew it was way too tall to be human. After feasting on another humans flesh, he transformed into a crazed man-beast, roaming the forest in search of more people to eat. 27.07 - MU Plus+ Podcast - Flames of Prophecy, 29.07 - MU Podcast - Contract with the Goddess, 27.06 - MU Plus+ Podcast - Secret Vaults of Time, 29.06 - MU Podcast - Italian Disco Abductions, 27.04 - MU Plus+ Podcast - High-Res Healing, Astrophysicist Claims Ring Lasers Can Bend Space-Time and Allow Time Travel, "What's the Creepiest Thing You've Ever Seen or Heard?" The brother Pesequan was subsequently found guilty and sentenced to hang by the government, although he died from illness in 1909 before the sentence could be carried out, sadly just three days before a pardon went through. What Is The Wendigo? 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. Felt like it was coming up so I pulled harder a bit and the line snapped. With its bones pushing out over its skin, its complexion the ash gray of death, and its eyes pushed back deep into the sockets, the Wendigo looked like a gaunt skeleton recently disinterred from the grave. Whenever we would fix our lights on a spot we thought the sound were coming from the location of the sound would suddenly change. Grasping its victim, the Wendigo runs at such speed that the poor victim's eyes bleed and his feet burn. However, as Wright was about to enter his room for the . Probably Not! This is still hard for me to wrap my head around because it shook me to my core, but this story takes place just over a year ago in late November 2018. The fear I felt was incredible. My town is small and everything is silent and dark by 9:00pm. I have heard what sounds like a little girl calling for help out in those woods before. The Ridgeway Ghost story begins at Sampsons Saloon in Ridgeway, where a peddler is said to have stopped in for a drink and was never seen again. Being the carnivore that it is, it's most often seen eating from some freshly killed prey near the road. Theres been a ghost reported along the old road in southwestern Wisconsin since the pioneer days of the early 1840s. NASA's Photos From Mars: Don't Tell Me the Red Planet Wasn't Once a Thriving World! The Wendigo is a mythical creature that has been reported in many different forms. Red question marks represent the broad location where the sightings occurred. Once he has infiltrated their minds, he can turn them into wendigos as well, instilling upon them a similar lust for human flesh. However, Wendigo creature sightings are still reported, especially in northern Ontario, near the Cave of the Wendigo, and around Kenora, where traders have allegedly spotted it, trackers and trappers for decades. Citation: The Driftless Reader, by Curt Meine and Keene Keeler, p. 80, my grand father always called it Tawacunchukdah translates roughly to spirt lake. I'd say a sea serpent or some giant eel. I also became increasingly paranoid that someone or something was out there with me. The earliest description of the Wendigo was that of similar appearance to a corpse, with a skeleton-like, thin body with gray skin . I tried to explain what had happened without sounding crazy but it didnt seem to work. They had resisted Christian missionaries, remained apart from the law of the colonists, and still lived by the old ways, indeed remaining one of the only tribes still living under their own laws and traditions, but nothing can last forever, and in 1907, the Canadian government decided to investigate the claims that this man Jack Fiddler was waging a war against cannibalistic spirits. Of movement and then heard my scream and thats when they headed in our direction his bow nocked. Not exactly dealing with cryptids, the Second Salem town of Whitewater residents and UW-Whitewater students continue to be part. 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