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Wendigo
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The Wendigo is a demonic spirit believed by Algonquin-based Native American tribes to possess humans and turn them into cannibals.
The term "Wendigo" or "Windigo" is used to describe both the evil spirit as well as the creature that humans can become when possessed by the spirit.
The "monster" version of the mythical creature is human-like, but very tall and gaunt, with deeply sunken eyes and yellowish, decaying skin. They are impossibly thin and have an unending hunger that craves only human flesh.
The best known way to become a Wendigo is through cannibalism. By eating another human being, even out of necessity for survival, a human can be overcome by these spirits and be transformed into one. The fear of turning into this creature was so strong that it was preferable to kill one's self rather than resort to cannibalism.
The Wendigo legend was prevalent in the northern United States and Canada, and particularly roamed around woods and forests in the coldest areas where food was scarce and survival was challenging.
The term "Wendigo" or "Windigo" is used to describe both the evil spirit as well as the creature that humans can become when possessed by the spirit.
The "monster" version of the mythical creature is human-like, but very tall and gaunt, with deeply sunken eyes and yellowish, decaying skin. They are impossibly thin and have an unending hunger that craves only human flesh.
The best known way to become a Wendigo is through cannibalism. By eating another human being, even out of necessity for survival, a human can be overcome by these spirits and be transformed into one. The fear of turning into this creature was so strong that it was preferable to kill one's self rather than resort to cannibalism.
The Wendigo legend was prevalent in the northern United States and Canada, and particularly roamed around woods and forests in the coldest areas where food was scarce and survival was challenging.
There is a condition known as "Wendigo Psychosis" under which people who have reasonable access to other food sources would inexplicably become overcome with the need to consume human flesh. One such person, a Cree man named Swift Runner, famously slaughtered his entire family in 1878 and ate them, despite being only 25 miles from the Hudson Bay Company's supply post.
In 1907 a Oji-Cree man named Jack Fiddler and his brother were arrested for killing over 14 people who he claimed were Wendigos or about to become them.
As tribes have been more and more influenced by surrounding culture, the reports of the Wendigo have declined over the years, but as with most evil spirits, it is doubtful that this creature is gone for good.
In 1907 a Oji-Cree man named Jack Fiddler and his brother were arrested for killing over 14 people who he claimed were Wendigos or about to become them.
As tribes have been more and more influenced by surrounding culture, the reports of the Wendigo have declined over the years, but as with most evil spirits, it is doubtful that this creature is gone for good.
Wendigos In Hannibal
Don’t ask me, where this idea came from, when I thought: Oh, yes, let me write an article about this creepy thing, the Wendigo.
I looked to my Funko-Wendigo and then I got inspired and words came and came and came…
What can one say about this monstrous being?
It appears in Will Graham’s dreams and hallucinations. The Wendigo appears as either a stag with raven feathers, or as a man with stag horns and charred skin – and it’s voiceless (but talks through its actions).
It’s such a symbolic, animalistic (in its stag form) and humanoid, horned abomination, which represents different aspects:
For example, it’s an arc symbol and stands for Hannibal’s evil influence and cannibalism. Then there is this play with “dark is evil” – in its humanoid form, the Wendigo has charred, blackened skin, as if to evoke Georgia’s charred corpse in season 1.
You can also talk of a “Glamour Failure”. It’s played with. On several occasions, Will has suddenly seen the Wendigo standing in Hannibal’s place. When Will sees the Wendigo, it represents his awareness of Hannibal’s monstrous nature.
When we see the stag, we can talk about something like a marvelous deer, a mysterious presence while being hard to reach for humans.
Overall the Wendigo – regardless of the series Hannibal – is known as this: In Algonquian folklore, people who indulge in cannibalism transform into wendigo monsters, making the creature an appropriate symbol for Hannibal.
The causes of this transformation and the Wendigo’s general appearance vary from region to region. Some lores have it that eating human flesh is what makes you turn into one, but in others you can become one just by coming across a Wendigo or by being possessed by the spirit of a Wendigo. Its most common description is a dreadfully skinny giant of ice devoid of lips and toes, or alternatively a hunchbacked creature with a deer’s skull for a head. The more it devours, the larger it grows, and thus it can never find enough food to satisfy its hunger. In the mythologies of several Amerindian Nations, the Wendigo can revive if you don’t destroy its body entirely, which may lead to “kill it with fire”.
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The stag always represented the connection between Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter. He started seeing the stag after he was first exposed to Hannibal's murder of Cassie Boyle impaled on the stag head in the field.
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