Secondary Editor: Andrs Martinez. Wisconsin Downtowns: Eau Claire, Green Bay, La Crosse & Oshkosh, Visiting Eagle River Throughout the Seasons, Its All About Oulu: Past, Present & Future, Discovering the Hidden Gems of Wisconsin with Best Western, The History & Legends of Jefferson County. The whistling continued for what felt like forever but thinking it through was maybe five minutes when Ryan finally yelled out into the darkness. Others say he walks in a more haggard manner, as if he is falling apart. I just kept thinking about what I saw. They would find dead birds around the campground, things went missing from their own camp, and they were at a loss to explain what was going on. Today we are going to look at some of Wisconsins most interesting cryptid stories from around the state that you can use to add to your catalogue of spooky tales. Frighteningly enough, there were quite a few other stories about these spirits supposedly possessing people in communities stretching from northern Quebec to the Rockies. Wikimedia CommonsA Wendigo Manitou carving on Mount Trudee in Silver Bay, Minnesota. Wendigo psychosis is a syndrome for humans that fear they are turning Wendigo or have culminated an intense hunger for human flesh. The player meets the Wendigo at a cave and must fight off the Wendigo boss in order to complete the mission. It was a cloudless nightin Oshkosh in 2015, and Benjamin Konrad, aUW-Oshkoshstudent, was sitting on his porch after a long night of making sandwiches at his job for a local shop. Originating within the myths and lore of various Algonquin-speaking tribes of Nova Scotia, the East Coast of Canada, and Great Lakes Region of Canada and in Wisconsin, United States, including such tribes as the Ojibwe, the Saulteaux, the Cree, the Naskapi, and the Innu, the monstrous entity called the Wendigo has long been feared. The legends of the Wendigo are associated with the times of harsh weather conditions in the cold seasons when isolation from heavy snowfall is most common. Join MU Plus+ and get exclusive shows and extensions & much more! The men they were supposed to meet became possessed by Wendigo and claimed to be ravenous for human flesh and would attack children, women, and men. If the government had released this information in the 1990s and said we dont know what these (UFOs) are, everyone would have lost their mind. Watch Discover Wisconsin TV Saturday mornings at 10 on Fox Sports Wisconsin. Bradley, an entomologist and a paranormal investigator, posted the video on his website, creepyencounters.com. During a brutally cold winter, this mans intense hunger drove him to cannibalism. An illustration of the Wendigo, a fearsome creature from Native American lore. The Highway 18/151 bypass around Ridgeway long had a view down a valley to a dilapidated house that was rumored to be the home of the ghost. Swift Runner returned a year later after the trip and claimed that his family had died of starvation. 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The strangest part about Susie's story is that once the object landed, she and her daughter's friend moved on with their discussion, almost like they had forgotten what had happened moments before. Sturgeons don't bend the way I saw this thing bend. Northern lights gleam green and purple above Wisconsin. A recent episode of In Search of Monsters on the Travel Channel interviewed people who spotted a Wendigo at a lakeside camp near Spooner. Probably Not! The video game recreates the abilities of the Wendigo by making it extremely fast and an excellent climber with antlers and a body made up of muscle tendons. Its very difficult to prove or disprove somebody saw something … but I think, over the years, Ive found that the people who contact me, they are rational, functional, down-to-earth, intelligent people.. They would prevent the snakes from overrunning the earth and devouring mankind, according to Menominee folklore. A wendigo is a malevolent SPIRIT that is said to invoke a Insatiable desire to cannibalize and or murder others often times depicted as half human/half beast with antlers and a foul smell. Both traditional and modern descriptions indicate that the Wendigo also has glowing eyes, yellow fangs, and a long tongue. In 1879, a Plains Cree trapper that also served as a guide for the North West Mounted Police, known as Swift Runner, fell victim to Wendigo psychosis when he went camping in the northern woods with his wife and 6 children. YOU could be seeing it soon, too. He says that at the time he was visiting his parents home, who lived there with their many cats. I was witnessing something that maybe I wasnt supposed to be, and it was changing my understanding of the universe and what I know to be true, he said. So, Wendigo in my neighborhood, lets not meet. Other stories describe it more like a thin bipedal bear creature with a skeletal head and antlers. Her most recent book is American Monsters: A History of Monster Lore, Legends, and Sightings in America. 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. Wisconsin Wendigo Sightings Featured on In Search of Monsters The Wendigo as seen on Travel Channel series In Search of Monsters According to Native American legend, the wendigo is a horrifying, cannibalistic creature that dwells in the forests and waters of the Great Lakes region, hunting for its next human meal. The wendigo originates as a human being. I dont necessarily believe in it (UFOs), but I saw it, so I have to believe it. Whenever we would fix our lights on a spot we thought the sound were coming from the location of the sound would suddenly change. Theres been a ghost reported along the old road in southwestern Wisconsin since the pioneer days of the early 1840s. However, some other people simply describe the wendigo as a skeleton-like figure with ash-toned skin. 4. A Wendigo is a Native American legend also depicted in movies and books, the Wendigo is a beastly spirit with an insatiable appetite for human flesh. In modern times, such beliefs and traditions have faded, their traditions replaced by the inexorable march of science and the rational. My dog, who is normally aware of every living creature from a mile away in a snow storm, is completely unaware of its presence. 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. The legend of the Wendigo is still very alive in some parts of the Great Lakes region and the forests of Canada. Camping season is in full bloom. In recent years numerous wendigo sightings have been reported in Wisconsin. Every July, hundreds of people flock to Campbellsport and Bensons Hide-A-Way for the UFO Daze festival. It wasn't until her daughter came to join them outside that Susie said they both remembered that an unidentified flying object, orUFO, had landed on their roof, but by the time they climb on top of the picnic table they were sitting at, it was gone. These locals would encounter Rocky by their boats and along the shore where they would be traumatized once sighting the incognito beast hissing at them. What is going on behind these reports and others like them, and are they even truly encounters with the legendary Wendigo at all? The legend of the wendigo has long been associated with real-life problems like insatiable greed, selfishness, and violence. 19 Pablo Escobar Facts That Reveal The Outrageous Story Of The Fearsome 'El Padrino', This English Village Just Chose A New Mayor And He's A Pony Who Likes To Drink Guinness, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. The Cree say the Wendigo is an evil spirit that destroys mankind, a cannibal. The curse of the Wendigo appears in the book Pet Sematary and also makes a slight appearance in the movie Pet Sematary that recreated the story in 2019. There are many local traditions of the Wendigo with slightly different details in its appearance and abilities depending on the region, but it is always said to be frightening, and there are also variations in their powers. The show also featured Wendigo sightings near Rice Lake and Trego. He looked shaken and kept looking through the peephole in my door and not saying anything. All Rights Reserved. Both Fiddler and his brother were arrested and charged with murder in the case of Wahsakapeequay, and the story of these two Wendigo hunters out in the savage wilds drew sensationalist headlines around the country. But people still wanted to see his invention and it was exhibited for years until it was destroyed by fire. Wendigo psychosis symptoms are often associated with delusions of turning into a monstrous Wendigo, poor appetite, fear of or becoming cannibalistic, and nausea and vomiting. Until this. The Story Behind the Special Wisconsin Cheese Back on Sale, Old World Wisconsin Provides a Historical Home for the Holidays, A Landmark Farm Enjoys New Life as a Community Education Center with a Focus on Healthy Food, The 5 Hottest Majors at the University of Wisconsin Right Now, 8 Cheese Factories You Can Visit in Wisconsin. 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.. 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. The wendigo is a beast that lives alone in the northern forests, feeding whenever possible on human flesh. Traditionally, Wendigos are described as emaciated corpse-like figures with skin so tight that it creates a translucent layer of flesh and bones clearly visible. Right? he said. The most common reason for becoming a wendigo is if one eats human flesh. 6 Creepy Cryptids That Call Wisconsin Home. Although most of the stories of Wendigo encounters occurred far back into the19th and 20th centuries and beyond, there have been sporadic reports of what could be possible Wendigos up into more modern times. Blackwood's Wendigo is a mystical creature, representing the lure of the wilderness. That night they got a fire going, had dinner, and sat chatting away until a sound caught their attention. 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. 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. February 27, 2023 The Wisconsin Windigo continued their winning ways as they hosted Midwest Division rival Chippewa Steel for a two game series on February 24-25, at the historic Dome in Eagle River, WI. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. It must have been GINORMOUS however given the scale to which I saw it. 3. I live in a rural suburb in SE WI near a line of woods and ponds. Another report comes from Reddit user Katzaidanj, who does not specify his exact location, but assures us that it is an area where Wendigos could and have been spotted. It started with finding mutilated animals around the remote property in rather grisly fashion, including dead foxes and deer that had had their spinal columns torn out and strewn around, as well as vicious claw and teeth marks and limbs rendered from their bodies. Sometimes these animals were disemboweled and their entrails found hanging from bushes or trees like macabre Christmas tree ornaments, and sometimes they were simply torn in half, with one of the halves missing. It was first reported in 1893 to have had the head of a frog, the grinning face of a giant elephant, thick short legs set off by huge claws, the back of a dinosaur, and a long tail with spears at the end. I'm curious too. The Wendigo was gaunt to the point of emaciation, its desiccated skin pulled tightly over its bones. A Wendigo Manitou carving on Mount Trudee in Silver Bay, Minnesota. 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. As he looked a bit longer, the four lights broke apart, swirling and dancing in complicated patterns around each other before coming back together to form a diamond shape. he said elders would go there to reflect on the lessons of their ancestors. Although things started off normally, it all got rather strange when several odd occurrences began to unfold. Food & Drink In 1878, a man named Swift Runner was known to suffer from Wendigo psychosis in the worst possible way. Did. As soon as the light hit it launched backwards off of the tree. It can take great leaps or run along the tops of trees. Wisconsin has 1,666 reported UFO sightings with the National UFO Reporting Center, a number that ranks 21st in the U.S. Wisconsin also boasts not . Many people in the regions where the Wendigo legends were most popular still believe that Wendigos roam the dark forests, waiting to prey on their next victim. In certain cultures wendigo are depicted as humanoid, but with pale skin like a corpse. And underneath that terrifying, flesh-eating demon, there might still be a human man who was once just a hungry hunter. i have also lived in wisconson half my life and i only know the hodag, Your email address will not be published. Travelers along this misty stretch of highway would report seeing lights and a strange lone figure patrolling the road. If theres one thing we do know its that there is a lot of mystery shrouded in this beast, many fishermen continue to track the creature in hopes of catching it one day and proving its existence. There are a few reports on Wendigo encounters that date back to the 17th century. Wisconsin has 1,666 reported UFO sightings with the National UFO Reporting Center, a number that ranks 21st in the U.S. Wisconsin also boasts not one, not two, but three cities thateach claim to be the UFO capitals of the world Campbellsport, Belleville and Elmwood. There exist many local stories of the Witches Triangle intersecting graveyards, the Witches Tower barricaded water tower, and a mysterious locked book that is said to be in the special collections section of the Anderson Library, which according to hearsay, leads to the deaths of those who read it. Navigation Menu Mostly I am wondering if anything of this description and presence has been encountered before, especially in Texas. 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. Marinette County Bigfoot Hotspots. 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. People have reported seeing the beast scavenging along the roads in Walworth County and neighboring Jefferson and Racine counties. In fact, Fiddle and his brother, Pesequan, were widely thought by the Cree to be the most powerful Wendigo hunters there were, with Fiddler once claiming to have personally killed 14 of the foul beasts over his lifetime, including one of his own brothers who had apparently gone Wendigo after having resorted to cannibalism out on a trading expedition in order to survive. Sadly, the creature was soon to be revealed as a hoax by the man who claimed to discover it but the legend of the Hodag still carries on to this day. A much older phantom of the North Woods is found in Wendigo, an evil supernatural creature that is part of Ojibwe lore. Wendigo beasts are said to possess humans, where they become trapped near the heart, and the only way to kill the Wendigo is to try to un-possess the human trapped inside or to execute both the Wendigo and the human. The whistling came back. 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. Benson believes the jar contains a creature from a different planet. Snapped my line like it was nothing a few years back. Is it time travel? Reports of Wendigo encounters are not as common today, but people still claim the Wendigo lurks around in the dark forests waiting to prey on its next victim. 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. Wendigo View Website Favorite (3) 121 E Main St - Stoughton, WI 53589 Information: 608-205-2775 Tue-Thur 4-10:30pm, Fri & Sat 4pm-12:30am, Sunday Brunch 9am - 2pm (no reservations), closed Mondays. And there isnt a single tree small enough to remotely look like what I saw. Each one containing its own mystery of what might be lurking out there in the unknown.